KACO, a maker of sealing technologies, has expanded its product line to include shaft grounding rings designed to protect the bearings and gearing of electrical machines. The company offers a portfolio of shaft grounding rings ranging from single washers to complex customer-specific solutions with various carrier parts. 

KACO’s modular system of shaft grounding rings, specially developed for EVs, ensures electrical connection and permanent equipotential bonding without the risk of damaging currents in bearings and gears. The company says the system avoids bearing and gear damage due to electrical current transfer and prevents noise in the medium frequency range by discharging shaft voltages and currents to electrical masses. The shaft grounding rings also contribute to EMC shielding.

KACO’s shaft grounding rings can also be used for applications in an oily environment. Applications with circumferential speeds of up to 45 m/s and for ambient temperatures from -40° C to 140° C are currently in use. Optimizations and further solutions for higher circumferential speeds and temperatures are being tested.

“An in-depth analysis of previous approaches to shaft grounding led us systematically to a robust, compact modular product kit that is cost-optimized for the function, so that a permanent current flow between shaft and housing is guaranteed,” said VP Andreas Genesius. “The different variants, as well as material combinations, solve the known disadvantages of alternative approaches to shaft grounding.”

Source: KACO