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Keyed shaft connections are common, but they have their shortcomings. In reciprocating applications, keyways tend to concentrate stresses around the key – leading to wear and possible failure. Fortunately, you have two alternatives that offer an even distribution of locking forces.

Typically, engineers focus on the smallest of details. From time to time, however, it is worth taking a look at the big picture – or even beyond it. What are the concerns of the market? What is being talked about and above all: where does the journey lead to? Here is our overview.

Shrink discs are external locking devices that provide a high capacity interference fit as well as all positive features of a conventional connection method, but which are much easier and faster to assemble and dismount. When a torque is transmitted through the connection of a shaft and a hollow shaft, the contemporary solution is to use a shrink disc instead of a failure-prone keyed connection. Shrink discs are typically available with inner diameters from 14 mm up to 500 mm.