HELICAL
PRODUCTS COMPANY, INC.
NUMBER 12
HELI-CAL NEWS
How To Make --
The Right Connection
(Using HELI-CAL® Flexure Technology)
shaped coils for all sorts of special
applications, altering the number and
thickness of the coils to achieve
desired performance.
Over 7,500 Successful Designs
+++ Helical Products Company, Inc.
is the originator of the HELI-CAL
Flexure, the hallmark coil pattern that
can be designed to affect performance
features such as torque capacity,
angular misalignment, axial
movement, parallel offset, torsional
stiffness, and compression spring rate.
Over 7,500 successful Helical designs
have been produced to date. The
company has over 40 years of flexure
research, design and manufacturing
experience.
The odds are good that sometime in
your life you’ve flown in, walked on,
driven in, or otherwise accessed a
coupling, u-joint, or precision
machined spring manufactured by
Helical Products Company, Inc.
Unique Technology
Since 1958 Helical has been recognized as the pioneer in the design and
manufacture of single piece, Helical
beam flexible couplings, universal
Helical’s trade show exhibit demonstrates the many
joints and machined springs. The
uses of the HELI-CAL Flexure in the format of a
unique capabilities of the HELI-CAL
Flexure have solved countless design
coupling, u-joint or machined spring.
projects for companies from a wide
variety of industries. The HELI-CAL Flexure is a flexible helix
(curved) beam machined from one piece of material into a specific
configuration that incorporates special design requirements, performance features or characteristics. When used as a spring, the flexure
provides desired and precise elastic spring performance in compression, extension, torsion, lateral bending and lateral displacement
modes. Used as a flexible coupling or u-joint, the flexure utilizes its
curved beam to transmit torque while compensating for lateral, axial,
and angular misalignment movements. A big advantage of this technology is that it enables customer specified end attachments, such as
tangs, clamps, or threaded ends to be integrated into a single, multifunctional component.
From worktables to Mars
The result has been Helical products
that have found their way into an
unbelievable number of applications.
Helical products, for example, are
found in aircraft, animated figures,
harvesting equipment, office worktables, bowling pin setters, race cars and
baseball pitching machines, to name a
few. They are also used in rail systems, optical grinding, dry cleaning
equipment, food processing and theatre projection equipment. On U.S.
military anti-aircraft missiles, Helical
springs snap fins into flying position
from their retracted state inside a firing canister. In what probably has
been the company’s most notable
achievement, NASA used Helical
springs on the Mars Rover, a space
robot that millions watched exploring
the planet, to position the Alpha
Proton X-Ray Spectrometer transducer
head against a rock surface so that the
rock’s composition could be determined.
Such attachment features, integrated with the HELI-CAL Flexure into
a single unit, can have a substantial impact on system performance as
well as increased production efficiencies, cost savings, and reduced
inventories. Over time, the adaptabilities of the HELI-CAL Flexure
have helped solve thousands of mechanical misalignment problems.
Through the years Helical has made a living offering engineering
design assistance (at no charge) and making parts that other manufacturers need to control motion, make a multi-functional component or
make their equipment work better. Key to the company’s success is a
proprietary manufacturing process that converts a solid bar of aluminum, titanium, stainless steel or other material into a flexible part
that can be used in applications as varied as a heart pump or a space
station torque wrench. “The technology used to make Helical products
is unique and original and not easily emulated,” says Helical’s president Herb Merrell. Helical yearly turns out innumerable variations of
the HELI-CAL Flexure concept—machined springs, flexible beam
couplings, and u-joints. Working in tolerances a thousandth of an inch,
smaller than a human hair, Helical engineers develop rectangular-like
We like to say,
“we wrote the book on flexible beam couplings.”
Surpassing expectations
Helical “flexured” products have the inherent potential to satisfy more
than a single engineering requirement. The remarkable thing about the
HELI-CAL Flexure is its versatility. There are countless aspects to it
that can be optimized to eloquently fit a variety of applications.
Does the HELI-CAL Flexure sound uniquely special? Truly, it is.
Helical’s one-piece, flexured machined springs, beam couplings and
u-joints, with all of their design options, can incorporate a myriad of
performance features . . . . all you would want for your particular
application and then some. “Now you can dream.” H
Since 1958 . . .
