Three faces of balancing: the development of automatic balancing devices for shafts in motion

Abstract

In this paper, the authors present a novel construction of an automatic balancing device applicable to balancing shafts working in a heavily polluted environment. The novelty of the presented system lies in the fact that its utilization requires no changes to be made in the already existing shafts. Also, the system is capable of working during the operation of the balanced shaft, so there is no need to stop it. The propulsion system is based on eddy current braking, therefore no wires need to be used in the device. During the development process of the system, three iterations of the device were created. Each iteration is presented, described, and discussed. The advantages and drawbacks of each version are pointed out and explained thoroughly. The correctness of the design was verified by the created devices that were assembled and fixed on shafts to prove the design assumptions.

Keywords

• large shafts
• balancing device
• automatic balancing
• development