Longer service life with no failure thanks to helical spring couplings by Torsion Control Products (TCP)
Thanks to their special torsional elasticity, spring couplings designed by Torsion Control Products are extremely suitable for use with modern diesel engines. In particular, TCP developed a solution with a helical spring coupling which significantly prolonged the service life of the entire machine.
Helical spring couplings provided by Torsion Control Products (TCP) prolong service life for planers and other mobile road building machines. Thanks to their special torsional elasticity, spring couplings designed by Torsion Control Products are extremely suitable for use with modern diesel engines. In particular, TCP developed a solution with a helical spring coupling which significantly prolonged the service life of the entire machine.
Helical spring couplings by TCP in road building technology
«In road building technology, road surfaces made of asphalt are removed with planers», stated the company. «The asphalt is removed with the aid of a rotating milling drum fitted with picks. The advantage of milling is that it removes layers of the pavement selectively and precisely in one fast pass. The range of applications for which planers are deployed extends from complete rehabilitation through stripping of individual layers to levelling asphalt and concrete surfaces. Nowadays, these tasks are accomplished mainly with cold milling equipment, in which the milling tools are very hard and the road surface does not have to be heated up. Modern cold milling machines can load a 30-ton truck with asphalt granulate within a few minutes».
A minimum of 3,000 hours of uptime between overhauls
The configuration of the planer included a diesel engine with flange-mounted, torsionally elastic elastomeric coupling supplied by another coupling manufacturer, a clutch, a gearbox and the milling drum. TCP’s customer needed a minimum of 3,000 hours of uptime between overhauls, but the elastomeric coupling failed after just 200 to 1000 hours of uptime. The premature and unanticipated failure of the coupling caused significant extra costs due to downtime.
Within six weeks, TCP provided a new helical spring coupling designed specifically for this application, as well as on-site field testing to determine if the coupling met the expectations arising from the analysis.
Uptime tripled with no failures
The analysis looked at the gearbox, coupling and hydraulic clutch. Ultimately, the helical spring coupling increased the service life of the entire machine. Uptime tripled to more than 3,000 hours with no failures. The equipment change has enabled the planer manufacturer to make substantial cost savings.
