• Steam Key Slot Machine Jackpots
• Slot Machine Key Replacement
• Slot Machine Door Key
• Steam Key Slot Machine Troubleshooting

In mechanical engineering, a key is a machine element used to connect a rotating machine element to a shaft. The key prevents relative rotation between the two parts and may enable torque transmission. For a key to function, the shaft and rotating machine element must have a keyway and a keyseat, which is a slot and pocket in which the key fits. The whole system is called a keyed joint.[1][2] A keyed joint may allow relative axial movement between the parts.

This type of key uses multiple keyways in the hub to transmit high power. Keyseating is the creation of the slots in the mating items. Keyseating can be done on a variety of different machines including a broach, a keyseater, wire-cut EDM, a shaper or vertical slotting machine, either a vertical or horizontal mill, or with a chisel and file. Alibaba.com offers 1,075 key slot cutter products. A wide variety of key slot cutter options are available to you, such as material, key selling points, and applicable industries.

Commonly keyed components include gears, pulleys, couplings, and washer

Types[edit]

There are five main types of keys: sunk, saddle, tangent, round, and spline.

Sunk key[edit]

Types of sunk keys: rectangular, square, parallel sunk, gib-head, feather, and Woodruff.

Parallel keys[edit]

Parallel keys are the most widely used. They have a square or rectangular cross-section. Square keys are used for smaller shafts and rectangular faced keys are used for shaft diameters over 6.5 in (170 mm) or when the wall thickness of the mating hub is an issue. Set screws often accompany parallel keys to lock the mating parts into place.^[1] The keyway is a longitudinal slot in both the shaft and mating part.

• The keyseat in a shaft for a parallel key

• A sprocket with an internal parallel keyway

• Cross-section of a parallel keyed joint

W = d/4^{[clarification needed]}

H = 2d/3^{[clarification needed]}

where

• W is the key width
• H is the key height
• d is the shaft diameter

Woodruff keys [edit]

Woodruff keys are semicircular, fitting partly into A*B circular segment keyway with the remainder fitting into a longitudinal slot keyway in the mating part. The circular segment can be cut directly by plunge cutting with a circular Woodruff cutter without any reliefs. The main advantage of the Woodruff key is the elimination of milling near shaft shoulders, where stress concentrations,^[2] and concentricity would be affected.^[1] The latter is particularly important for high speed operation. The more exact fit of the key and keyway also reduces play, and stress concentrations in, and improves the reliability of the key. An additional advantage is a stuck key can be removed from a shaft with a hammer blow, the circular profile will push the key out of the slot, as opposed to a standard key which will need to be pushed axially, or pulled out of its slot. Common applications include machine tools, automotive applications, snowblowers and marinepropellers.

This type of key was developed by W.N. Woodruff of Connecticut. In 1888, he was awarded the John Scott Medal by the Franklin Institute for his invention.^[3]

• A Woodruff key installed

• A Woodruff key and keyway

• Gear G is positively located on shaft S by Woodruff key N

Tapered keys[edit]

The tapered key is tapered only on the side that engages the hub. The keyway in the hub has a taper that matches that of the tapered key. Some taper keys have a gib, or tab, for easy removal during disassembly. The purpose of the taper is to secure the key itself, as well as, to firmly engage the shaft to the hub without the need for a set screw. The problem with taper keys is that they can cause the center of the shaft rotation to be slightly off of the mating part.^[1] It is different from a tapered shaft lock in that tapered keys have a matching taper on the keyway, while tapered shaft locks do not.

Others[edit]

A Scotch key or Dutch key features a circular keyway hole (instead of rectangular), produced by drilling axially into the assembled hub and shaft, with a metal dowel pin serving as the key. If the hole and key are tapered, the key is referred to as a Dutch pin, which is driven in and optionally finished by cutting or grinding flush with the end of the shaft. If a straight Dutch keyway hole is optionally tapped with a thread, then an ordinary screw serves as the threaded Dutch key.

