Shaft design features Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Shaft design features - Lab Report Example There are different designs of shafts made each day for specific machines, but most of them will not lack the identified features (Shingley, 2006). Keyway: This is a part of a system in a shaft known as a keyed joint. It comprises of the key, the key seat and the keyway. The key is used for connecting the shaft to the rotating machine and preventing relative rotation between the two. For the key to function, the rotating machine and the shaft must have a key seat and a keyway, which are the pocket and the slot in which the key fits in. Designers argue that the keyway weakens the torsional strength of the shaft since it is mostly on one side of the shaft and has sharp corners. Retaining rings: These are used during the assembling of a machine in joining the elements. They are precision engineered components applied on shafts and bores to provide a shoulder for the positioning, locating and retaining the other parts of the machine to the shaft. The two major types of retaining rings are the internal and the external retaining rings. The internal retaining rings are the rings for bores since the ring fits inside of a hole or bore. The external retaining rings are the ones for shafts since they are installed on the outside part of the shaft. The rings could be installed in axial installation, which is along the axis of the shaft or radial installation, which offers quicker assembly processes and larger clearance diameters as compared to the former. Bearings: These machine elements allow the components of a certain machine to move with respect to each other. Bearings could be found in small machines like watches and also in big machines such as skyscrapers, allowing them to move in case of an earthquake. The bearings are very important elements as without them, all machines would grind to a halt. They could either be contact or non-contact. Contact type