Fantastic
“FLEXURE FACTS”
The versatility of the HELI-CAL Flexure is the “secret ingredient”
in each design engineering application. You’ll see how the flexibility of the HELI-CAL Flexure means unprecedented design
opportunities for you.
SOLVED APPLICATION STORY 15
SOLVED APPLICATION STORY 18
The customer
had planned to use an AE087 or AE100 as a
basis to connect a potentiometer to a control
lever. The operating atmosphere included
both salt and dirt, plus having a high
parallel misalignment. The customer
wanted to use a “D” bore to fasten the lever
to a shaft, then connect the coupling to the
“pot.” Because of the small “D”, the cost
increased beyond what the customer was
willing to pay. Communication between
our representative, customer ’s design
engineer and Helical’s application engineer
made it possible to provide a cost effective
solution to their project. During these
conversations a method of protecting the
assembly was discussed.
CHALLENGE:
CHALLENGE: A manufacturer
SOLUTION: By integrating the
problem the flexible coupling had to
overcome was the vibrational forces and
twisting caused by the high torque of the
engine, in addition to the normal tolerances
and misalignments in the manufacture of the
manifolds. These units have been well
tested and proven to accomplish everything
the customer wanted in a flexible shaft
coupling. It has been very successful in
actual racing.
HELI-CAL Flexure and shaft, then press
fitting a lever arm onto the shaft, the customer received a superior product at a reasonable price. They also saved by having
fewer parts to inventory and eliminating one
subassembly. A second subassembly by the
customer was eliminated by having us
enclose the unit into a sheet metal covered
box. This was the first time we were
involved in this type of assembly work.
ANSWER: HELI-CAL Flexured
Assembly # ASM6920X2.
of racing engines needed to connect the
individual throttle valves together on an
IndyCar race engine. The throttle valves
regulate the flow of air into each combustion chamber on the fuel injected engine.
This is then connected to the throttle linkage, which is controlled by the driver’s foot
pedal. The flexible coupling is used to
compensate for normal misalignments
caused by manufacturing tolerances and distortion of the manifold containing all the
throttle bores. Another concern was the
extremely high vibration levels from
engines running at 13,000 RPM, and forces
caused by the high engine torque.
SOLUTION: The most difficult
ANSWER:
HELI-CAL Flexure
Flexible Shaft Coupling # 6313.
The HELICAL Flexible Shaft Coupling
was invented in 1958 when George
Sabadash developed the concept and
method of producing the HELI-CAL
Flexure as a single piece flexible coupling.
After receiving a strong response from a
news release, he realized he had created a
useful and needed product. Charlie
Romero designed and built the machine to
generate the flexure. Shortly thereafter,
Charles Merrell joined with George to
build a company to produce and market
this new and unique item. Because of the
basic HELI-CAL Flexure concept, the
Company has grown and its products
accepted in the world wide marketplace.
In 1973 Helical Products Company, Inc.
moved from Los Angeles to its present
location in Santa Maria, CA. To keep pace
with the continued growth, in 1983 the
manufacturing area was tripled in size. In
the beginning Helical concentrated on
applications in the military field. Because
of its compactness and reliability, the
HELICAL coupling became an accepted
standard. Advertising, sales promotion
programs, and satisfied customers enabled
the Company to branch out into commercial fields.
Our unique strength is the ability to take a
piece of bar stock and make it flexible,
utilizing the HELI-CAL Flexure. Since its
beginning, the HELI-CAL Flexure has
been refined and developed to accommodate a wide range of applications. Our
ability, combined with our engineering
expertise and high workmanship quality,
will continue to be the backbone of
HELICAL products.
Helical has designed and manufactured
over 7,500 different types of couplings.
The basic coupling series has been incorporated into the Helical catalog. Many of
the couplings produced are specifically
designed for a customer’s particular
application. In addition to couplings, the
Company has diversified into the production of u-joints and machined springs,
both of which utilize the HELI-CAL
Flexure.
Our reputation has been established by
excellent service in supplying test samples,
working directly with the customer’s
engineers, keeping delivery on time, and
last but not least, producing a quality
product.
In essence, WHAT WE SAY, WE DO.
“More Than A
Means To
Connect
Two Shafts”
HELICAL
PRODUCTS COMPANY, INC.
P.O. Box 1069
Santa Maria, CA 93456
Telephone: 805-928-3851
Fax: 805-928-2369
http://www.Heli-Cal.com