Spring pins are an alternative Dutch key component, instead of solid dowel pins. A spring pin is self-fastening and does not work loose under vibration. Hollow spring pins provide a weaker shear strength than a solid dowel pin, and the strength may be varied by varying the wall thickness. This limited shear strength specification is designed to sustain normal operation, but then give way in the event of excessive shaft torque, thus protecting the rest of the machine from damage.

Introducing an additional bushing component between hub and shaft improves the performance and convenience of keyed joints. Taper-Lock bushings are keyed hub fittings which provide three threaded Dutch keyways and two setscrews as Dutch keys, in addition to the rectangular keyway. The Dutch keyways are threaded only on the alternate hub side or shaft side, with a thread clearance hole form on the opposite side. By simply driving setscrews into selected holes, the hub mechanism conveniently operates to rigidly lock or definitely release from the shaft, without hammering or hub-pulling. Quick-disconnect (QD) bushings work similarly, but place a circular pattern of three unthreaded and three fully threaded holes further out from the shaft axis on a bushing flange, instead of across the bushing-to-hub interface.

A Hirth joint is similar to a spline joint but with the teeth on the end of the shaft instead of on the surface.

Saddle keys[edit]

These types of keys are generally attached to the driving member (e.g. shafts). These types of keys have less strength as compared with the sunk keys. These are rarely used keys, to transmit lower power to the driven members (e.g. couplings)

Tangent keys[edit]

Tangent keys are used in high-torque heavy-duty applications. The keyway is similar to a parallel key, except it extends tangentially out of the external shaft into the internal shaft. What would have been the side of each keyway forms heels against which the key sits, and transfers force compressively. This latter point means that for reversible motion of the shaft, another key along a tangent outwards in the opposing direction is needed. Typically this will be offset by 90° or 180° on the shaft. The key may be wedge, rectangular, or square shaped, but particularly rectangular double-taper keys are used.

Spline key[edit]

This type of key uses multiple keyways in the hub to transmit high power.

Keyseating[edit]

Keyseating is the creation of the slots in the mating items. Keyseating can be done on a variety of different machines including a broach, a keyseater, wire-cut EDM, a shaper or vertical slotting machine, either a vertical or horizontal mill, or with a chisel and file.

• Keyway cutters

• Special cutters

• Slotting tools

• Different slotting tools

Broaching[edit]

Broaching is primarily used to cut square cornered internal keyways. The specific broach, bushing and guide are used for each given keyway cross-section, which makes this process more expensive than most of the alternatives. However, it can produce the most accurate keyway out of all the processes. There are three main steps in broaching a keyway: First, the workpiece is set on the arbor press and the bushing is placed in the opening of the workpiece. Next, the broach is inserted and pushed through, cutting the keyway. Finally, shims are placed between the bushing and the broach to achieve the correct depth necessary for the key.^[4]

Keyseater[edit]

Keyseaters, also known as keyseating machines and keyway cutters, are specialized machines designed to cut keyways. They are very similar to vertical shapers; the difference is that the cutting tool on a keyseater enters the workpiece from the bottom and cuts on the down-stroke, while the tool on a shaper enters the workpiece from the top and cuts downward. Another difference is a keyseater has a guiding system above the workpiece to minimize deflection, which results in a closer tolerance cut. The process starts by clamping the workpiece to the table with a fixture or vise. The workpiece is properly located and then the reciprocating arm is started. Some models have a stationary table so the cutter is fed horizontally into the workpiece, while others have a movable table that feeds the workpiece into a fixed cutter. These machines can cut other straight sided features other than keyways (see the picture). They can also produce blind slots, which are slots that do not extend through the whole workpiece.^[5][6]

Wire-cut electrical-discharge machining (EDM)[edit]

