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Ameridrives Custom Amerigear Couplings for Printing Press
A leading global commercial printing equipment manufacturer needed a
replacement coupling solution for a line of its printing presses. The original disc
type couplings, installed on the web press drive cylinders, lacked the required
torsional stiffness, causing the rollers to slip, which led to increased amounts of
defective printed materials (spoilage). The application had additional challenges,
including extremely tight space limitations and very small (38 mm) cylinder shafts.
The goal was to obtain a coupling with significantly higher torsional stiffness
(10 to 15x) in a similar-sized package utilizing shrink disc connections.
Ameridrives engineers developed a custom modified Amerigear flexible coupling that
accommodated the customer required stiffness, incorporated a shrink disc for quick
assembly/disassembly, fit in limited available space, and allowed for .30" of axial
travel. The unique coupling also incorporated pneumatic air flow holes proprietary
to the customer’s design. The air passages are used to cool the paper roll while the
press is static.
The supplied Amerigear continuous sleeve flexible gear couplings have a load
capacity of 53,600 in.lbs and a max. speed rating of 868 RPM. The compact
10.4 in. long couplings feature synthetic rubber positive-type O-ring seals to keep
lubricant in and contaminants out. Fully crowned gear teeth provide operational
benefits, including maximum load-carrying capacity with minimum size, maximum
reliability and long life.
Highlights
- Custom flexible gear
couplings
- 53,600 in.lbs. load capacity
- Pneumatic air flow holes
proprietary to the
customer’s design
- Fully crowned gear teeth
provide maximum load-
carrying capacity with
minimum size
- Accurately machined
medium carbon steel hubs
and sleeves
- Synthetic rubber
positive-type O-ring seals