Stainless-steel couplings boast superior torque

Ruland Manufacturing Co now uses type 303 stainless steel on its stainless-steel beam couplings.

Ruland Manufacturing Co now uses type 303 stainless steel on its stainless steel beam couplings.

Stainless-steel beam couplings offer superior torque and wind-up performance, though with higher inertia, than their aluminium counterparts.

Type 303 stainless steel also has a mechanical performance comparable to other widely used types of stainless steel such as 17-4PH, but offers additional features including nonmagnetic properties that are useful for magnetic-sensitive instrumentation such as magnetometers.

Beam-style couplings are one-piece stainless-steel or aluminium components, which incorporate spiral cuts to accommodate angular misalignment, parallel misalignment and axial motion.

The one-piece design and cut pattern ensure zero backlash and minimal wind-up.

Flexbeam-2 couplings incorporate two sets of two spiral cuts.

They are designed specifically for precision applications, especially those that use delicate components such as encoders and tachometers.

The small bearings on these components make low radial forces essential to longevity and continued high performance.

The Flexbeam-2 provides extra flexibility to yield reduced bearing loads.

It is shorter than the Flexbeam-3 and conforms to industry standard lengths, fitting in confined spaces and allowing for easy retrofits in existing equipment.

At the same time, the multiple cut pattern provides excellent torque capabilities and low wind-up when compared to single beam couplings.

Flexbeam-3 couplings also incorporate two sets of two spiral cuts, but are ideal for light duty power transmission applications such as coupling a servo motor to a lead screw in a motion control system.

The couplings feature larger body sizes and stronger beams to provide high torque capacity and very low wind-up, while not sacrificing misalignment capabilities.

The demanding nature of reversing servo applications makes the performance benefits delivered by the Flexbeam-3 vital to maintaining the accuracy, repeatability and reliability of the system.

Ruland offers Flexbeam couplings as standard parts in 20 different body sizes with outside diameters ranging from 10 to 38mm and bores from 2 to 19mm.

Special designs, cut patterns suitable for specific applications, keyways and threaded bores are also offered.

Flexbeam couplings are part of Ruland's line of shaft collars, rigid couplings, and five types of zero-backlash motion control couplings: beam couplings, bellows couplings, oldham couplings, miniature disc couplings and curved jaw couplings.

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