Quote:
Originally Posted by billbo911
We are fairly new at building custom gear boxes. his is our first year using Hex shafts in them. Aside from the lack of availability of .5" Hex bearings currently, it looks as though we will also have a need for sleeve spacers in our box. The VexPro Delrin Hex spacers are out of stock currently as well.
So, the question is, what do you use to create sleeves for your .5" Hex shafts? |
Assuming that the spacers are just spacers and nothing more, you can get round stock/tubing and bore the center out to ~.580" for hex to slide through. Personally, I like ABS plastic for this, but you can use a bunch of different stuff.
Also, the ~.580" dimension isn't THAT critical, but it's something worth trying to hit. The point to point dimension (effective OD) of a .5" Hex is ~.577" so that extra .003" or so just makes everything go together smoothly.
Or if you really wanted to, you could get round stock/tube, bore it out to .5" ID and run a broach through it.... If you're just making spacers, putting a hex into them is kind of a waste since they're not torque transmitting.
FWIW, the same method will work in a pinch for making a hex bushing as well. It's not the 'right' way to do things, but if you've got a low load application that needs to be hex and you can't find a bearing or a bearing won't fit, it's worth looking into.... In 2011, the team I was on ran a 1/2" hex shaft with the points turned down to an effective OD of .5625 and then ran that shaft through a delrin bushing on a roller claw. Just something to keep in your back pocket.