Wire-cut electrical-discharge machining (EDM) is primarily used for small production lot sizes where either extreme precision is required or other cutting technologies are not readily available. Wire-cut EDM cuts keyways by eroding material away from the workpiece through a series of rapid electric current discharges between a spooling wire and the workpiece through a dielectric liquid. Computer numerical control (CNC) wire-cut EDM machines allow for a wide variety selection of keyways to be cut, inclusive of multiple keyways on the same hub. The main limitations of CNC wire-cut EDM is the time it takes to cut a keyway as well as the size of parts a given wire-cut EDM machine can accommodate.^[7]

Shaping or slotting[edit]

Shaping or slotting is largely used for cutting keyways that do not extend through the full length of the part. Like keyseating, shaping uses a single-point cutting tool for cutting, however, shapers are not guided through the cut on a fixed post. As such, shaper cuts are generally more susceptible to deflection than keyseater cuts.^[7]

Milling[edit]

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.^[8]

For internal keyways that are not too long, the keyways can be milled if a radius is acceptable.

Chiseling[edit]

One of the earliest forms of keyseating was done by chiseling. The keyway is roughed out using a chisel and then filed to size; the key is tried frequently to avoid over filing. This technique is long, tedious, and rarely used anymore.^[9]

Keyed joints[edit]

A shear key is a feature intended to fail and avoid further damage should the machinery be accidentally operated in excess of its design limits. Shear keys may be any of the designs described above, but are made from a weaker material than the shaft. The shear key is easily and inexpensively replaced, and avoids more serious damage to the mechanism that would be costly or difficult to repair. For example, a steel shaft and pulley may employ a brass key. When excessive torque is applied to the joint, the steel edges shear the brass key into two pieces, leaving the pulley spinning loosely on the shaft and relieving the rest of the machine from possible damage.

Two parallel keys can be used if the shaft connection requires a higher torque rating.^[1]

Improperly machined keyways that had cutter deflection or drifting occur, may not be strong enough for the required application.^[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdKeys and Keyways(PDF), archived from the original(PDF) on 2010-03-19, retrieved 2010-03-19.
2. ^Shigley, Joseph; Mischke, Charles (1989), Mechanical Engineering Design (5 ed.), McGraw-Hill, ISBN0-07-331657-1.
3. ^Garfield, Eugene (2007). 'The John Scott Award Recipients from 1826 - present'. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
4. ^Krar, S. F. (1983). Machine tool operations. (pp. 84–85). New York: Gregg Division McGraw-Hill.
5. ^Keyseating, retrieved 2010-01-30.
6. ^Wick, C. H. (1964). Versatility of keyseating. Machinery (NY), 70(8), 138-140.
7. ^ ^abCutting Keyways - Broaching, Keyseating, Wire-Cut EDM, Shaping, & Milling, retrieved 2014-12-03.
8. ^Kibbe, R. R. (1995). Machine tool practices. (5th ed. ed., p. 572). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
9. ^Leonard 1908, p. 40 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLeonard1908 (help).
10. ^Romig, J. V. (1926). The Popular Science Monthly. The Popular Science Monthly., 110(5), 72, 124.

Bibliography[edit]

• Leonard, William Samuel (1919). Machine-shop Tools and Methods (Revised 7th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 39–42. OCLC848146647. Retrieved 30 April 2019.

External links[edit]

• Key joint article from the 1979 Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Free Online Slots – No Download Or Registration Required

Wheel Of Fortune

A staple of the Las Vegas Strip, now free to play online! In the Wheel of Fortune slot, you have 720 ways to win every spin. And two bonus games—the Mini Wheels and the Triple Extreme Spin—keep those multipliers rolling in. Try today!

Quick Hits Slot

The Quick Hits slot features FOUR bonus games for nonstop excitement. You might’ve seen this one at Bally’s Las Vegas, where it’s made instant millionaires. Now you can get in on all the action from the comfort of home. Get your quick fix of Quick Hits today!

Cleopatra

One of the most exciting rulers of Ancient Egypt is the inspiration behind one of the casino’s most iconic games: the Cleopatra Slot. It’s no coincidence that she’s the most powerful symbol in the game, triggering the bonus feature that delivers tons of coins. Try for free today!

