What is Shaft: Definition and 389 Discussions

A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect other components of a drivetrain that cannot be connected directly because of distance or the need to allow for relative movement between them.
As torque carriers, drive shafts are subject to torsion and shear stress, equivalent to the difference between the input torque and the load. They must therefore be strong enough to bear the stress, while avoiding too much additional weight as that would in turn increase their inertia.
To allow for variations in the alignment and distance between the driving and driven components, drive shafts frequently incorporate one or more universal joints, jaw couplings, or rag joints, and sometimes a splined joint or prismatic joint.

View More On Wikipedia.org
Recent contents Top users
  1. A

    Reducing Shaft Deflection with Stepped Shaft Geometry: A Theoretical Study

    Dear all I have been given task of to reduce the deflection of overhanging shaft. shaft geometry is stepped one.If we increase the load acting diameter cross section immediately we can reduce the deflection but our constraint is we cannot change that one.So what i have done ,i have changed...
  2. P

    Pressure on walls of granite shaft

    [SOLVED] Pressure on walls of granite shaft Homework Statement A friend said "In the deeper mines rock can literally explode if struck or impacted b/c of the pressure of the rock above it." This brought to mind the formula for hydrostatic pressure and nothing else. The density of granite is...
  3. R

    Rotating Shaft Advise: Solving Problem at Sea Level

    I am unsure of where to begin to solve for my problem since I have no experience with rotating equipment. I have a 280mm rotating shaft @3000 RPM running thru a flat plate 45mm thick with a 300mm dianeter opening for the shaft. Being at sea level the one side has air pressure ratio of 1.000...
  4. R

    How do I stick the panel onto the shaft so it can rotate ?

    Guys, Need some help urgently! I have a thin shaft and a rectangular solar panel. The shaft is connected to a motor shaft and will rotate. How do I stick the panel onto the shaft so it can rotate ? The simpler the solution the better.. Thank you everyone
  5. K

    Y: Gear Shaft Design - Calculations/Selections and AutoCAD Drawing

    Design the shaft assembly of gear 2 with the following information: Gear: The specification of the involute helical gears are as follows Pressure angle: 20 degrees Torque acting on gear 1, T1= 95500Nmm Number of teeth: N1= 55(gear1), N2=135(gear 2) Helix angle= 15 degrees Tooth Width b=...
  6. S

    Seals for a rotating shaft? 30k+ RPM motor?

    Hi, everyone I am a long time reader but this might be my first post. I am currently in a Senior Design Project and doing research for my project. I am doing a rotating shaft with flow through the middle of the shaft to a exiting hole on the other side radially out the shaft. ( I can explain...
  7. S

    Calculating Power of a rotating shaft

    Hi, it's been a number of years since I've even thought about physics, so this is a very simple question. I have a rig set up where I have a power source that is rotating a shaft. Attached to this shaft is a wheel with a string, I have this string going through a pulley in the ceiling, and...
  8. C

    Designing Coaxial Output Shafts: Fatigue Analysis

    Part of my design project requires that I design two coaxial output shafts. I've gone through and calculated the inner shaft based on deflection and Goodman fatigue criterion. The problem now is this: the other output shaft must be a hollow shaft that shares its axis with the interior shaft. All...
  9. K

    Calculate Maximum Stress in Pipe AB and Rod BC Shaft

    The built-up shaft consists of a pipe AB and solid rod BC. The pipe has an inner diameter of 20 mm and outer diameter of 28 mm. The rod has a diameter of 12 mm. Determine the maximum stress in the shaft. I have stress=V/A I picked 12N as V and Aream I am confused any help?
  10. C

    Exploring the Possibility of Brakes on the Drive Shaft: A Discussion

    Brakes on Drive Shaft ?? HI all, I am new to this forum. I have a doubt on braking system. Any help in this regard is highly appreciated. Why can not we have brake on drive shaft or some point at flywheel ?? Any discussion in this regard is appreciated. I am hoping to find a...
  11. S

    Hollow shaf Vs. solid shaft

    hey i was told that hollow driveshaft on a car is stronger than a solid driveshaft...somebody know why ??
  12. N

    Calculate Shaft Radius for Coupling System, 100rpm Rotate

    Pls help me calculate the shaft radius of a coupling system that's goin to rotate an prespex cylindrical at 100 rpm by a motor... the dia of cylinder is 6 in and its width is 1 in. the material to be rotated is 10 gm s of sand... bulk density if the sand is 3000 kg per m^3...
  13. R

