How to process shaft keyway? What is shaft keyway

What is a shaft keyway?
The shaft is a common part of industrial machinery. They are so common that metal service centers maintain an inventory of round rods with tight diameter tolerances and polished surface finish, with a wide range of diameters and materials. For smaller diameters, the bar is referred to as "turning, grinding and polishing" or "drawing, grinding and polishing". It accepts standard pulleys and gears as well as other off-the-shelf mechanical components. For power transmission purposes, it may only be necessary to cut the reinforcement to a certain length and add keyways, planes, or other features.
How to process shaft keyway
The shaft key is usually made of steel and is inserted or mounted between the shaft and the axially oriented hub of the component to prevent relative movement. The key seat is a groove in the shaft, and the shaft keyway is a groove in the hub to receive the key and thus firmly lock the assembly. In general, the term key seat is rarely used because the shaft keyway in the industry refers to two grooves
Retaining elements such as flower keys, flexible couplings, tapered joints, etc. are also used. In the case of very low power transmission, set screws and pins can also be used. If the set screw or key will be used to connect the joint in some cases, there must be axial restraint methods, such as circlip and retaining ring.
How to process shaft keyway
1. Milling (shaft keyway)
Milling is very similar to shaping. Milling allows the user to cut part length, taper,or straight axis keyway. Milling is often used to cut the outer shaft keyway. However, it is not common to mill the inner diameter shaft keyway on the hub, because the other side of the coupling will hinder (using traditional direct milling technology). However, if necessary, a special 90 angle milling head can be used to mill the inner hub keyway.
As with forming, quality is an important factor to consider when milling shaft keyway (because there is no unguided cutting). For example, the fillet radius quality needs special attention to ensure the correct specification. Otherwise, there may be problems, such as an unbalanced power transmission system.
2. Use a keyway machine (or internal keyway slotting machine) to cut the shaft keyway, and remove the material through a series of cutting strokes. Some keyholders have only one single tooth tool, while other machines, such as Davis keyholder, use multi-tooth tools to achieve the same cutting speed as broaching. Its working principle is as follows: the cutter on the key seat moves out slowly with each continuous cutting. This subtle movement allows more material to be removed with each stroke. The process is repeated until the cutting depth is enough to meet the specification of the printed drawing of the coupling hub.
How to process shaft keyway
The main advantage of the key seat is that it provides great flexibility for large and special shaft keyways. Custom-sized tooth cutters are easy to obtain and can be quickly modified in the field tool room to meet unique specifications. Depending on the type of processing equipment and cutting tool, the keyholder may require a longer cycle time than traditional broaching.