Proper alignment is universally accepted as critical to the life of machinery. Misalignment can be disastrous, leading to bearing failure, bent rotors or crankshafts, bearing housing damage, and decreased motor efficiency.
A lot of time and money is spent performing precision alignment of rotating machinery, but achieving satisfactory alignment is sometimes out of the user’s control. Misalignment often happens before the final product hits its destination.
Since it’s difficult to control parallel misalignment closely during the assembly process, Ruland Manufacturing Co. Inc., looked inside the structure of the assembly itself. Its solution—redesign the couplings.
The company’s Oldham couplings accommodate large amounts of parallel misalignment with light bearing loads, and they protect delicate bearings and seals. They also handle small amounts of angular misalignment and axial motion.
The three-piece couplings comprise two hubs and a floating center disc. The center disc is the torque-transmitting element. To transmit torque, the slots in the center disc are mated with the drive tenons on the hubs. The slots fit with a slight press fit. They sit on opposite sides of the disc and are oriented 90° apart. Because of the press fit, the coupling with acetal disc operates with zero backlash. In operation, the center disc slides on the tenon of the hub to accommodate misalignment.
Ruland Manufacturing Co. Inc.
www.ruland.com
Filed Under: Couplings, Motion control • motor controls
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