    Deflection of a steeped shaft

    hello everyone. i want to know that can we treat stepped shaft as a beam while finding the deflection. if yes then how do we find the deflection of a stepped shaft made of cs1030 steel. its first half is 50 mm radius and is 2440 mm long while the second half is 35mm radius and 800mm long...
  14. G

    Chassis Dynos: Measuring Shaft Torque/Power

    Can anyone explain me what kind of chassis dynos are used to measure shaft torque/power and how they do it. BTW... Things I allready known; I know that inertia brake dynos use a solid disc flywheel of a constant mass and radius and by meassuring time and flwheel speed (rpm), we can...
  15. A

    What is the most preferable locking method for securing a pulley on a shaft?

    Dear all, A timing belt pulley is mounted upon a shaft from this drive is being transmitted. In the shaft lay out fixing shaft in the bearings,next putting key over the shaft,& mounting the pulley and this has to lock i.e.locknut with washer or any fastener in the shaft threaded centre hole...
  16. B

    Calculating Fatigue Breaking Point of Steel Hollow Shaft

    I have some calculations I would like to make, though I am having trouble finding information. I have a circular hollow shaft made of steel. I would like to calculate the breaking point of said shaft at 1000 cycles and 1000000 cycles. What kind of information/properties of the metal needs to...
  17. L

    When Will You Hear a Stone Dropped in a 240m Deep Mine Shaft?

    Homework Statement one last problem.. IF you dropped a stone into a mine shaft that is 240 m deep. HOw soon after you drop the stone do you hear it hit the bottom of the shaft? Assume that temperature for this situation is 23.5 celcius Homework Equations So.. in order to get the...
  18. W

    Shaft diameter, Fatigue, etc.

    Hi, I have been atempting this is a question for a week now and I've been struggling on the final part. The question is below in bold. The tension in a flat belt pulley is 1250N when stationary. Calculate the tension in each side, and the power transmitted, when the belt is on the point of...
  19. Q_Goest

    Stress Concentration, Stepped Shaft

    Most texts have stress concentration factors for a stepped shaft in tension that has a radius where the smaller shaft meets the larger one such as this reference: http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/PR-BV60/Materials/7.jpg I'm looking for a reference (perhaps "Peterson's Stress...
  20. J

    Increase efficiency of rotating shaft.

    Here I describe one mechanical engineering situation that is very useful in any kind of mechanical and energy consumed industries.I hope you will try to understand it and use it. If you find any difficulty to understand ,feel free to ask me. we can increase efficiency of rotating shaft...
  21. S

    Calculating Wave Pulse Travel Time in a Mine Shaft

    1) One end of a rope is tied to a stationary support at the top of a vertical mine shaft 80.0 m deep. The rope is stretched taut by a box of mineral samples with a mass of 20.0 kg attached at the lower end. The mass of the rope is 4.00 kg. The geologist at the bottom of the mine shaft signals a...
  22. I

    Small electric generator, driven by a small engine shaft

    Hello all, I'm new on the forum and will be spending a lot of time here I'm sure, as I am starting a senior design project for my electrical engineering degree. I was wondering if anyone was familiar with a small electric generator, that can be powered by a small RC engine, similar to this...
  23. M

    Gear Shaft Design: Calculating Forces on the Gear Shaft

    hi everyone, suppose i have a system of gears where one shaft contains the initial pinion. a drive torque is applied to the pinion shaft so that the pinion then applies a force to the gear its connected to. how would i calculate the forces on the gear shaft? it is a static system (contant...
  24. T

    Calculating Shaft Diameter for Bending & Torsion Loads

    what formula should i use to calculate the shaft diameter according to the load due to bending and torsion??
  25. C

    Rotating shaft and ball-surface life

    There is a rotating shaft which is in contact with a spherical ball. The ball is in contact with an outer casing.The casing is fixed to the ground. I want to estimate the life of the surface which is in contact. There are two surfaces i want to estimate the life for. 1)surface of the...
  26. J

    Effective Methods for Securing a Rotor Disk to a Shaft

    Hello, I am wondering what the best (and simplest) way to secure a rotor disk to a shaft is. I have a 3" diameter Acrylic disk with a 0.375" hole drilled in it to accept a 0.375" diameter steel shaft. What do you all think? Thanks, Jason O
  27. M

