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Mechanical Engineering vocabulary · Machine Elements

Keyway

Meaning in mechanical engineering, with examples

/ˈkiːweɪ/nounCommon term

In mechanical engineering, keyway means: A slot cut along a shaft or inside a hub into which a key fits, so that a gear, pulley or coupling turns together with the shaft.

In Turkish: kama kanalı, kama yuvası

How it is used

Used in shaft design, machining and assembly. Keyways are milled in shafts and broached or slotted in hubs, and their sizes follow standards such as DIN 6885. A keyway weakens the shaft and creates a stress concentration, which designers must take into account.

Example sentences

  1. The key was loose in the keyway, so the pulley was slipping.

  2. The fatigue crack started at the end of the keyway.

Common collocations

  • shaft keyway
  • parallel key
  • keyway dimensions
  • cut a keyway
  • key and keyway
  • shaftA long, round rotating part that carries gears, pulleys or wheels and transmits power and torque from one component to another.
  • couplingA device that connects two shafts, for example a motor and a pump, so that torque is transmitted between them. Flexible types also allow a small amount of misalignment.
  • gearA toothed wheel that meshes with another toothed wheel to transmit rotation and torque, often changing speed or direction at the same time.
  • stressThe internal force inside a material divided by the area it acts on. It shows how hard a part is being pulled, pushed, bent or twisted and is measured in MPa or psi.
  • fatigueGradual damage and cracking of a material caused by loads that are applied and removed many times, even when each load is below the material's static strength.

More terms: Machine Elements

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