Balancing of Shaft Couplings

A virtually rotational-symmetrical component may have an unbalance caused by production

tolerances or non-homogeneous structure in the material. Such unbalances in a drive system
can not only lead to considerable vibrations during operation, but, in the long run, can also
lead to failures of individual components or even of the entire drive system. As speed
constitutes one of the decisive influences here, balancing is always performed for a certain
speed. As a general rule, this is the nominal speed of the drive system.

The necessity of balancing

In order to prevent unbalance and to protect the drive system, the respective component, e.g. a
coupling, must be balanced. The former standard DIN ISO 1940, which had been specifically
published to cover this subject, has recently been technically revised and renamed to DIN ISO 21940-
11. With the help of the following example of a shaft coupling, we would like to provide you with some
insight into the topic of balancing.

Static and dynamic balancing of a rotor

Concerning balancing, a distinction is made between “static” balancing (the so-called one-plane
balancing) and “dynamic” balancing (the so-called two-plane balancing). The decisive criterion for
static or dynamic balancing is the length/diameter ratio of the rotor to be balanced (e.g. the entire
coupling or components of a coupling). If the length/diameter ratio is <= 1, static balancing takes place.
If the length/diameter ratio is >1, dynamic balancing is done. The unbalance at a rotor can be
corrected by removing material, for example, by drilling or grinding off material. On the other hand,
material can be added, e.g. by welding or bolting on material.

Types of unbalance

For static balancing, it is sufficient to correct the unbalance at the rotor in one plane only, i.e. mass is
only compensated for in one location on the axis of the rotor. With dynamic balancing, the unbalance is
corrected in at least two planes or several planes at the rotor.

Particular considerations when balancing a shaft coupling

The balancing method is selected depending on the coupling type and its configuration. There are four
different balancing methods:

1. Component balance
Individual components or all the parts of a coupling are balanced separately in accordance with the
specified balance quality.

2. Sub-assembly balance
Individual components of a coupling are assembled to form one sub-assembly, e.g. left or right
coupling half, which is balanced in accordance with the specified balance quality. The individual
components of the sub-assembly are then match marked to guide future assembly.

3. Combination of component / subassembly balance

In this method, e.g. one coupling half is balanced as a sub-assembly whereas the components of the
other half are individually balanced. This allows to interchange wear parts such as brake disks or
drums without any problems at a later point of time.

Combination of component / subassembly balance

4. Assembly balance
The balancing of completely assembled couplings is only pertinent to torsionally rigid couplings or
backlash-free couplings, e.g. disk or metal bellows coupling. This method provides for the
compensation of all errors/tolerances at the interfaces of the coupling components. Optionally,
individual parts and/or sub-assemblies are balanced beforehand in order to minimize the need for
unbalance correction during the assembly balance.

Gear couplings generally cannot be balanced as a complete assembly, because the hub and the
sleeve are not concentric to each other on account of the clearance in the tooth mesh. The hub and
the sleeve are not centered until they are under load, and this condition is not given during balancing.
For this reason, gear couplings can only be balanced in individual components or sub-assemblies.

An assembly balance for elastomeric couplings is not appropriate because the elastic intermediate ring
or the elastic buffer always act as the “resilient, deformable section point” between the two coupling
halves. Under operating conditions, the ring will deform differently than during the balance procedure,
and can, therefore, not be determined as a component for balancing.

Full-key and half-key balancing of shaft couplings

Shaft couplings connect the drive and driven machine, or the gearboxes installed in between them.
These units are also balanced by the manufacturers. There are different balancing methods for shafts
intended to be used as a shaft-hub connection with a key. The distinction is made between half-key
balance and full-key balance. In order that the balance of the shaft and that of the coupling are
compatible, the respective key convention must be considered for balancing the coupling.

For the half-key balance, the machine shaft is balanced with an inserted half key or before the keyway
is machined. In this case, the coupling will also be half-key balanced. For this, the coupling sub-
assembly or the coupling component is drawn onto a fixture (shaft) and balanced with a filled keyway.
The keyway can either be filled with a half key, or the coupling is balanced prior to keywaying.

The latter is the more common and easier method because the exact location and weight of the key
must be known when balancing with an inserted half key is performed. These details are often not
available in advance, and this procedure is quite complex, too.

Half-key balance

With full-key balance, the machine shaft is balanced with an inserted full key. In this case, the coupling
is drawn onto a balance fixture after the keyway has been machined, and is then balanced with an
empty keyway.

Full-key balance

As mentioned above, it is essential to balance a coupling to ensure that your drive system runs without
unbalance and that the components are protected. The selection and design of the correct coupling
are, of course, also of great importance. We would be happy to help you find the optimal coupling for
your application.

13.0 : BALANCING OF MACHINES

13.21 DYNAMIC AND STATIC BALANCING
Fig. 13.21.1 shows a rigid rotor with shaft laid on horizontal parallel ways.
 Figure 13.21.1 Dynamically unbalanced single-plane rigid-rotor
If the rotor is statically balanced, it will not roll under the action of gravity, regardless of the angular position
of the rotor. The requirement for static balance is that the center of gravity of the system of masses be at the
axis of rotation. For the center of gravity to be at the axis of rotation, the moment of inertia of masses about
the x-axis and y- axis, respectively, must be zero.

So, this rotor does not meet the conditions for static balance (equations 13.20 & 13.21). So the rotor is not
statically balanced and hence, it is not dynamically balanced.
For dynamic balancing of rotors, Eq. (13.11) and (13.17) must be satisfied for single plane rotor and multi-
plane rotors respectively. It can be said that if the rotor is dynamically balanced then it is also statically
balanced (as demonstrated in Fig. 13.19.1& 13.20.1). The converse is not true for all the rotors. A statically
balanced rotor is not always dynamically balanced, the exception being the single plane rotors. This is
illustrated by the following example.
Consider the multi-plane rotor shown in Fig. 13.21.2.
 Figure 13.21.2 Multi-plane rotor statically balanced but dynamically unbalanced
without correction weights and dynamically balanced after placing correction
weights
The above rotor is statically balanced without the correction weight (W C), as
(27 X 10.5) – (27 X 10.5) = 275 - 275 = 0
But the rotor is not dynamically balanced (condition for Eq. 13.17 is not met), as,
(27 X 10.5 X 5.5) – (27 X 10.5 X 15) ≠ 0
By placing two correction weights (Wc), each 64.3 N at the locations (radial and axial planes shown in the
figure) the rotor is dynamically balanced, as
(27 X 10.5 X 5.5) – (27 X 10.5 X 15) + (64.3 X 7 X 14) – (64.3 x 7 X 8) = 0
Thus, static balance fails to indicate moment balance required for the dynamic case. A static balance is a
reliable test of dynamic balance only in the case of single plane rotors (example: Fig. 13.19.1 ), where all the
masses lie in a common transverse plane and dynamic unbalance of moment is unlikely.
Practical examples of balanced multi-plane rotors can be found in chapter 6. The epicycle gear train shown
in Fig 6.10.2 has two sets of planetary gears (B and C) of different size/mass mounted on the same arm (i.e.
on sides of the sun gear F). The planes containing the gears B and C is statically balanced by having three
gears in each plane with 1200 angular separations (i.e., Σ(Wr) = 0). Similar is the case with plane containing
the gear set B.
The wholes system (rotor) comprising of sun and two sets of planetary gears is dynamically balanced. This is
by placing the bigger gear set 'C’ at a short distance (aC) from the mid plane of gear F; while the smaller gear
set B is place at longer distance (aB) from the mid plane of gear F. If the weight of the gear sets
are WB and W C respectively, then,
WB r aB = WC r aC