    How to demagnetize a steel shaft

    How can I demagnetize a steel shaft. Heat is not an option. The shaft is 0.6 inches diameter and 3 feet long. Note I have seen several devices for sale that seem extremely expensive. Perhaps, if I know what the actual physical process is, then I can just build a device to demagnetize the...
  28. E

    Calculating Strength of Hollow Shaft with Notch & Holes

    Hi all, I have a hollow shaft of 2" outside dia to 1.25" inside dia, about 1.5 ft in length.I also have a notch going around the outside periphery of the shaft. The shaft also has 2 holes drilled tranversely through the shaft The shaft will be rotating and will have torsion and probably...
  29. S

    Sizing Shaft Key for Machine Element Design Problem

    For my Design of Machine Elements class this problem is being posed. This is exactly as the problem is stated. The torque on the 400mm -diameter shaft connecting the flywheel with the jaw mechanism should never go above 700kN m. Dimension a copper square tapered key so that the shaft is not...
  30. T

    A shaft of light pass through the prism

    A shaft of light passes through a prism with refracting angle \theta and refractive index n . Let \alpha be the deviation angle of the shaft. Demonstrate that if the shaft of light passes through the prism symetrically the angle \alpha is the least?
  31. S

    Motor Shaft Attachment for Small Electric Motor - Suggestions?

    on a smaller electric motor the motor output shaft is cylindrical with a hex head insert i am just directly attaching it to a small tire is there a certain type of drive shaft that anyone could recommend i thought about using an old allen wrench but had nothing to hold the drive shaft into...
  32. T

    Find Tension at Shaft C & D: 2500N & 5kN

    I've got this shaft you can see in my drawing below, and I'm supposed to find the tension at the locations C and D. At point C I use the following equation: \sigma=\frac{M}{W}=\frac{2500\cdot350}{\frac{50^3\cdot\pi}{32}}=71,3 N/mm^2 This is apparently the right thing to do. 2500 comes from...
  33. D

    Marine Propeller Shaft Flange Design

    First of all this is for marine duty. Iam using a Gear which supplies the shaft flange good for shafts up to 4" in diameter but iam restricted to use a 4.5" shaft. In this case i have to design the flange .. iam struck here could anyone of you please guide me .. how to find out the flange...
  34. K

    Determine the actual depth of the shaft to the nearest metre

    Hi there again, I am having problems answering this question A girl wishes to estimate the depth d of a straight mine-shaft. She drops a stone vertically down the shaft and finds that there is an interval of 6 seconds between the instant she dropped the stone at the top of the shaft and...
  35. I

    Basic Question: Multiple Torques on same shaft

    Ok. assuming that Torque is basically force at an angle (yes that is a very very loose description, I know). would it be fair to assume that net torque would be equal to all torques applied to one rotating shaft? Or are there exceptions to this?
  36. J

    Changing angular acceleration of a shaft

    Hello, I'm stuck on this problem and I think its because I am lacking the calculus to get the correct answer. A shaft is turning at 65 rad/s at time = 0. After, its angular acceleration is given by: a= -10.0 rad/s^2 - 5.00t rad/s^3 where t is the elapsed time. Find its angular speed...
  37. tandoorichicken

    Glass marble is dropped down an elevator shaft

    A glass marble is dropped down an elevator shaft and hits a thick glass plate on top of an elevatior that is descending at a speed of 2.0 m/s. The marble hits the glass plate 3.0 m below the point from which it was dropped. If the collision is elastic how high will the marble rise, relative to...
  38. O

    Coupling Two Shafts to A+X RPM with Fluid Coupling

    Hi. I am trying to figure out how to couple two seperately driven shafts so that the speed of shaft B is always at X RPM greater than the speed of shaft A regardless of what speed A and B are driven at. (X is a constant, but the value depends on some still unfinished math, we will say 500 for...
  39. D

    If I drop a vibrating 440 Hz tuning fork down the elevator shaft

    if I drop a vibrating 440 Hz tuning fork down the elevator shaft of a tall building and when I hear a freq. of 400 Hz, is it possible to determine how far has the tuning fork fallen? My friend said yes but I think no. Am i right?
Back
Top