four wheeler problem

[Ted]

I farm rice and was spot spraying today with my Kodiak four wheeler. I got hung up and stripped the rear axle to ring gear splines. I need a quick fix don't really have the time to wait on the part order. I have a buddy that can cut a keyway in the ring gear with an edm at work. Problem is I will have to cut the keyway in the axle. Can this be done, or is the axle to hard? Carbide cutter? Does anyone have an opinion on the durability of a key in place of the splines?

[snowman]

Key wont be as strong in my opinion, but could your buddy edm the groove in the axle as well?

Most likely the axle is case hard, 30-80 (big range) thou or so. If you have to cut it on a mill, do it with carbide. You probably wont have too much trouble.

-Jacob

[CCWKen]

Not case hardened, induction hardened at the splines. EDM should do it. I'm drawing a blank on the name, but use a half-moon key. Otherwise, how ya going to keep the key in?

[This message has been edited by CCWKen (edited 07-20-2004).]

[Ted]

axle is to big for him to take in to work. I will try to mill it with carbide. Just trying to get it back in the field before it rains. Then I will replace the gear and axle. Thanks for the reply.

[yf]

That would be a Woodruff key.

Or you could mill a blind keyway, so the key can't slide out.

[Shop_Troll]

Pull the axle, mount it in a v-block on your mill table, and using an endmill cut a keyway however long you need it. Use a good sharp cornered endmill or you will have a radius in the bottom corners of your keyway and the key will not seat correctly just causing you to tear it up worse.

[Evan]

If you blew off the splines how is a single key going to hold?

[CCWKen]

There you go, thanks YF.
If I'm remembering correctly, those splines are only about .030 deep and count 20-something. A key should work.

[John Stevenson]

A conventional blind keyway will take more torque than a woodruff key.

Woodruff keys are one of the worse things ever invented. They go too deep into a shaft and have sharp corners causing stress points.
Another thing is carbide woodfuff cutters are rare and spendy whereas a normal key can be cut with any sized carbide end mill as long as it's less than the width.


As some of you know I do a lot of electric motor repairs, a lot on high end DC traction motors. Many of these have a hydraulic pump fitting driven by a steep taper, woodruff key and a fine thread.
I get loads in where the end has peeled in half from the bottom of the key.
These are built up, remachined with a blind key and sent out, never had one back.

Shop-Troll,
I'm starting to see a lot of blind keyways in new equipment with a very small radius at the bottom and the keys are drop forged or pressed to shape in some way to duplicate the radiused edge shape. I put this down to ease of manufacturing and also to relieve stress points.



John S.

[RobDee]

Axels usually run 1040 steel if I remember.