The Woodruff Keys is so called because of its manufacturing method. It consists of a semicircular key seat on the shaft surface which holds the key. The key is in the shape of a section of a circle. This type of key tends to have a lesser shear strength than compared to that of a rectangular or square key. Woodruff keys are semicircular shaped, such that, when installed, leave a protruding tab. The keyway in the shaft is a semi-circular pocket, the mating part, a longitudinal slot. They are used to improve the concentricity of the shaft and the mating part, which is critical for high speed operation. The main advantage of the Woodruff key is that it eliminates milling a keyway near shaft shoulders, which already have stress concentrations.

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