"Tom Gardner" w@w wrote in message
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"Existential Angst" wrote in message
...
Awl --

So ahm hard at work on m'bicycle generator, and I need to couiple the
shaft (on bearings) driven by the bike wheel, to the shaft on the
generator/motor.
Some might say, Well, why not just drive the generator directly by the
wheel, and the reason is the bearing-unfriendly nature of cantilivered
stresses.

So the driven shaft is well-supported for the load (a bearing on either
end of the shaft), and the generator shaft is thusly fairly stress-free.
The Q is, how to attach them.

I see in MSC a bunch of types of love-joy-esque couplings, with the
typical "finger-laced" coupling I am familiar with being called their
"three piece jaw coupling", which is two hubs with a floating "spider"
that kind of links the two hubs. It's also among the cheapest coupling
methods.

Are there better methods? I see a "flexible grid coupling", which
basically looks like a piece of hose.

Where do universal joints fit into this scheme?

I'll be able to align the generator shaft with the drive shaft pretty
accurately (eye-accurate), with nuts/threaded rod standoffs. But not
accurate enough for solid-style couplings.

Opinions on the best way to go -- and with the least drama?
--
EA



Are you going to get enough RPM with direct drive?

Oh yeah.... haven't done the calcs, but 3,000 rpm seems easily achieved,
judging from the voltage output.
--
EA