Golden Wolves

Michael Jackson

Monopoly Slot

Divine Fortune Slot

Triple Red Hot 777 Slot

Da Vinci Diamonds Slot

Lobstermania 2 Slot

The traps are set, now it’s time to pull in those wins like you’re Lucky Larry himself. This slot is like a staycation, with a beach setting and three jackpots, including the motherlode! Hit the ocean and start chasin’ crustacean in Lobstermania 2 for free today.

Above, you’ll find a selection of free slots that you’ll likely recognize if you’ve ever been to the Las Vegas Strip.

These are the tried-and-true favorites. From Monopoly to Cleopatra, these are loved at both online and land-based casinos for their exciting gameplay, unique themes, and incredible winning potential.

Playing free slots online is one of the best ways to try out these popular titles and practice your strategy. Many players also enjoy free play to relax and experience casino fun risk-free.

Where To Play Online Slots?

Free Slot Machines

The fastest and easiest way to play online slots is to find free slot machines. Of course, this page features 10 of the best free online slot machines that you can enjoy right now.

But this isn’t the only site that hosts free slot machines. Thousands of sites host a free version of some of the most popular titles in the world. In fact, if there’s a slot you played at a casino that you’d like to revisit, a simple web search would likely pull up the free version.

You can play free slots via your desktop or mobile browser. These streaming versions of the game require nothing more than a click, and you can start playing. Another option is to play free slots apps, and many exist in both Apple’s App Store and the Google Play store for Android.

The reason people play free slot machines is for a variety of reasons. The most common is simply for entertainment. Like some would play mobile games like Candy Crush or Words with Friends, fans of slot machines like to play the free versions every now and again.

Another good reason is to practice on the free version and take what you learn to the paid version. The goal is to get more wins or improve your Return to Player (RTP).

Legal Online Casinos

Legal online casinos with paid slots only exist in a few US states:

• Delaware

After recent changes in legislation, online casinos will soon launch in Michigan. If you’re not physically located in one of those states, playing real-money online slots is technically breaking the law. At the very least, the online casino operators are violating the law by offering their games to people in the state.

However, the consistent introduction of online gambling legislation in states across the country means that list may grow beyond these five states in the future.

In states where online casinos are legal, you can deposit money, bet on the slots, and withdraw any winnings. Like the brick-and-mortar casinos, the most popular slots at the online casinos have progressive jackpots, which can grow to over a million dollars.

You can also play any of the slots at online casinos for free in “demo mode,” where you’re using practice credits instead of real money. You can often do this before you even create an account.

Sweepstakes Casinos – Slots For Cash Prizes

In all of the US except for the State of Washington, you can legally play at sweepstakes casinos, a category of social gaming that also includes online poker and sports picks. This is a great option in states like California, Florida, and Texas, where real money online casinos are prohibited.

The two main sweepstakes casinos are Chumba Casino and LuckyLand. Both offer a large selection of slots that you can play for two different types of currencies: Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins.

Gold Coins are used simply for fun and can’t be redeemed for a cash prize or gift card. However, you can also play in Sweeps Coins. Any Sweeps Coins that you win can be redeemed for cash prizes or gift cards. You just need to have the minimum number of won Sweeps Coins before you can redeem.

To receive Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, no purchase is required. Once you join, you’re given both types of coins for free to play with. You can also purchase additional Gold Coins. Some Gold Coin packages of include Sweeps Coins.

Check this out to learn more about How To Play Sweepstakes Casinos.

How To Play Slots For Fun Online

Playing free online slots is the same as playing paid online slots, minus the need to deposit any money or even create an account. That’s why playing slots for fun online is free in every US state, including the State of Washington.

You can play any type of slot for free. This includes classic three-reel slots as well as 3D five-reel slots with immersive bonus games and other special features.

The gameplay, including the odds of winning, is the exact same between the free slots and the paid slots. However, if the slot normally has a progressive jackpot, that will be absent from the free version.

