Each drive shaft connects the electric motor to the gearbox input shaft, thereby transmitting torque to rotate the cooling fan.
Amarillo Composite Drive Shafts are custom manufactured and engineered for specific applications to achieve optimum performance. Our composite drive shafts will accommodate spans from 2 feet (0.61 meters) in small HVAC cooling towers, to over 20 feet (+6.1 meters) in large field erected towers and heat exchangers.
Drive Shafts
Amarillo Gear understands the demanding requirements that are presented when designing and manufacturing drive shafts for wet and dry cooling applications.
It begins by using industry leading raw materials of carbon fiber, and fiber reinforced plastic to create spacer tubes capable of handling the high duty cycles and high torque that exists in cooling applications.
Next, torque and misalignment are handled through a patented flex element that relies on registered bushings for torque transmission vs. much smaller and more expensive precision hardware. These bushings register to the coupling flanges which again reduces individual hole stress and prevents accelerated wear from shortening the life cycle of the flange.
Finally, the spacer tube flange is manufactured through composite compression molding which yields evenly distributed fiber patterns to eliminate stress points. Our motor and gearbox flanges are manufactured from high grade stainless steel. For proper drive shaft selection, contact Amarillo Gear through the CONTACT page. Please provide the following information with your request:
- DBSE (Distance Between Shaft Ends)?
- Motor Nameplate Power and Speed? If two speed motor or operated on VFD, what is the speed range?
- Fan speed or gearbox ratio?
- Motor shaft diameter and keyway? Gearbox input shaft diameter and keyway?
- Number of Fan Blades on the axial fan? How many starts per day?
- Is the motor ever operated in reverse?
- How many drive shafts are required and when?
