LESSON 3 SHAFT DESIGN.docVIP

LESSION 3 SHAFT DESIGN Shafts are usually of circular cross section; either solid or hollow sections can be used. A hollow shaft weighs considerably less than a solid shaft of comparable strength, but is somewhat more expensive. Shafts are subjected to torsion, bending, or a combination of these two; in unusual cases, other stresses might also become involved. Careful location of bearings can do much to control the size of shafts, as the loading is affected by the position of mountings. After a shaft size is computed, its diameter is often modified (upward only) to fit a standard bearing. Calculations merely indicate the minimum size. Common Shaft Sizes Table 3-1 lists some of the common available sizes for steel (round, solid) shafting. These are nominal sizes only. A designer must accurately compute the exact size so that it will fit properly into bearings. Since any machining is costly, a minimal amount of metal should be removed from stock sizes. Any metal removed in certain locations changes the shaft diameter in various axial positions. Therefore, proper radii must be provided to minimize stress concentrations. Abrupt changes in diameter without sufficient radii produce so-called ‘stress raisers.’ Thus it is desirable棗from the standpoint of stress... to provide large radii. However, large radii also make it difficult to mount such other components as pulleys, cams, gears, and so on because of radius interference. Often, the bore of such other compoonents has to be chamfered to clear radii at the point where a shaft changes diameter. In the final analysis, a compromise has to be made between ideal shaft radii and the undercutting of other components. Metric Shaft Sizes The diameters of shafts made compatible with metric-sized bores of mechanical components (such as antifriction bearings) are specified in millimeters. Although any shaft size can be turned to provide extremely accurate fits, Table 3-2 shows popular nominal sizes. Torsion Equations for a shaft