Ruland Manufacturing – Shaft Couplings and Shaft Collars

Rigid Couplings

Rigid shaft couplings are available with or without keyways in one- and two-piece and set screw designs. Ruland manufactures them from select North American bar stock in 2024 aluminum for lightweight and low inertia, 1215 lead-free steel for general purpose use, and 303 stainless steel for high corrosion resistance. Straight and step bore type rigid couplings are standard products for shafts ranging from 1/8 in. to 2 in. and 3mm to 50mm.

Servo Couplings

Ruland servo couplings are available in a variety of styles, sizes, and materials to match different application requirements. Choosing the correct servo coupling involves many performance factors including: shaft misalignment, RPM, space requirements, torque, etc. Matching a shaft coupling with these factors is critical to system performance.

Beam Couplings

Ruland offers three series of zero-backlash beam couplings in inch or metric dimensions with bores ranging from 3/32 in. (3mm) to 3/4 in. (20mm). Flexible beam couplings are machined from a single piece of material and feature multiple helical cuts. This design provides higher torque capabilities and reduced wind-up when compared to commodity type single beam couplings. They can accommodate all forms of misalignment and have a balanced design for reduced vibration at high RPM.

Bellows Couplings

Ruland bellows couplings are comprised of two anodized aluminum hubs and a stainless steel bellows. This design creates a low inertia zero-backlash coupling with long life properties. The thin wall of the bellows allows the coupling to remain flexible under misalignment conditions while maintaining rigidity under torsional loads. Bellows couplings can accommodate all forms of misalignment and have a balanced design for reduced vibration at high speeds up to 10,000 RPM. They are best suited for applications with limited misalignment where high torque and precise positioning are required.

Disc Couplings

Ruland manufactures disc couplings in single and double disc styles with bores in inch, metric, and inch to metric combinations ranging from 1/8 in. to 1-1/4 in. and 3mm to 32mm. They utilize thin stainless steel disc springs that allow for a substantial amount of shaft misalignment while remaining rigid under torsional loads. Hubs are manufactured from lightweight 2024 anodized aluminum for low inertia.

Jaw Couplings

Ruland zero-backlash jaw couplings and are a three-piece assembly with a balanced design comprised of two hubs and an elastomeric insert called a spider. Users can combine clamp and set screw hubs with inch, metric, keyed, and keyless bores in sizes ranging from 1/8 in. to 1-1/4 in. and 3mm to 32mm. The polyurethane spider dampens impulse loads, minimizing shock to the motor and other sensitive components.

Oldham Couplings

Ruland Oldham couplings are a three-piece assembly with a balanced design comprised of two hubs and a center disk. This allows for a highly customizable coupling that allows the user to combine clamp and set screw hubs with inch, metric, keyed, and keyless bores in sizes ranging from 1/8 in. to 1-1/8 in. and 3mm to 30mm. Oldham couplings can accommodate small amounts of angular and axial misalignment and they are especially useful in parallel misalignment accommodating up to 10% of their OD in misalignment.

Controlflex Couplings

Ruland Controlflex couplings are a three-piece assembly with two hubs joined to one or two center inserts called frogs. Clamp style hubs are manufactured with inch, metric, keyed, and keyless bores ranging from 1/8 in. to 1-1/2 in. and 3mm to 40mm. The unique design of the frog concentrates forces onto its flexible limbs allowing for low bearing loads and protecting small bearings. They are electrically isolating since the hubs do not touch and frogs are made from acetal. They are manufactured by Schmidt-Kupplung and RoHS3 compliant.

Slit Couplings

Ruland slit couplings are high performance with high misalignment accommodation. They are manufactured by Reliance Precision from a single piece of 7075 aluminum for low inertia and have a balanced design for reduced vibration at speeds up to 70,000 RPM. The patented slit design has radiused edges that reduce stress on the coupling allowing for high misalignment and torsional stiffness with low bearing loads.

Universal Joints (U-Joints)

Ruland universal joints are available in single and double configurations with friction or needle bearings. Single U-joints have two yokes and a trunnion assembly to allow for use in confined spaces and angular misalignment up to 45 degrees. Double U-joints have two yokes, two trunnion assemblies, and a center yoke to allow for larger gaps between shafts, parallel misalignment, and angular misalignment up to 90 degrees.

U-joints are manufactured from high-grade alloy steel for high strength and stainless steel for corrosion resistance and available with or without keyways in bore sizes from 3/16 in. to 2 in., 5mm to 35mm, or machinable bores. Universal joints from Ruland are manufactured by Belden Universal.

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