Do you need to sign up or deposit to play free online slots?

No. And, in most cases, there’s no way to create an account much less make a deposit.

However, some land-based casino websites, which do offer player accounts, have free online slots on their website. This came into even more prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Can you win playing free online slots?

Yes. Just like in the paid version, you can win without limits on the free online slots. But what you win is additional freeplay credits, and refreshing the web browser will reset your bankroll.

How Do Slots Work?

Slots are by far the most popular casino game for a few key reasons:

• Huge winning potential
• The option to play for low or high stakes
• The gameplay is extremely simple

Once you know the basics of slots, you’ll be able to play any type that you’ll come across. While each title can seem wildly different, they all work in fundamentally the same way.

The object of a slot machine is for a winning combination of symbols to appear when the reels stop. This is true whether it’s a three-reel or a five-reel slot.

Setting Paylines

A winning combination of symbols is based on paylines that run across the reels. A slot can have as few as five paylines or over a hundred.

Usually, the symbol combinations are left to right across the paylines, and each payline can win independently. That means the more paylines you play, the higher your chances of scoring a payout.

In slots, wins are multipliers, not set amounts. So if you’re playing a slot with 25 paylines and your total wager is $5.00, each payline would have a value of $0.20. If one scored a 100x multiplier, you’d win $20.

To play all paylines for the highest possible value, you can select “Max Bet.”

Should You Always Do Max Bet?

No. You should always play with however much you’re able to lose.

However, playing max bet does two things: gives you the best chance of winning the highest possible prizes.

Further, you may need to play Max Bet to qualify for certain prizes, including the progressive jackpot. Check the rules of the specific slot to make sure.

Slot Payback (AKA Return to Player)

A slot’s payback is how much a player can expect to keep of their bankroll based on the average net wins. This is also known as Return to Player (RTP). A high slot payback is 90% or higher, and a low slot payback is 70%.

No slot has an average lifetime payback that’s equal to or greater than 100%. However, some players seek out the games with the highest RTP to ensure the highest chances of regular wins. Others prefer the longshot slots, which have the lowest RTP but normally the highest potential prizes.

Bonus Features

A slot’s biggest selling point aside from the jackpot, RTP, and overall theme are the bonus features. These are usually triggered when three or more “scatter” symbols appear on the reels. You then have the opportunity to win more money, either through free spins, a minigame, or selecting a hidden prize.

Wild Symbols

The Wild symbol usually best matches the theme of the game. For example, Cleopatra is the Wild symbol in the Cleopatra slot.

Wild symbols can take the place of any other symbol aside from the scatter (and possibly other specialty symbols) to create winning combinations. Five wild symbols will often trigger the top prize fixed jackpot.

Progressive Jackpot Slots

When a slot has a progressive jackpot, it means a portion of every bet placed by everyone playing the slot contributes to a running total. The total progressive jackpot continues to increase as people play until it’s won by a lucky player, then it’s reset and starts again.

How to win a progressive jackpot depends on the slot. In some cases, it’s simply randomly awarded at the end of a spin, and you may need to “Bet Max” to qualify. Others will involve a bonus game.

Different Types Of Slot Machines

Because slots are always innovating, it’s difficult to create a list of the different types. Instead, let’s look at the key factors that separate one slot from another.

Number Of Reels

Three-reel slots are usually the simplest, where one payline runs across a maximum of three symbols.

Five-reel slots are the most common and can range from a handful of paylines to 743 All-Ways-Pays slots, which covers every possible combination of symbols going up and down and left to right across the reels.

Four-reel, six-reel, seven-reel, and other slots are pretty much nonexistent in physical casinos but you can find some online relatively easily.

Video Vs. 3D Slots

Video slots are the most common form of five-reel slots and often feature bonus and free spin features. 3D slots are the same, except they use 3D animation and graphics whereas video slots use 2D.

Denominations

Penny slots earned their name by allowing players to bet with just $0.01. But some slots can cost a minimum of $1.00 per spin, and betting the max can make your overall wager climb to as high as $125 or more.

