Coupling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search
This article is about a mechanical connection between two objects. For other uses,
see Coupling (disambiguation).
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please
help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Coupling" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March
2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Rotating coupling

An improvised flexible coupling made of car tire pieces connects the drive shafts of an engine and a water
pump. This one is used to cancel out misalignment and vibrations.

A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the
purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces
of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end
movement or both. In a more general context, a coupling can also be a mechanical
device that serves to connect the ends of adjacent parts or objects.[1] Couplings do
not normally allow disconnection of shafts during operation, however there
are torque limiting couplings which can slip or disconnect when some torque limit is
exceeded. Selection, installation and maintenance of couplings can lead to reduced
maintenance time and maintenance cost.

Contents

 1Uses
 2Types
o 2.1Examples of rigid couplings
  2.1.1Beam coupling
 2.1.1.1Bellows coupling
 2.1.2Bushed pin coupling
 2.1.3Bush pin type flange coupling
 2.1.4Constant velocity
 2.1.5Clamp or split-muff coupling
 2.1.6Diaphragm
 2.1.7Disc
 2.1.8Donut coupling
 2.1.9Elastic
 2.1.10Elastomeric coupling
 2.1.11Flexible
 2.1.12Fluid
 2.1.13Gear
 2.1.14Geislinger coupling
 2.1.15Grid
 2.1.16Hirth
 2.1.17Hydrodynamic coupling (fluid coupling)
 2.1.18Jaw coupling (or Spider or Lovejoy coupling)
 2.1.19Magnetic coupling
 2.1.20Schmidt coupling
 2.1.21Oldham
 2.1.22Sleeve, box, or muff coupling
 2.1.23Tapered shaft lock
 2.1.24Twin spring coupling
 2.1.25Rag joint
 2.1.26Universal joint
 3Requirements of good shaft alignment / good coupling set-up
 4Coupling maintenance and failure
 5Checking the coupling balance
 6References
 7External links

Uses[edit]
Shaft couplings are used in machinery for several purposes. A primary function is to
transfer power from one end to another end (ex: motor transfer power to pump
through coupling).
Other common uses:

 To alter the vibration characteristics of rotating units

 To connect driving and the driven part
 To introduce protection
 To reduce the transmission of shock loads from one shaft to another
 To slip when overload occurs

Types[edit]
Clamped or compression rigid couplings come in two parts and fit together around
the shafts to form a sleeve. They offer more flexibility than sleeved models, and can
be used on shafts that are fixed in place. They generally are large enough so that
screws can pass all the way through the coupling and into the second half to ensure
a secure hold. Flanged rigid couplings are designed for heavy loads or industrial
equipment. They consist of short sleeves surrounded by a perpendicular flange. One
coupling is placed on each shaft so the two flanges line up face to face. A series of
screws or bolts can then be installed in the flanges to hold them together. Because
of their size and durability, flanged units can be used to bring shafts into alignment
before they are joined together.
Examples of rigid couplings[edit]
Rigid couplings are used when precise shaft alignment is required; shaft
misalignment will affect the coupling's performance as well as its life.

Beam coupling[edit]

A beam coupling

A beam coupling, also known as helical coupling, is a flexible coupling for

transmitting torque between two shafts while allowing for angular misalignment,
parallel offset and even axial motion, of one shaft relative to the other. This design
utilizes a single piece of material and becomes flexible by removal of material along
a spiral path resulting in a curved flexible beam of helical shape. Since it is made
from a single piece of material, the Beam Style coupling does not exhibit
the backlash found in some multi-piece couplings. Another advantage of being an all
machined coupling is the possibility to incorporate features into the final product
while still keep the single piece integrity.
Changes to the lead of the helical beam provide changes to misalignment
capabilities as well as other performance characteristics such as torque capacity and
torsional stiffness. It is even possible to have multiple starts within the same helix.
The material used to manufacture the beam coupling also affects its performance
and suitability for specific applications such as food, medical and aerospace.
Materials are typically aluminum alloy and stainless steel, but they can also be made
in acetal, maraging steel and titanium. The most common applications are
attaching rotary encoders to shafts and motion control for robotics.

