Live shaft rollers are rolls mounted in external bearings where the roll shafts (or journals) rotate with the roll.

Live Shaft Idler Rolls are generally used where the web or the environment challenges roll integrity or performance. Some examples are:

High Loads
Mounted in self-aligning bearings, live shaft rolls are capable of handling higher loads than comparable dead shaft idlers.

Elevated Temperature
Live shaft idlers can handle substantially elevated temperatures with proper venting. This makes live shaft idlers ideal in oven applications where an elevated temperature or solvent atmosphere would quickly destroy some dead shaft roller bearings.

Harsh Environments
By positioning the roller bearings out of the immediate web path, exposure to process contaminates is minimized. That's why live shaft rolls are often ideal in applications where chemicals, dust or vapors commonly destroy dead shaft roll bearings.

Driven Rolls
With the addition of a drive pulley or sprocket, a live shaft roll can be driven.