Ruland has expanded its range of short rigid couplings to include keyways and step bore sizes. This expansion gives designers a wider variety of standard short rigid coupling options for applications with space or weight restrictions or where designers prefer a simplified assembly with fewer screws than traditional rigid couplings.
Many servo-driven applications in industries such as semiconductor, medical, packaging, and robotics require a coupling with torque and torsional stiffness needs that exceed the capacity of a flexible coupling. While a traditional rigid coupling meets the performance requirements, they often have different envelope requirements. Short rigid couplings offer significantly more torque and torsional stiffness than flexible couplings while fitting in a similar envelope. With keyways and step bore sizes, designers now have the widest variety of standard short rigid couplings to choose from to fit the needs of their application.
Short rigid couplings are available in steel for the highest torque and torsional stiffness capabilities, stainless steel for corrosion resistance, and aluminium for low inertia. Designers must be careful when interchanging traditional flexible couplings for steel and stainless steel short rigid couplings that significantly increase inertia. Ruland manufactures short rigid couplings in one- and two-piece clamping styles. They are available in straight or step bore combinations with or without keyways in bore sizes ranging from 6 mm to 25 mm or 1/8 inch to 2 inches.
