Rotating mechanical connection

Hello folks,

I'm working on a carrier gear (gear with extension for carrying a changeable roller with it) with a quick release type function. The gear is supported by 2 bearings on a fixed shaft. A roller is placed on the shaft to be carried by the gear. I need to be able to change out rollers quickly. There is an axial load on the roller. The bearings can be fixed on the shaft to handle this load, but I need a clever method of fixing the roll to the gear against this axial force.

The best idea so far is (copied) a carrier shaft with three keys and a roll with 3 key-ways. Pressed into the carrier is a spring loaded retainer with triangular shape. The retainer is toothed against the carrier like a clutch to keep them rotating together. One must pull on the retainer against the spring to disengage and rotate the triangle in alignment with the keys to insert/change the roll, and then rotate it back to an unaligned position to retain the roll. What I don't like is that the spring force is not exactly easy to overcome by hand.

I'm hoping someone out there with a different perspective could point out an application which has already solved this, or maybe someone has a new tip or idea.

Thanks for your input.

I'm completely lost. Post a picture or sketch.

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If you have access to an old "Sundstrand Rigidmil" Rise & Fall milling machine, you might want to take a look at their quick change gear set-up for changing cutter speeds and table feed speeds. Your shaft would need to be able to extend beyond the roller you want to change. Beyond the roller there'd be a radial groove in the shaft. A collar slips over the shaft. That collar has a slot cut through to the center hole and houses a spring loaded lever that drops into the shaft groove. The design isn't intended for a heavy axial load but would handle a good bit depending on thickness and engagement etc.. There would also need to be some clearance and that would allow your roller to float a bit I suppose. Very simple to operate though...

Similarly... And again if the shaft can extend beyond your roll and you can tolerate some slight end play... You might be able to utilize a system similar to a quick disconnect coupling for air or hydraulics. I'd expect that design to be able to handle more axial load since the balls become captured in the outer sleeve.

Thanks for the tip, I'll investigate this milling machine. I have no initial problems with extending the shaft out past the rollers. My problem is that the shaft is stationary and only the gear and roller are turning. If I want to avoid friction between the retainer and the roll, then I have to anchor my roll retainer into the gear somehow. My current design is with snap fits which are blocked once a bearing is pressed into place. I'm looking at using steel gear teeth with a nylon carrier and retainer. This design is essentially what Miller and Lincoln (welding) use in their carrier gears.

I have studied all the quick disconnects I could get my hands on. They are a good start, but I don't want the balls to be racing around a stationary shaft.