For the past 30 years or more, designers have paid due diligence to the electrical aspect of hazardous atmosphere equipment design, but have often ignored the mechanical side. In recent years, the mechanical aspects of ATEX design have increasingly come to light. Not only do electrical power transmission products, but also mechanical power transmission products need to comply with the ATEX directive.

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In most cases, industrial power transmission calls for flexible rather than rigid couplings in order to forgive minor shaft misalignment. For that reason, this article will focus solely on the selection of flexible couplings.

Fairchild International, a U.S.-based manufacturer of underground mining equipment, has produced battery-powered DC scoops since the early 1980s. With 17 different models available, Fairchild offers a size to fit any coal mining operation, making it the leader in the industry.

A new solution has been developed around the use of microprocessor-controlled prostheses. Just like natural limbs, these can react automatically, adapting to the current situation.

Based on simulation methods and calculation tools developed by the Schaeffler Group and presented in the first part of this paper, three approaches regarding increased efficiency based on rolling bearings are presented.

Options abound for increased efficiency in lubrication.

The world of high horsepower drives often calls for mechanical design to be approached from different perspectives. As motors, gearboxes and machines increase in size, power density can become disproportionate from one driveline component to the next, emphasizing the need for more rugged, robust and compact equipment.

The SMMA – Motor and Motion Association is ditching the slickers and galoshes for this year’s Spring Management Conference, themed “After the Storm: Navigating in the New World.”

In the history of machine tools, spindles have been very good relative to other bearings and structures on the machine. So quality professionals have developed a cache of tools—-ball bars, grid encoders displacement lasers, etc.—-to help them characterize and understand the geometry of the structural loop. But as machine tools have improved in their capability and precision, and the demands of part-geometry and surface finish have become more critical, errors in spindles have become a larger percentage of the total error.