rotary-type blowers? Examples: for motor KW; RPM; temperature; pressure production; lifetime; etc. In other words, how do I choose between belts or couplings?

Bellows couplings first began to be widely used by machine tool builders in the mid-to-late 20th century. With the advent of CNC technology, machine engineers started looking to improve upon some of the negative influences traditional power transmission couplings can have on a precision rotary / linear motion system.

He was out. Nine years ago, Ross Rivard left the coupling industry for the shimmering new world of luxury automotive components at Lacks Enterprises, where he was immediately enveloped by platinum trim systems and chrome composite wheels. It was glitz and glam and as sparkly clean as the fresh-fromthe-dealership cars his products were embellished onto.

If you read only one article this issue, it should be Norm Parker’s article on the Chinese bearing manufacturing industry. Parker is an engineer with General Motors, a true industry insider who has become a regular contributor to Power Transmission Engineering.

Involute splines are commonly used in gearboxes to connect gears and shafts, especially when high torque is transmitted through the coupling. The load is shared among multiple teeth around the coupling circumference, resulting in higher load capacity than a conventional single key. However, the total load is not equally shared among all spline teeth, mainly because of pitch deviations resulting from the manufacturing process. The load distribution along the spline engagement length is also nonuniform because of tooth misalignments and shaft torsional effects. This paper presents an investigation of the influence of spur gear loads on the load distribution of spline teeth.

It's a fact that drive systems wouldn't function properly or efficiently without couplings. They quietly go about their business of transferring motion from one drive element to the next. In the PT market today, couplings have the unique challenge of satisfying a variety of customer needs including tighter tolerances, higher speeds and a more versatile selection process.

We have just returned from the Electrical Products Group Conference in Sarasota, Florida. This is our favorite venue because it allows us to speak with the CEOs of nearly 25 global industrial companies that include General Electric, United Technologies, Honeywell, ABB and Emerson, with combined revenue of perhaps $500 billion.

Q&A: My company manufactures high-speed metal forming machines. We have one application on a feed axis where we are encountering problems with the coupling...

A biographical sketch of John Oldham, inventor of the Oldham coupling.

This paper summarizes the chemical, metallurgical and physical aspects of bearing steels and their effect on rolling bearing life and reliability.