Ruland offers new bellows and disc couplings

These couplings are commonly employed in high-torque applications prevalent in precision semiconductor, solar, conveyor, and factory automation settings where such shaft sizes are used. Ruland's disc and bellows couplings are adept at accommodating various forms of misalignment, ensuring zero backlash and featuring a balanced design to minimise vibration at speeds reaching up to 10,000 rpm.

Ruland's bellows couplings exhibit the highest torque and torsional stiffness capacity among its range of flexible couplings. Constructed from two anodised aluminium hubs coupled with a stainless steel bellows, these couplings maintain flexibility under misalignment conditions while retaining rigidity under torsional loads due to the thin walls of the bellows.

In contrast, double disc couplings offer increased misalignment tolerance compared to bellows couplings at the expense of torque and stiffness. Comprising two anodised aluminium hubs, two sets of disc springs, and an anodised aluminium centre spacer, the double disc design enables the sets of disc springs to operate independently for comprehensive misalignment capabilities.

"The expansion of our bellows and disc coupling product lines to incorporate couplings with higher torque capacity, allows designers to use a Ruland coupling with larger shafting," said Bill Hewitson, President of Ruland Manufacturing. "Through our design process and rigorous physical product testing, we are bringing to market couplings that exceed what is currently available. I look forward to partnering with our many OEM and distribution customers on these new products."

Ruland manufactures disc and bellows couplings from carefully selected North American bar stock in 2024 aluminium, prioritising lightweight and low inertia. These couplings are available with clamp-style hubs, with or without keyways, across bore sizes ranging from 3 mm (1/8 in) to 45 mm (1-3/4 in). They are manufactured at Ruland's ISO 9001:2015 certified advanced manufacturing facility in Marlborough, Massachusetts, under stringent quality controls utilising proprietary processes. Additionally, they adhere to RoHS3, REACH, and Conflict Minerals compliance standards.