Bearings supplier SKF’s ability to customise the materials of its range of power transmission products and heat treatment processes to suit special application requirements complements the company’s experience in bearing technology, which spans more than 100 years.

“Our specially developed comprehensive power transmission range – which covers most common types of power transmission products, including chains, belts, pulleys, sprockets couplings, bushings and hub taper locking elements – is renowned for its quality, reliability and long life span,” says SKF South Africa power transmission product manager Frans Pienaar.

SKF supplies chains for virtually any conveyor requirement, including lifting applications in the agriculture, sugar, cement, coal and minerals processing sectors.

“A conveyor chain is ideal for conveying or elevating a load at relatively low speeds. However, when the speed limit of chain drives is exceeded or when it becomes too expensive to run chains, belt drives are the best solution, as they need higher speeds to generate the friction required to drive a system,” notes Pienaar.

SKF’s belt drive range, which consists of friction and toothed-belt drives, is currently popular in the packaging and automation sectors, where high accuracy, with low torque, is required.

He mentions that, with features, such as space saving, higher durability and a longer life span, wedge belts have become the standard in the US and Europe, replacing the old classical V-belts.

“We also offer a range of wedge belts, with a power rating that is 30% to 40% higher than that of standard wedge belts. These are ideal for space-constrained applications, where the same torque, but with less slippage, is required through a smaller belt profile,” Pienaar points out.

SKF’s power transmission division offers all standard shaft-to-shaft coupling types, including grid, gear, rigid, chain and jaw couplings, as well as universal joints.

“Also known as pin-and-block couplings, universal joints are commonly used for low to medium torque, industrial, off-road and agricultural applications. We offer a full range of gear coupling, which correlates to a shaft size of about 289 mm,” highlights Pienaar.

Specialised couplings can also be adapted to suit brake discs, drums or modified units that include shear pin torque protection.

SKF’s extensive range of locking elements, which includes self-centring and non-self-centring elements, with very high torque ratings, are mostly used on conveyors to link the head and tail pulley drums to the drive shafts.

Easily detachable bushes, similar to a taper lock, are used locally, where shaft diameters are relatively large in relation to the hub diameters. These are installed using a key in the shaft, but are tapered into the corresponding hub or pulley.

“Our power transmission products, available from a single world-class supplier, supported by our dependable supply chain and excellent service from skilled engineers, deliver optimum and reliable customer solutions.

“Also, SKF’s field maintenance service team can provide customers with maintenance services and install the products for them,” concludes Pienaar.