Who knew that something so small could make such a big difference in complex applications? We did, that’s who. Couplings—from bellows to jaw and Oldham to disc—are used in almost every motion control application to manage misalignment while transmitting torque from one shaft to another. They are often considered a commodity product but are too critical to overlook in system design. And these small components, which range in size from millimeters to many feet in diameter, are one of many key components used in massive applications.
As the new editor for this website, I’ve been doing some research to get myself reacquainted with the couplings industry and I’ve stumbled across some cool applications of these components that I just thought I’d like to share. And once you’re on these websites, stick around. There are more plenty of cool applications to check out!
First up is this interactive graphic from Lord Corp., which indicates where on a wind turbine its components—including drive train couplings—are used. Pretty cool!
Mission-critical applications rely on couplings as well, such as in the tight control needed for airplanes, as indicated by European Motion Control’s applications page.
I especially like the images and brief descriptions at R+W, where they highlight some of the high-speed applications their lightweight breakaway couplings are used in, such as in packaging or machine tool machinery.
Finally, this application story from Zero-Max highlights its use of CD couplings on a huge pipe-bending machine. When you see the image of the machine, which takes up a huge space on the shop floor, and then see the images of the couplings in a later series of photos, it’s hard to deny that these tiny devices can help transmit a lot of power.