An irrigation pump requires a powerful drive shaft arrangement to pump water often from many meters underground.
The engine generates a lot of reverberation that can shock the connection points between the engine and the drive pump, also known as ‘harmonic reverberation,’ according to Steve Hittmann, BSC’s National Product Manager for Power Transmission and Mechanical Drive Systems.
Within agricultural operations, many irrigation pumps are diesel powered,” says Steve. “So, the drive shaft design needs to account for a certain amount of torque, shock and particularly the differences in harmonics for long periods of time, particularly at the point of the connection – the shaft coupling.”
When designing drive shafts for customers in the ag sector, Steve works closely with engineers from Regal Rexnord–a longstanding strategic supplier to BSC– who specialise in coupling arrangements with high torsional elasticity and high shock absorption.
In 2018, with the market demand for reliable Power Transmission products on the rise, Regal Rexnord acquired CENTA Power Transmission as part of their mandate to service complex systems in key industries, such as farming and agriculture.
Managing Director of CENTA, John Kopp, has overseen operations for CENTA for the better part of two decades and came on board with the recent acquisition. Having worked extensively with irrigation companies, John is well versed on the ins and outs of drive shaft components on pump applications.
“The CENTAFLEX A series driveshafts and couplings are ideally suited to pump applications,” he says. “The products were specifically designed for the problem of torsional vibration—which I would say is our specialty.”
“A lot of our competitor’s coupling products are just designed to transmit power from one point to another,” he elaborates. “But our products are specifically designed to deal with the problem of torsional vibration by employing rubber with the dampening characteristics required when an application is under siege from the effects of reverberation.”
The CENTAFLEX-A is versatile when it comes to coping with misalignment compensation and incorporates an integrated fail-safe device that avoids decoupling. It also features a radial axial screwing concept for easy mounting and dismounting.
“The highly elastic rubber element is what has made the CENTAFLEX-A couplings one of our bestselling products,” says John, “The donut-like component is constructed from natural rubber or silicone in the standard design, which allow for torque transmission, torsional tuning, noise dampening and a high degree of misalignment compensation.”
The CENTAFLEX-A drive shafts come in a selection of lengths and materials, adaptable to variable speeds, depending on the application. “
“Our CENTAFLEX-A drive shaft arrangements can be used on a number of high torque, high speed and heavy vibrational applications,” says John, “The carbon-fibre or glass-fibre design variations can be implemented on marine applications, wind turbines, and rail applications—it is a very versatile solution.”
To consult with an expert on the CENTAFLEX-A series couplings and drive shaft arrangements for an irrigation pump, or another industrial application, visit your local BSC branch today.
CENTAFLEX-A series Features and Benefits
• Torsional flexibility for vibration free torque transmission
• Electrically insulating
• Ability to compensate for significant axial, radial and angular misalignment
• Modular and customisable for any application with a range of adaptors, flanges, and hubs
