Application guide for Woodruff Keys to DIN 6888. The core duty of the type is transmitting torque between a shaft and a hub. The typical industries, the how-to-specify checklist, assembly practice and the exclusion cases are set out below. Stocked across roughly 1 mm to 10 mm, they cover general to heavy-duty work.
Typical Applications for Woodruff Keys
The most common settings where these are specified:
- Pumps & fans: driving rotating components without slip.
- General machine building: fastening covers, brackets, motors and sub-assemblies on production equipment.
- Maintenance & repair (MRO): a stocked size for servicing existing plant where the original fastener spec must be matched.
- Fabrication & metalwork: bench and on-site assembly of steel frames, enclosures and weldments.
- Power transmission: locking pulleys, sprockets and couplings to a shaft.
How to Specify Woodruff Keys for Your Application
- Size: Select on key section, and confirm it against the mating feature in the assembly. This product spans 1 mm–10 mm; check the full table below for the exact dimensions of each size.
- Material: Choose the material and finish for the service environment — plated steel for general use, stainless for corrosion resistance.
- Environment: For damp, coastal or chemical exposure prefer A4/316 stainless or a suitable coating; indoors, plated steel or A2 is usually sufficient.
- Standard: This product is supplied to DIN 6888. Quoting the standard on your order guarantees interchangeable dimensions between suppliers.
Where Woodruff Keys Are Not the Right Choice
Not for very high reversing torque without an interference fit, and not as an axial retainer.
