Flywheel Coupling Industry Information
View A Video on Flywheel Couplings - A Quick Introduction
Flywheel Coupling
Flywheel couplings connect two shafts together while absorbing vibration
and shock and providing a steady dampening effect. They are engine
components that store energy and angular momentum, while ensuring steady
shaft rotation when there is uneven torque. Flywheel couplings are
necessary because some types of shafts tend to shift during operation,
causing misalignment. Shaft movement is caused by bumps or vibration and
it results in parallel, angular or skewed shaft misalignment.
Flywheel couplings and other flexible couplings are used in the transmission and engine of
all varieties of vehicles. Flywheel couplings are either one or two piece
engine components that are composed of a flange, hub and steel or aluminum
housing. They are attached to a rotating shaft and smooth the delivery of the
torque from the motor or engine. Flywheel couplings vary in size and weight,
depending on the application and intended use. They are heavy, take up little
space and are able to work efficiently and safely in temperatures from -40 to
250°F. They are mainly used within the construction and automotive industries. Construction
equipment such as skid steel loaders, aerial lifts, excavators, harvesters,
bucket loaders, wheeled loaders and baggage handlers all use flywheel couplings
as do aerial lifts, sweepers and power mulchers.
Flywheel couplings need very little change in speed to
operate correctly and are designed to carry enough energy to power a car
between the firing of each cylinder. In manual transmission, a friction plate
is placed between a flywheel coupling and pressure plate. This allows the
engine shaft to turn the transmission. The weight and size of flywheels
directly correlate with the size and weight of the vehicle. The larger, heavier
truck flywheel couplings are heavier so they may store more energy and offer
faster acceleration. There are many different kinds of shaft couplings. The Oldham coupling consists of three components: two hubs
and a central plastic disk. It accommodates slight parallel misalignment, while
providing almost zero backlash. Backlash is the amount of lost motion due to
clearance or slackness when movement is reversed and contact is re-established.
The bellows coupling has two hubs and a thin walled metallic bellows and can
accommodate all three types of misalignment. Single beam couplings are usually
made of a single piece of aluminum and have a system of spiral cuts that allow
it to bend in order to accommodate angular misalignment. Multiple beam
couplings consist of two to three overlapping beams that address problems of
torsional rigidity.
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Flywheel Coupling - Rowland Company |
Flywheel Coupling - Rowland Company |