A beam coupling with optional features machined into it

 

Increasing number of coils allows for greater angular misalignment

Bellows coupling[edit]
Metal bellows
low backlash
Bushed pin coupling[edit]
Bush pin type flange coupling[edit]
This is used for slightly imperfect alignment of the two shafts.
This is modified form of the protected type flange coupling. This type of coupling has
pins and it works with coupling bolts. The rubber or leather bushes are used over the
pins. The coupling has two halves dissimilar in construction. The pins are rigidly
fastened by nuts to one of the flange and kept loose on the other flange. This
coupling is used to connect shafts which have a small parallel misalignment, angular
misalignment or axial misalignment. In this coupling the rubber bushing absorbs
shocks and vibration during its operations. This type of coupling is mostly used to
couple electric motors and machines.
Constant velocity[edit]
Main article: Constant-velocity joint
There are various types of constant-velocity (CV) couplings: Rzeppa joint, Double
cardan joint, and Thompson coupling.
Clamp or split-muff coupling[edit]
In this coupling, the muff or sleeve is made into two halves parts of the cast iron and
they are joined together by means of mild steel studs or bolts. The advantages of
this coupling is that assembling or disassembling of the coupling is possible without
changing the position of the shaft. This coupling is used for heavy power
transmission at moderate speed.
Diaphragm[edit]
Diaphragm couplings transmit torque from the outside diameter of a flexible plate to
the inside diameter, across the spool or spacer piece, and then from inside to
outside diameter. The deforming of a plate or series of plates from I.D. to O.D
accomplishes the misalignment.
Disc[edit]
Main article: Disc coupling
Disc couplings transmit torque from a driving to a driven bolt tangentially on a
common bolt circle. Torque is transmitted between the bolts through a series of thin,
stainless steel discs assembled in a pack. Misalignment is accomplished by
deforming of the material between the bolts.
Donut coupling[edit]
Elastic[edit]

An elastic coupling (for connecting a windsurfing sail rig to the board).

An elastic coupling transmits torque or other load by means of an elastic component.

One example is the coupling used to join a windsurfing rig (sail, mast, and
components) to the sailboard.[2] In windsurfing terminology it is usually called a
"universal joint", but modern designs are usually based on a strong flexible material,
and better technically described as an elastic coupling. They can be tendon or
hourglass-shaped, and are constructed of a strong and durable elastic material. In
this application, the coupling does not transmit torque, but instead transmits sail-
power to the board, creating thrust (some portion of sail-power is also transmitted
through the rider's body).
Elastomeric coupling[edit]
Flexible[edit]
Flexible couplings are usually used to transmit torque from one shaft to another
when the two shafts are slightly misaligned. They can accommodate varying degrees
of misalignment up to 1.5° and some parallel misalignment. They can also be used
for vibration damping or noise reduction. In rotating shaft applications a flexible
coupling can protect the driving and driven shaft components (such as bearings)
from the harmful effects of conditions such as misaligned shafts, vibration, shock
loads, and thermal expansion of the shafts or other components.
Fluid[edit]
Main article: Fluid coupling
Gear[edit]

A gear coupling

A gear coupling is a mechanical device for transmitting torque between two shafts
that are not collinear. It consists of a flexible joint fixed to each shaft. The two joints
are connected by a third shaft, called the spindle.
Each joint consists of a 1:1 gear ratio internal/external gear pair. The tooth flanks
and outer diameter of the external gear are crowned to allow for angular
displacement between the two gears. Mechanically, the gears are equivalent
to rotating splines with modified profiles. They are called gears because of the
relatively large size of the teeth.
Gear couplings and universal joints are used in similar applications. Gear couplings
have higher torque densities than universal joints designed to fit a given space while
universal joints induce lower vibrations. The limit on torque density in universal joints
is due to the limited cross sections of the cross and yoke. The gear teeth in a gear
coupling have high backlash to allow for angular misalignment. The excess backlash
can contribute to vibration.
Gear couplings are generally limited to angular misalignments, i.e., the angle of the
spindle relative to the axes of the connected shafts, of 4–5°. Universal joints are
capable of higher misalignments.
Single joint gear couplings are also used to connect two nominally coaxial shafts. In
this application the device is called a gear-type flexible, or flexible coupling. The
single joint allows for minor misalignments such as installation errors and changes in
shaft alignment due to operating conditions. These types of gear couplings are
generally limited to angular misalignments of 1/4–1/2°.

Geislinger coupling[edit]
Giubo ( sometimes misspelled as guibo) , also known as a flex disc, or Boschi joint
Grid[edit]
A grid coupling is composed of two shaft hubs, a metallic grid spring, and a split
cover kit. Torque is transmitted between the two coupling shaft hubs through the
metallic grid spring element.
Like metallic gear and disc couplings, grid couplings have a high torque density. A
benefit of grid couplings, over either gear or disc couplings, is the ability their grid
coupling spring elements have to absorb and spread peak load impact energy over
time. This reduces the magnitude of peak loads and offers some vibration
dampening capability. A negative of the grid coupling design is that it generally is
very limited in its ability to accommodate the misalignment.[3]

Hirth[edit]
Main article: Hirth joint
Hirth joints use tapered teeth on two shaft ends meshed together to transmit torque.

