Centa Provides Carbon-Fibre Shaft For Bute Ferry
Centa Transmissions has provided a long shaft solution to Caledonian MacBrayne for use on the Bute ferry. The Centadisc-C coupling and composite/carbon-fibre shaft spans distances of 10m and more without the need for intermediate bearing support. On Bute, where the single span of more than 5m between bulkheads cannot be achieved with steel shafting, Centa used a carbon-fibre shaft to extend from one bulkhead to the other. This means that there is no need for any pedestal bearings and the result is described as a lower-cost, higher-quality solution that eliminates a great deal of supporting steelwork.
Compatible with drives of all sizes, the benefits of carbon-fibre shafts include high strength, the ability to span long distances without intermediate support and a light weight. The Bute solution features the carbon-fibre shaft coupled with Centa's versatile Centalink couplings. This combination provides strength across the span and flexibility through the couplings situated at both ends of the shaft. The resulting flexibility facilitated by the couplings also overcomes large degrees of misalignment.
A Centa spokesperson said: 'The biggest problem in any shaft line is the pedestal bearings as they require a lot of maintenance and are expensive and time consuming to replace. 'It is therefore easier and far more cost efficient to eliminate them completely by specifying a very strong, high-performance carbon-fibre shaft,' added the spokesperson. Carbon-fibre shafts can run at higher speeds, are low in weight, require minimal maintenance and provide a torsionally stiff, corrosion-resistant and sound-absorbing solution to transmission vibration and noise.
They can also bridge ever-longer spans without the need for support along the length and are designed to compensate for axial, radial and angular misalignment. Weight saving has been the foremost reason that short versions of the composite shaft are now in service in civil and military RIB vessels, where lower weight means higher speed and where minimal maintenance and high reliability are mandatory. Other Centa products include steel shafts and the Centax-SEC and Centax-L series marine couplings, which, with unlimited torque capability, are operating in boats and ships of various types and size around the world.
Compatible with drives of all sizes, the benefits of carbon-fibre shafts include high strength, the ability to span long distances without intermediate support and a light weight. The Bute solution features the carbon-fibre shaft coupled with Centa's versatile Centalink couplings. This combination provides strength across the span and flexibility through the couplings situated at both ends of the shaft. The resulting flexibility facilitated by the couplings also overcomes large degrees of misalignment.
A Centa spokesperson said: 'The biggest problem in any shaft line is the pedestal bearings as they require a lot of maintenance and are expensive and time consuming to replace. 'It is therefore easier and far more cost efficient to eliminate them completely by specifying a very strong, high-performance carbon-fibre shaft,' added the spokesperson. Carbon-fibre shafts can run at higher speeds, are low in weight, require minimal maintenance and provide a torsionally stiff, corrosion-resistant and sound-absorbing solution to transmission vibration and noise.
They can also bridge ever-longer spans without the need for support along the length and are designed to compensate for axial, radial and angular misalignment. Weight saving has been the foremost reason that short versions of the composite shaft are now in service in civil and military RIB vessels, where lower weight means higher speed and where minimal maintenance and high reliability are mandatory. Other Centa products include steel shafts and the Centax-SEC and Centax-L series marine couplings, which, with unlimited torque capability, are operating in boats and ships of various types and size around the world.
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