Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DESIGN OF KEYS
Unit-5
OBJECTIVE
After this presentation you should be able to
• Identify keys and their applications
• Calculate forces on keys
• Design keys
INTRODUCTION
A key is a piece of steel inserted between a
shaft and a component, such as a pulley or a gear
wheel, to transmit rotary motion (torque). Keys and
keyways vary in size according to the diameter of the
shaft on which they are fitted
INTRODUCTION
The key is inserted parallel to the axis of
the shaft and used as temporary fastenings
A keyway is a slot or recess in the shaft
and hub of the pulley to accommodate a key
TYPES OF KEYS
• Sunk keys
• Saddle keys
• Tangent keys
• Round keys
• Splines
TYPES OF SUNK KEYS
• Rectangular sunk key
• Square sunk key
• Parallel sunk key
• Gib-head key
• Feather key
• Woodruff key
SUNK KEYS
The sunk keys are provided half in the keyway
of the shaft and half in the keyway of the hub or boss
of the pulley
Let
‘d’ – diameter of the shaft or diameter of the hole in
the hub
‘w’ – width of the key
‘t’ – thickness of the key
SUNK KEYS
For RECTANGULAR SUNK KEY
• Width of key w = d/4
• Thickness of the key t = 2w/3 = d/6
• The key has the taper 1 in 100 on the topside.
For SQUARE SUNK KEY the width is equal to
thickness. w = t = d/4
PARALLEL SUNK KEY contains uniform width and
thickness through out and are taperless
SUNK KEYS
The rectangular sunk key with head at one end
is known as GIB HEAD KEY. The head is provided to
facilitate the removal of key.
Width w = d/4
Thickness at large end t = 2w/3 = d/6
SUNK KEYS
FEATHER KEY is attached either to the pulley or to
the shaft thus permitting one member to slide along
the other. It may be screwed into a recess in the
shaft, have a double head or a central peg, which
causes it to be contained in the pulley and slide in
the keyway or the shaft. Their proportions are similar
to square or rectangular keys.
SUNK KEYS
WOODRUFF KEY is used particularly in machine
tools and in automotive work. It fits into a recess
milled in the shaft by a special cutter. It has the
advantage of being easily adjustable to any taper in
the keyway of the pulley. These keys should never be
used as feather keys.
SADDLE KEYS
Saddle keys are suitable for light duty only. They
tend to work loose and rock on the shaft under heavy
duty.
The saddle keys are of two types
1. Flat saddle keys
2. Hallow saddle keys
SADDLE KEYS
FLAT SADDLE KEY is a taper key which fits in a
keyway in the hub and is flat on the shaft. It is likely
to slip round the shaft under load. Therefore it is
used for comparatively light loads.
HALLOW SADDLE KEYS is a taper key which fits in
a keyway in the hub and the bottom of the key is
shaped to fit the curved surface of the shaft. These
keys hold on by friction, therefore suitable for light
loads.
TANGENT KEYS
TANGENT KEYS are fitted in pair at right angles.
Each key is to withstand torsion in one direction
only. These are used in large heavy duty shafts
ROUND KEYS
These are circular in section and fit into the
holes drilled partly in the shaft and partly in the hub.
Their keyways may be drilled and reamed after
mating parts have been assembled. These are
appropriate for low power drives
SPLINES
Keys are made integral with the shaft which fits in
the keyways broached in the hub. Such keys are
known as SPLINED SHAFTS. These shafts usually
have four, six, ten or sixteen splines. These splined
shafts are relatively stronger than shafts having a
single keyway. By using splined shafts axial
movement as well as positive drive is obtained
FORCES ACTING ON SUNK KEY
When key is used in transmitting torque from a shaft
to rotor or hub the following two types of forces act
on the key
1. The forces produced due to tight fitting of the key
leads to compressive stresses on the key
2. The forces produced due to torque transmitted by
the shaft leads to shearing and compressive
(crushing) stresses in the key
Since the forces are concentrated near the torque
input end the distribution of forces along the length
of the key is not uniform
FORCES ACTING ON SUNK KEY
F1
l
F
F
F1
T = l . w . τ . (d/2) (i)
STRENGTH OF THE KEY
2. Crushing of the key
The tangential crushing force acting at the
circumference of the shaft
F = Area resisting crushing x Crushing stress
F = l . (t/2) .σc
Torque transmitted by the shaft