Agricultural businesses have to hold their own on the market in the face of falling prices or strongly fluctuating prices, and ultimately costs have to be reduced and efficiency increased. Technology has long since found its way into agriculture. If you look at a modern cab on a tractor today, it has more in common with the cockpit of an airliner. Fuel, with its fluctuating prices, is another factor that needs to be taken into account. In addition, there are increasingly powerful tractors that now have to be all-rounders for different tasks in the most diverse areas with the most diverse surfaces. The special metal bellows coupling from R+W is used in such applications. Modern tractors have a tire pressure monitoring system that adapts the tire pressure to the ground. The tires are supplied with air at the push of a button via a compressor and adapt optimally to the ground conditions. In our case, the compressor is driven by a hydraulic motor connected via a welded steel BK2 Series 30 bellows coupling. The coupling itself, with the stainless steel metal bellows at its heart, compensates for any misalignment of the input and output shafts during assembly, transmits the torque and reliably withstands a wide range of external environmental influences. The hubs of the clutch can be made of aluminum, steel or stainless steel. An additional possible coating of the hubs, for example by nickel plating, nitrocarburizing, anodizing or oxidizing, offers the best possible surface protection to maintain the service life.

Less fuel - lower costs

Lower fuel consumption is achieved through optimum tire pressure. This is the key to energy efficiency in everyday tractor operation. Reducing slippage on the road and in the field, less rolling resistance overall and therefore lower fuel consumption play a key role for tractor operators. The correct tire pressure is not only important on the land to be worked, but also on the road. What is good for working the land can be dangerous on the road. The compressor ensures that the tire pressure is always correct. The clutch component must work reliably and deliver a level of quality that takes equal account of costs and benefits. In the field, the tire pressure is reduced, for example, to reduce the punctual ground pressure through a larger contact area, to protect the soil, to achieve low soil compaction, to minimize slippage and, last but not least, to save fuel. On the road, the tire pressure must be increased. This is because factors such as braking distance, rolling resistance, steering safety and, ultimately, energy efficiency play a major role. The compressor therefore works several times a day and thus saves fuel. High slippage and deep ruts not only mean considerably higher fuel consumption, but also damage the land. Today's high-tech farmer can therefore minimize tractor costs with such a system and at the same time protect the land to be cultivated in order to achieve higher yields.

This example demonstrates the many possible uses of a bellows coupling. A seemingly simple component for energy-efficient use of a tractor, which also helps to increase road safety and maintain the quality of the soil structure. The farmer reduces costs and thus increases the profitability of his business. Couplings of this type are commonly used as precision components in mechanical and plant engineering, aerospace technology, medical technology, automation and many other areas. However, they also work reliably and perform well when used in completely different applications with particularly harsh environments. Thanks to early and cooperative collaboration, such unusual applications can be planned and implemented with couplings. The hub material and connection variants of various applications are challenges that R+W faces every day. ee

Features of the BK2 metal bellows coupling

The torsionally rigid and flexible BK2 metal bellows coupling for transmitting torques of 15 - 10,000 newton meters

Structure:
- With clamping hub and one ISO 476 screw on each side
- From series 800, two each offset by 180° due to force-fit clamping connection
Temperature range: -30 to +100 °C
Backlash: Due to friction-locked clamping connection and proven principle, absolutely backlash-free
Service life: If the technical information is observed, the metal bellows couplings are service life-proof and maintenance-free
Backlash: of the shaft-hub connection 0.01-0.05 mm
Material:
- Bellows made of highly flexible stainless steel
- Secondary material see table
Short-term overload: permissible up to 1.5 times the value of TKN
Technical data: up to 10,000 min-1. Above 10,000 min-1 in finely balanced design (up to G = 2.5 possible)