Guard-Flex Flywheel Couplings for Engine Driven Welding Machines

December 26, 2014
Engine Driven Welding Machines

A leading manufacturer of welding equipment needed a new coupling solution for use on their series of large, diesel-driven combination welder/generator/air compressor units. A welded connection was originally used to direct-couple the 69 HP turbo-charged diesel engine to the adjacent generator. The rigid connection resulted in excess vibration and broken shafts.

Guardian Couplings was contacted by the OEM to help solve the problem. To meet the challenging fixed dimensional envelope requirements, Guardian engineers designed a modified Guard-Flex SAE 10 flywheel coupling with a 65 shore “A” durometer rubber element and a special hub. A custom male adaptor and female pilot were also engineered to utilize the engine bearing for support. The new Guard-Flex coupling provides significant vibration dampening while reducing the amount of torsional stress on the driveshaft.

Guard-Flex couplings also offer protection to both the engine and driven equipment when higher inertias are present, by acting as a mechanical fuse, in the event of an overload condition. The coupling is designed to fail through the rubber and shear. The coupling also incorporates axial, radial, and angular misalignment to help reduce forces to the driven equipment.

Guardian Couplings Guard-Flex Couplings