In the computer science subfields of computer-aided design and computer graphics, the term spline more frequently refers to a piecewise polynomial ( parametric) curve. Splines are popular curves in these subfields because of the simplicity of their construction, their ease and accuracy of evaluation, and their capacity to approximate complex shapes through curve fitting and interactive curve design.

S ( t ) = P 0 ( t ) , t 0 ≤ t < t 1 , S ( t ) = P 1 ( t ) , t 1 ≤ t < t 2 , ⋮ S ( t ) = P k − 1 ( t ) , t k − 1 ≤ t ≤ t k . {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}S(t)&=P_{0}(t),&&t_{0}\leq t
Serrations are employed in instrument drives, valve shafts, and other applications. Helical Splines-

The term "spline" is used to refer to a wide class of functions that are used in applications requiring data interpolation and/or smoothing. The data may be either one-dimensional or multi-dimensional. Spline functions for interpolation are normally determined as the minimizers of suitable measures of roughness (for example integral squared curvature) subject to the interpolation constraints. Smoothing splines may be viewed as generalizations of interpolation splines where the functions are determined to minimize a weighted combination of the average squared approximation error over observed data and the roughness measure. For a number of meaningful definitions of the roughness measure, the spline functions are found to be finite dimensional in nature, which is the primary reason for their utility in computations and representation. For the rest of this section, we focus entirely on one-dimensional, polynomial splines and use the term "spline" in this restricted sense.

This type of key was developed by William N. Woodruff of Hartford Connecticut. In 1888, he was awarded the John Scott Medal by the Franklin Institute for his invention. [5] on a drive shaft that matches with groove in a mating piece and transfer torque to it, maintaining the angular correspondence between them. A Hirth joint is similar to a spline joint but with the teeth on the end of the shaft instead of on the surface.

Parallel, tapered, and Woodruff keyways can be produced on a milling machine. End mills or slotting cutters are used for parallel and tapered keyways, while a Woodruff cutter is used for Woodruff keyways. [10] Rotational ball splines integrate linear and rotary motion in one device, whereas standard ball splines provide both linear and torque transmission.Read More- Involute Splines- Definition, Types, Materials Selection and Applications Crowned Splines- This concludes the Splines key segment for the time being. I hope this has helped you in some way or provided you with some value in return. If so, consider sharing with those in need and bookmarking Engineers Rail for future reference. Aircraft engines may have a spline upon which mounts the propeller. There may be a master spline which is wider than the others, so that the propeller may go on at only one orientation, to maintain dynamic balance. This arrangement is commonly found in larger engines, whereas smaller engines typically use a pattern of threaded fasteners instead. Typically, these splines are involute. These splines can be Flat root, fillet root, and diameter fit. This form of the spline is used to accommodate angular misalignment between the shaft and the mating component.

To prevent stress concentrations the ends of the splines are chamfered (as opposed to an abrupt vertical end). Such stress concentrations are a primary cause of failure in poorly designed splines. [ citation needed] See also [ edit ]

Spline L-Key Kits

A rolling assist spline bearing is the Ball Spline. This is a novel product that uses a ball rolling on a groove attached to the shaft to achieve higher permissible loads than a linear bushing and allows torque transmission while moving linearly. For instance, a gear mounted on a shaft might use a male spline on the shaft that matches the female spline on the gear. Adjacent images in the section below show a transmission input shaft with male splines and a clutch plate with mating female splines in the center hub, where the smooth tip of the axle would be supported in a pilot bearing in the flywheel (not pictured). An alternative to splines is a keyway and key, though splines provide a longer fatigue life, and can carry significantly greater torques for the size. [2] Types [ edit ] Bhandari, V. B. (2007), Design of machine elements (2nded.), Tata McGraw-Hill, p.340, ISBN 978-0-07-061141-2. a b c d Keys and Keyways (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-14 , retrieved 2010-03-19. Kibbe, R. R. (1995). Machine tool practices. (5th ed. ed., p.572). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.