Hydrodynamic coupling (fluid coupling)[edit]

Jaw coupling (or Spider or Lovejoy coupling)[edit]
Magnetic coupling[edit]
Main article: Magnetic coupling
A [magnetic] coupling uses magnetic forces to transmit the power from one shaft to
another without any contact. This allows for full medium separation. Therefore can
provide the ability to hermetically separate two areas whilst continuing to transmit
mechanical power from one to the other making these couplings ideal for
applications where prevention of cross contamination is essential.
Schmidt coupling[edit]
Oldham[edit]
Animated Oldham coupler

An Oldham coupling has three discs, one coupled to the input, one coupled to the
output, and a middle disc that is joined to the first two by tongue and groove. The
tongue and groove on one side is perpendicular to the tongue and groove on the
other. The middle disc rotates around its center at the same speed as the input and
output shafts. Its center traces a circular orbit, twice per rotation, around the midpoint
between input and output shafts. Often springs are used to reduce backlash of the
mechanism. An advantage to this type of coupling, as compared to two universal
joints, is its compact size. The coupler is named for John Oldham who invented it
in Ireland, in 1821, to solve a problem in a paddle steamer design.

Oldham coupler, assembled

Oldham coupler, disassembled

Sleeve, box, or muff coupling[edit]
A sleeve coupling consists of a pipe whose bore is finished to the required tolerance
based on the shaft size. Based on the usage of the coupling a keyway is made in the
bore in order to transmit the torque by means of the key. Two threaded holes are
provided in order to lock the coupling in position.
Sleeve couplings are also known as box Couplings. In this case shaft ends are
coupled together and abutted against each other which are enveloped
by muff or sleeve.
A gib head sunk keys hold the two shafts and sleeve together (this is the simplest
type of the coupling) It is made from the cast iron and very simple to design and
manufacture. It consists of a hollow pipe whose inner diameter is same as diameter
of the shafts. The hollow pipe is fitted over a two or more ends of the shafts with the
help of the taper sunk key. A key and sleeve are useful to transmit power from one
shaft to another shaft.
Tapered shaft lock[edit]
A tapered lock is a form of keyless shaft locking device[4] that does not require any
material to be removed from the shaft. The basic idea is similar to a clamp coupling
but the moment of rotation is closer to the center of the shaft.[5] An
alternative coupling device to the traditional parallel key, the tapered lock removes
the possibility of play due to worn keyways.[6][7][8] It is more robust than using a key
because maintenance only requires one tool and the self-centering balanced rotation
means it lasts longer than a keyed joint would, but the downside is that it costs more.
[citation needed]

Twin spring coupling[edit]

A flexible coupling made from two counterwound springs with a ball bearing in the
center, which allows torque transfer from input to output shaft. Requires no
lubrication to consistently run as it has no internal components.[9]
Rag joint[edit]
Main article: Rag joint
Rag joints are commonly used on automotive steering linkages and drive trains.
When used on a drive train they are sometimes known as giubos.
Universal joint[edit]
Main article: Universal joint

Requirements of good shaft alignment / good

coupling set-up[edit]
Main article: Shaft alignment

 easy to connect or disconnect the coupling.

 does allow some misalignment between the two adjacent shaft rotation axes.
 no projecting parts
 goal should be to minimise the remaining misalignment in running operation so
as to maximise power transmission and to maximise machine runtime (coupling,
bearing and sealing's lifetime).
 It is recommended to use manufacturer's alignment target values to set up the
machine train to a defined non-zero alignment, due to the fact that later, when
the machine is at operation temperature, the alignment condition is perfect

Coupling maintenance and failure[edit]

Coupling maintenance requires a regularly scheduled inspection of each coupling. It
consists of:

 Performing visual inspections,

 checking for signs of wear or fatigue
 cleaning couplings regularly
 Checking and changing lubricant regularly if the coupling is lubricated. This
maintenance is required annually for most couplings and more frequently for
couplings in adverse environments or in demanding operating conditions.
 Documenting the maintenance performed on each coupling, along with the date.
[10]
Even with proper maintenance, however, couplings can fail. Underlying reasons for
failure, other than maintenance, include:

 Improper installation
 Poor coupling selection
 Operation beyond design capabilities.[10]
The only way to improve coupling life is to understand what caused the failure and to
correct it prior to installing a new coupling. Some external signs that indicate
potential coupling failure include:

 Abnormal noise, such as screeching, squealing or chattering

 Excessive vibration or wobble
 Failed seals indicated by lubricant leakage or contamination.[10]

Checking the coupling balance[edit]

Couplings are normally balanced at the factory prior to being shipped, but they
occasionally go out of balance in operation. Balancing can be difficult and expensive,
and is normally done only when operating tolerances are such that the effort and the
expense are justified. The amount of coupling unbalance that can be tolerated by
any system is dictated by the characteristics of the specific connected machines and
can be determined by detailed analysis or experience.