A gear coupling replacement is becoming a “must have” in the industry. Gear couplings have been a part of many rotating equipment systems for over a hundred years. Over time, users have realized that there are a few shortcomings of gear couplings.
Gear couplings:
- create very high reactionary forces on the shafts: this is caused by the friction between gear teeth as they try to slide back and forth. This is made even worse as the surfaces wear more and lubrication begins to deteriorate.
- require routine maintenance to work properly: In order for gear couplings to work their best, the lubrication method needs to be maintained. For greased couplings, the grease has to be replaced and the parts need to be cleaned periodically. For continuous oil fed couplings, the oil system needs to be cleaned and oil replaced.
- have wearing parts and need to be replaced periodically: When two metal pieces continually rub against each other, some amount of wear will occur. Depending on the loads and the lubrication, the parts will have a limited life, and will need to be checked periodically to see where they are in their life cycle.
- may require special grease or lubrication systems: Depending on the manufacturer, there might be special requirements for the grease/oil which might get harder to find as the coupling gets older.
CCA can offer several options that can be used to replace a gear coupling for almost any application. It can be difficult finding a good replacement coupling with very close shaft spacing. CCA has a strong lineup of Close Coupled Couplings to handle these demanding applications.
One type of application that has been a good fit for gear couplings is large axial travel equipment. Many disc couplings can’t handle large axial travel, so users think there is no good option to replace the gear coupling. Fortunately, CCA has couplings that can accommodate very large axial movements, so it is possible to replace the gear coupling.
If you have a potential application, please contact the engineers at CCA to determine the optimal solution.
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