Page 172 - Gear Technology Solutions

12.3 Coniflex Couplings

®
A new software for the design and summary calculations of Coniflex cou-
plings has been developed recently. This new software is implemented under
®
the name “Coniflex Clutches” in the GEMS bevel gear design software.

Coniflex couplings are similar to Hirth couplings. The Coniflex design parame-
ters can be used to duplicate the typical Hirth designs. However, even when
duplication of a given Hirth design is required, a remaining difference is the
curved root line of Coniflex, versus the straight root line of Hirth couplings. A
large cutter radius can reduce the curved root line, especially because the face
width of most coupling teeth is very small, compared to bevel gears. In case of
duplicating the design parameters of a Hirth coupling, the Coniflex Clutch soft-
ware can be forced, via input parameters to match the duplex taper of a given
Hirth design. In this case, the root width will also be parallel between toe and
heel, which achieves the exact same Hirth fillet radius for a fully rounded root.
The result is a very fast cutting of high quality Hirth couplings. A further ad-
vantage of the Coniflex Clutch process is the fact that grinding after heat
treatment is possible.

The Formate cutting process of both members makes the Coniflex Clutch a
special case of Coniflex straight bevel gears. Figure 4 shows a typical Coniflex
coupling set. Unlike Hirth couplings, the root width is tapered, proportionally to
the diameter change from the outside to the inside. The slot depth taper is a
standard taper, which means that in addition to the slot width, also the slot
depth changes proportionally with the diameter, from the heel to the toe.

Figure 4: Typical Coniflex coupling parts

157