TB Wood's DuraFlex Couplings for Steel Mill Runout Table

TB Wood's has supplied DuraFlex WE50M couplings to connect motor shafts to individually driven rollers on a new hot strip runout table installed at a steel mill plant expansion near Budapest, Hungary. The 505-foot long runout table is equipped with 337 six-foot wide, 12-inch diameter, stainless steel rollers, each driven by a 7.5 KW (10HP) motor at 900 RPM. The new line will result in higher speeds and higher throughput from 1.8 million tons to 3 million tons per year.

The DuraFlex coupling was selected over competitive units due to its ease of assembly and simpler radial-mounting installation, rather than axial mounting, and because of its superior fatigue resistance in the tough steel mill environment. The patented design of the urethane bond to the leading edge of the steel shoe bolted to the hub, and the high quality of the urethane element itself, provide the heat, moisture and chemical resistance desired by the customer. The customer also appreciated the high misalignment rating of the coupling which offered 3/32-inch parallel misalignment and 3° angular misalignment capabilities.

The global support network offered through Altra was important to this installation in eastern Europe. The couplings were supplied with 100% metric dimensions including hardware and fasteners. TB Wood’s was able to cut its normal lead time of 8-10 weeks to only 4 weeks to meet the customer’s expedited deadline.