Why Trantorque


 

The Problems with Keyways

The problems that keyways routinely experience in application – fretting, wear, corrosion and backlash, to name a few – have been well documented over the years. Unfortunately, most equipment owners and operators have come to accept these problems or at least view them as unavoidable.

They often resort to welding the hub and shaft together. Or cutting a new keyway in the shaft. Both time-consuming, expensive fixes.

The Solution: Trantorque

  • Trantorque is a single-nut, keyless locking device designed to connect a hub to a shaft (usually motor-driven).
  • It installs easily, with just a torque wrench.
  • It performs better than alternatives, outlasting keyways cut into shafts, the prevailing industry standard. And much easier than welding.

Trantorque

And it is incredibly versitile, handling torsional, axial and bending loads, speeds of 15,000 RPM and even higher with engineering approval, temperatures up to 400°F, and an endless array of stops and starts, installs and removals. And, with the right surface treatment, it can handle corrosive atmospheres.

Its only limitation? It can’t go larger than three inches, because the amount of torque required to install it simply gets too large. At that point, multi-screw KLDs like Fenner Drives’ B-LOC make a lot more sense.

Fenner Drives has sold an estimated six million Trantorque keyless locking devices since the product was introduced in 1978. Not only did Fenner Drives invent the popular device, it has only ever been manufactured in the company’s production facility in Manheim.

Simple Engineering

The engineering of Trantorque is incredibly simple. The device features two parallel (and opposing) tapers and a threaded, hex-nut exterior. Tightening the single nut increases the coefficient of friction on the inside taper, clamping down on the shaft. At the same time, the device expands into the hub, locking it in place.

And unlike multi-screw KLDs, the design is self-centering and the tightening is uniform across the entire surface with the unit settling naturally into the proper alignment as it’s tightened. Thus Trantorque achieves a mechanical press fit that is self-centering.

Easy to Install

Because of the unique single-nut design, Trantorque is a "once and done" installation. It does not require welding, cutting, or set screws. It can go over top of the shaft that you want to rotate and fits inside the hub of the component that you want to drive. It can be on the drive shaft or on the driven side and installs with little more than a torque wrench. It’s a repair that can happen, literally, in minutes.

Unlike welding or keyways, Trantorque is infinitely adjustable. If you mount a Trantorque in the wrong place, simply undo it, move it, and tighten it back down again. You can't do that with a welded component, or something pressed onto a shaft.

Performance

For nearly half a century, Trantorque single-nut keyless locking devices have been the industry’s go-to device to deal with keyway failures. They perform better than alternatives, outlasting keyways cut into shafts, the prevailing industry standard, avoiding fretting, corrosion, and backlash. And installing a Trantorque is much easier than welding.

Trantorque KLDs provide exceptional holding power and allow infinite flexibility and precise radial and axial positioning. They accommodate high torque and radial bending, remain unaffected by starts, stops, and torque reversals, and never wear out or pound out.

The Trantorque legacy has grown because of a continuous innovation process that has improved  its quality and performance. Some changes may be incremental, a lot of small nuances. But, over the years, they’ve become significant.

Examples include:

  • Changing the nut design to allow easier access during installation or removal.
  • Improving ease of installation by adding a design element to allow Trantorque to be held in place on the shaft and prevent it from slipping on the shaft during tightening/loosening.
  • Precisely milling relief slots to aid in ease of installation adjustment.
  • Enhanced surface finishes to improve performance.

Versatility

Four decades and counting of mounting components from gears to cams. Timing belt sprockets to conveyor rolls. Climate control fan hubs to grinding wheels. Tying components to power sources and applying energy to accomplish vital tasks.

Trantorque KLDs can handle torsional, axial and bending loads, speeds of 15,000 RPM and even higher with engineering approval, temperatures up to 400°F, and an endless array of stops and starts, installs and removals. And, with the right surface treatment, it can handle corrosive atmospheres.

As a result, millions of Trantorque KLDs have been used in thousands, if not tens of thousands of applications worldwide. From HVAC and materials processing to food and beverage and electronics. On farm and lawn and garden to meat processing and conveying.

But most of all, it’s used in manufacturing, where power needs to be transmitted from a power source, usually a motor-driven shaft, to a work component, like a hub or tool – applications where quality connections are not simply important, they’re critical. And failure means inefficiency, energy loss and poor performance.

Customization

In addition to offering the widest range of choices, the company has an unmatched ability to customize KLDs to meet individual requirements. After a new product configuration goes through and is approved through the rigorous design confirmation process, Fenner Drives can create a new program for a mill in half an hour, and it can go out to the plant floor for manufacturing immediately.


RESOURCES: Blogs

RESOURCES: Catalogs & Brochures

Solve your keyway problems once and for all.

Say goodbye to the fretting, corrosion, and backlash all too common with keyways. Get the real solution, the Trantorque single-nut KLD. It’s easy to install. It performs better than the alternatives. And it is incredibly versatile, even customizable. For immediate assistance, call 1-800-243-3374 and ask to speak to customer service or an Application Engineer. Or tell us more about your application by completing the contact form.

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