What are Redco™ Drive Couplers?
Few industries are as gruelling and unforgiving as the mining industry. Between the harsh weather conditions and the constant need to keep operations moving smoothly, mining companies can’t afford to deal with parts that can’t keep up. Thankfully, Redwood Plastics & Rubber offers a wide variety of unique plastics parts that can safeguard machinery, improve efficiency, and withstand any conditions you can throw at them. While not the traditional choice over steel products, composite and industrial plastic materials are proven to be safe, cost-effective, and durable solutions to the various challenges facing the mining industry. One such example is our Redco™ Drive Couplers, a product that is crucial for protecting heavy duty mining equipment and machinery from catastrophic failure.
What are Redco™ Drive Couplers?
Redco™ Drive Couplers are used to connect two rotating shafts together, allowing for efficient power transmission, vibration dampening, noise reduction, and misalignment compensation. Manufactured in-house by compressing Redco™ Natural Rubber into a metal insert, Redco™ Drive Couplers are highly durable, flexible, and capable of withstanding the harsh conditions of the mining industry.
How do Redco™ Drive Couplers benefit the mining industry?
Redco™ Drive Couplers are a crucial part for the mining industry for a number of reasons:
- Extending equipment life by safeguarding from catastrophic failure
Redco™ Drive Couplers protect heavy mining machinery like conveyors, crushers, and pumps in two important ways. Firstly, Redco™ Drive Couplers alleviate the stress that a motor’s torque can inflict on your machinery. The elastomeric components of Redco™ Drive Couplers allow it to slightly “twist”, resulting in some of the torque being absorbed before transmission to the shaft. This transmission acts as a “buffer” between both the motor and the shaft, protecting both from damage.
Redco™ Drive Couplers are also crucial for accommodating misalignment between the shafts of the drive machine and the driven machine. When two slightly off-centre shafts are connected directly without a coupler, they can quickly spin out of alignment, resulting in catastrophic damage to both parts. Redco™ Drive Couplers act as a buffer that reduce vibrations and allow the driven shaft to spin somewhat evenly despite the two shafts not being perfectly aligned.
2. Increasing worker safety
Catastrophic failure to your mining equipment and machinery can not only grind your operations to a halt, but it can also be hazardous to your workers as well. Unsafe conditions and unexpected accidents can cause a ripple effect throughout your operations, leading to higher insurance costs, potential lawsuits, and negative shifts in investor attitudes. With the abundance of heavy-duty, powerful machinery used in mining operations, catastrophic failure due to torque or misalignment issues has the potential to cause great harm to workers. Fixing these torque and alignment issues with Redco™ Drive Couplers not only protects your equipment, but more importantly, helps keep your team safe.
3. Vibration and noise reduction
Constant shaking caused by vibrations are detrimental to machines. Not only do vibrations lead to accelerated wear and tear, but they also have the trickle-down effect of increased maintenance needs, reduced production efficiency, and potential premature failure. Excessive vibrations also translate to higher noise that can be disruptive to your working environment and potentially harmful to your team. Redco™ Drive Couplers offer the added benefit of reducing vibrations in your machinery, resulting in longer part life, a quieter work environment, and less power consumption.
Redwood’s team of experts are always available to assist your business with measurements, costs, and concerns to help you find the optimal parts for your needs. To learn more about Redco™ Drive Couplers, or to request a quote for your pulp mill, contact us today.