Volatility

When a slot is labeled low volatility, it means it pays out low wins regularly. When it’s labeled high volatility, it means you’ll often go for several spins without winning, but the winning streaks are often larger when they do come.

Coin Play Vs. Paylines

Coin play means you’re simply setting the coin value that applies to the multiplier wins. Some variations, called Buy-Your-Pay Slots, won’t allow you to win certain amounts or activate certain features unless you increase your coin value.

Paylines are either fixed or variable. For both, you set the value of each individual payline, and multiplier wins apply to that payline. But with variable paylines, you can set the number of lines you want to play as well as their value. With fixed paylines, you automatically play all of them.

How To Play Slot Machines

Steam Key Slot Machine Jackpots

Brick-And-Mortar Casinos

The most common place to play slots is at a land-based casino. In most states, casinos are either commercially operated or tribal-owned and located on Native American lands.

The ten states that do not have any land-based casinos are:

• Alaska
• Hawaii
• Georgia
• Utah
• Nebraska
• Kentucky
• South Carolina
• Virginia
• Vermont

The highest concentration of casinos and slot machines in the United States can be found in Las Vegas, Nevada. And not only that, it’s also where you can find the largest jackpots of all time. In fact, the top six biggest casino wins ever were all on Vegas slots.

Slot Machine Key Replacement

Another major hotspot is Atlantic City, New Jersey, where several casinos operate in close proximity. But if you live in the continental United States, there’s a good chance that there’s a casino with over a hundred slot machines within driving distance.

Why are slots the most popular game at the casino?

Slots can make up 75% or more of a casino’s total gambling revenue. That means the rest comes from all table games and poker tables combined. Why? Because slots are fun, attractive, and can turn relatively low wagers into multi-million-dollar payouts.

The Most Popular Slots Offer The Highest Payouts

It should come as no surprise that the easiest way to get people to play a slot is by offering an enormous potential jackpot.

Enter the slots area of a Las Vegas casino, and you’ll find dozens of options with a top prize that can be well into the millions. All it takes is one single spin to win it all. That’s hard to resist.

So it’s no wonder that the progressive jackpots are the most popular. The most talked-about usually is.

Free Online Slots FAQ

Yes. No matter where you’re located in the US, it is completely legal to play free slots online.

Because you’re playing with demo credits rather than real money, it’s not considered gambling. And if you download a free slots mobile app, you don’t even need an internet connection to play.

Yes, you can win real money playing slots online. However, you’ll need to be in one of the three states (DE, NJ, and PA) where it’s legal to win money legally. Michigan and West Virginia will soon offer legal online gambling as well.

To win cash prizes, anyone located in the US (except for the State of Washington) can legally play at sweepstakes casinos, which have a wide range of online slot machines.

You can also play free slots using demo credits that cannot be redeemed for prizes right here at bonus.com and elsewhere.

No. You do not need to create an account to play free slot games online. Even if you’re playing in demo mode at an online casino, you can often simply go to the site and select “play for fun.” Only online casinos and sweepstakes casinos require signup to play.

No. You do not need to download anything to play free online slots. The titles are instantly available directly through your web browser. However, there are a number of free slots on your phone whether on your Android or iOS device.

Slot Machine Door Key

Yes. Most of the popular Las Vegas slots are available to play for free online. That’s because a lot of the gaming software developers provide their titles to both brick-and-mortar casinos as well as online casinos. Plus, the demand for the most popular options make them particularly readily available.

Yes. Because you do not have to create an account, you’re not providing any of your personal information. Unsafe slots are those run by illegal online casinos that take your payment information. Free slots are always completely safe simply because they don’t accept real money.

The benefits of playing free slots include:

Steam Key Slot Machine Troubleshooting

• The ability to play simply for the fun of it.
• Testing a game to see if you like it.
• Practicing strategy before risking real money.
• Placing huge bets that you otherwise wouldn’t want to do.