2026-09-24
Seven steps to the right cardan shaft
RINGSPANN Kempf presents the new cardan shaft catalogue with a clever selection aid
As part of its ongoing product offensive, RINGSPANN Kempf is presenting its new cardan shaft catalogue 2026/27. The 40-page catalogue provides a good amount of basic knowledge about the use of these machine elements and gives an overview of the company's current portfolio. The highlight of the new catalogue, however, is a seven-step checklist that guides both designers and buyers purposefully to the ideal cardan shaft. In addition, all technical tables contain recalculated performance data, which offers more leeway in product selection.
Gersfeld, September 2026. – „Cardan shafts from RINGSPANN Kempf are torsionally stiff couplings that are used to connect input and output shafts in many areas of mechanical engineering, plant engineering and vehicle construction. Apart from the transmission of rotations and torques, compensation of shaft misalignments and changes in length in the drive train is one of the primary functions of these machine elements. They are particularly useful where two shafts are to interact whose position must remain variable both radially and axially during operation. Whether it is the connection of two drive units, use in test benches or guiding rollers in paper machines, or in steel rolling mills – the more precisely a cardan shaft is adapted to the specific application, the better the power transmission, the lower the wear and the longer the service life. For designers, this means that the more precisely a cardan shaft is designed, the stronger the performance of the drive system. This is the decisive reason why the developers at RINGSPANN Kempf have created their new 2026/27 general catalogue as a 40-page dossier that offers much more than just technical data. "We are presenting ourselves here as a technology partner that is able to accompany our customers from the initial idea to the ready-to-install cardan shaft. Thanks to our consulting expertise, our high level of vertical integration and our design know-how, we can also go far beyond serial standards when it comes to realising the ideal cardan shaft," says Alexander Walter, Managing Director of RINGSPANN Kempf.
Deep insights into the subject matter
Cardan shafts from RINGSPANN Kempf described in the new catalogue range from standard designs with and without length compensation (3 basic types), to special designs with intermediate bearings, in modular design and with double flange joints (4 basic types), through to the development of customer-specific designs. The cardan shafts are available as standard with five different types of flange yoke. However, before the new catalogue portrays each individual design and lists all variants in size and performance tables, the functions of cardan shafts, their design parameters and typical practical cases are described. The design of the RINGSPANN cardan shafts, which are characterised by the closed bearing eye in the articulated fork, is also explained in detail. "In the catalogue, we also deal in more detail with the length compensation and gearing technology of our cardan shafts, typical arrangement shapes of universal joints, and the topics of diffraction angles and non-uniform rotational motion. These are important aspects that play a decisive role in the selection of cardan shafts," emphasizes Alexander Walter.
All these factors – and much more – ultimately lead to an intelligently structured checklist that guides the customer to the right cardan shaft in seven steps. Just like the technical descriptions of the catalogue and its numerous illustrations, the chronology of this multi-stage selection aid is also a reflection of the expertise and many years of experience that the RINGSPANN Kempf team can boast in the field of cardan shaft technology. "For the first time in the history of the company, we have implemented a variety of topics that are usually only rolled out in personal discussions with designers. In this respect, we also see our new catalogue as an expression of our customer orientation and as an invitation to work together in a spirit of partnership," says Alexander Walter.
New performance data
Another aspect that gives the new RINGSPANN Kempf catalogue special weight is the presentation of the new performance data for all cardan shaft series. Based on the permissible mechanical strengths of the materials used, all torque values were determined and verified using the finite element method. The result of this recalculation means that the torque specifications for RINGSPANN Kempf’s cardan shafts are now closer than ever before to the reality of industrial applications. Thanks to the recalculation, both designers and buyers have more leeway in product selection.
The new cardan shafts catalogue 2026/27 is now available for free download as a pdf file on both the RINGSPANN Kempf website and the website of the parent company RINGSPANN. In the company’s one-stop shop, the cardan shafts are part of the constantly growing range of heavy-duty couplings for use in heavy-duty applications in the steel and mining industries, power plant technology, offshore technology or raw material processing. ms
New perspectives
RINGSPANN Kempf was created from the integration of Kempf Universal Cardan Shafts into the RINGSPANN Group in 2024. Since then, the traditional cardan shafts manufacturer has increasingly made use of the far-reaching development and sales prospects of the international group of companies. This is currently being expressed, among other things, in the product and image offensive underway at present, in which RINGSPANN Kempf is successively adding further series and services to its range of gimbaled cardan shafts. In 2025, for example, the company presented the new 160 series, whose torque capacity reaches up to 290000 Nm (MK). It also expanded its after-sales service to include services that go far beyond industry standards.
Closed-eye design ensures added value
Cardan shafts from RINGSPANN Kempf are top products Made in Germany. Both their design and their production are based on an expertise that is the result of many decades of experience in the field of cardan shaft production. This is demonstrated, among other things, by the fact that the company’s cardan shafts have closed bearing eyes (closed eye design). The clevis and bearing housing are made of a single piece, which ensures an ideal load distribution between the journal, bearing and clevis. There are no screws or gears in the clevis that require additional maintenance or cause premature wear. Since there is no installation space for screws and gears to consider, the bearings can be dimensioned as large as possible. For heavy-duty applications, it is also relevant that the single-piece clevis bearing bore increases the service life of the bearings.
