This Ruland polished aluminum clamping four beam coupling is intended for use in angular, parallel, and axial misalignment scenarios requiring zero backlash and less weight and quicker response time than a stainless steel coupler has. Beam couplings, a type of flexible coupling, use one or more spiral slots cut in a single piece of metal rod to form a "spring" center section, referred to as a helical coil or beam. The beam portions of the coupling flex to accommodate misalignment while continuing to convey power between the attached shafts. With four beams, each flex point corrects for a specific misalignment, which helps prevent stress on shaft bearings. This beam coupling corrects angular misalignment up to 3 degrees, parallel misalignment up to 0.38 mm, and axial motion up to 0.25 mm. This beam coupling's clamp-style mount can be installed or replaced without moving the shafts, which eases installation. Its single-piece construction provides longer service life than couplings with moving parts. The polished aluminum coupling is resistant to corrosion and can operate in temperatures ranging from -40 to 225 degrees F. This Ruland clamping four beam coupling is suitable for use in light duty applications such as coupling a servo motor to a lead screw in a motion control system.
Flexible couplings are used to link two rotating shafts that are not aligned in order to transmit the rotational power, known as torque, from one shaft to the other. Most flexible couplings consist of two hubs and a middle assembly; each hub attaches to a shaft while the middle assembly flexes between the hubs to accommodate the misalignment of the two shafts. Shaft misalignments are generally either parallel or angular and cause complications to transmitting rotational power from one shaft to another in the form of stresses, loads, vibrations, and other forces, which vary from one type of misalignment to another. Flexible couplings are used in a broad range of applications, such as in motor vehicles, conveyors, escalators, agricultural, forestry and mining equipment, aeronautics, robotics and space exploration, among others.
Ruland manufactures shaft collars, rigid couplings, and zero-backlash motion control couplings. The company, founded in 1937 and headquartered in Marlborough, MA, complies with Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) standards.
