What Is The Best Coupling for a Mixer?

Release Date: May 13, 2020

What Is The Best Coupling For A Mixer

Transcript

Location: Thorofare, NJ
Question: What is the best coupling for a mixer?
Answer:Mixers are a great fit for rigid couplings. Since the shaft on the paddle side is not bearing supported, a rigid coupling is the most suitable option that we manufacture. Flexible couplings designed for shafting 1.5" and under generally require close bearing support to the hub ends. The coupling will likely break shortly after startup if one or both sides are not bearing supported. After some discussion with the customer it was revealed that the mixer paddle was frequently changed based on the viscosity of the liquid. Set screws had damaged paddles in the past and the customer wanted to avoid this going forward. The shafts may also be different sizes depending on the mixer paddle itself and a set screw isn't a standard and not always feasible for this type of application anyway. We found that a standard two-piece clamp style would work perfectly for this application. The only thing to be concerned about is that these couplings have a cross cut which is a mechanical point of weakness and as the paddle is turning and mixing it is going to have some vibration depending on the nature of the liquid. You could, over time, develop a stress fatigue here that causes failure of the coupling. This is pretty rare but does come up from time to time.

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