Many machine designers look to use standard components with the idea of saving time and money. But quite often a customized solution can do a better job of achieving both. We had a customer using a larger than necessary helical bevel speed reducer because of the requirement of a large output bore. They needed to drive a cooling drum in a plastic extrusion application. In addition to the driving torque, they had to feed a water line through the drum shaft journal to circulate water for the cooling process. To accommodate the water line a [...]