Reducing Coupling Downtime in Brazil

Guest Post: Doug Durham (Lovejoy, VP of International Sales)

A large multinational manufacture of household products in Brazil approached one of our distributor partners with an coupling problem. They had an array of roof mounted pumps that were exposed to all the elements of hot summer sun and torrential rain in the winter months.

These extreme climactic swings were causing the metal hubs of the original equipment couplings to rust and corrode making the coupling changes very difficult. To replace the elastomeric elements you would need to move the hubs along the shaft. This was becoming more and more difficult as time went on. 

The Lovejoy solution was to use a Jaw In-Shear style of coupling. This would allow the element to be changed without the hubs being moved. The customer was ecstatic and changed all five over the next two months. Even though the cast iron hubs of the JIS couplings were still exposed to the elements and would rust, the element and the stainless steel ring would not rust or corrode. This allows for easy replacement and limited down time. 

The maintenance manager of the facility has stated that the JIS element change takes less than 30 minutes where the old system was down for at least 24 hours. The end customer has written this up their companies best practices and will consider the JIS style coupling for all the pumps in his facility. 

On a closing note, the life he is getting from the Lovejoy JIS coupling is a minimum of three times what he was experiencing from the original OEM couplings. 

To learn more about Jaw In-Shear, you can:
- Read a blog article: Jaw In-Shear Couplings - A Straight Forward Value Add
- Visit the Lovejoy Jaw In-Shear Product Page
- Download the Lovejoy Jaw In-Shear Product Catalog
- Look up Lovejoy Jaw In-Shear Product Part Numbers

To source a Lovejoy coupling in Brazil, please visit visit Setax or a Setax approved distributor. For other parts of the world, please use Lovejoy's Find a Distributor tool.
 

About the Author: Doug Durham has several decades of power transmission engineering sales expertise. To tap into Doug's rich industry knowledge and experience, please contact him through the Lovejoy webpage and/or find a highly qualified Lovejoy distributor through Lovejoy's Find a Distributor tool. 

Jaw Coupling Question - "How Much Life Can I Expect Out of the Spider?"

 

A frequently asked question for jaw couplings is: “How much life can I expect out of the spider?”.  The answer to this question is, unfortunately, nearly impossible to determine.  

Spider life is affected by a variety of factors (i.e. high/low temperatures, chemical exposure, operation cycle of machinery, etc).  Lovejoy does provide advice on spider inspection and replacement.  When the spider’s leg volume or thickness is at 75% of the original volume or thickness the spider should be replaced.  Inspection of this can be done visually and will result in disassembly of the coupling only if the spider needs to be replaced. 

Correct installation of a jaw coupling can greatly increase the life and performance of the elastomeric spider.  The installation process starts with the correct coupling selection.  The selection process starts with collecting the proper information about the application.  These factors would include: horsepower, RPM, shaft sizes, the type of driver/driven equipment, type of chemical exposure (if any), and temperature exposure.  After selection, proper installation and alignment are also key factors.

• For installation and alignment instructions: please check out "How to Install a Coupling" or download installation instructions from your favorite coupling manufacturer's website. Instructions should be step-by-step straightforward and speak specifically to your jaw coupling type (straight jaw, curved jaw, spacer jaw styles, and jaw in-shear, etc.)
• To learn more about coupling selection criteria, please check out "Top Ten Factors for Selecting A Coupling".
• For help with calculating required system torque, check out "Coupling Sizing Torque - How to Quickly Calculate (inclusive of Service Factor)".

Jaw couplings are not only one of the most popular and economical flexible coupling solutions in the world, but they also offer a solution that does not need lubrication.  This can be a tremendous time saver, but low maintenance couplings does not mean no-maintenance!  By following the helpful tips above (and two robust articles recommended below), coupling users can ensure that their jaw couplings are in proper condition and avoid unexpected downtime.

Recommended Follow-On Reading: For a robust report on jaw coupling failure analysis, please read: Coupling Failure Analysis - Jaw Couplings (includes hub & spider photos). For a broad overview of jaw couplings in general, please read: Jaw Coupling Overview - Features & Benefits, Design Basics, and Element Options.

Author Credit: This article was written by Charlie Mudra (National Accounts Manager, Lovejoy, Inc.)