By Aiden ArmstrongTake a motor and a piece of machinery that needs it to run smoothly. How do you connect the two? That’s where Rexnord Couplings come in. As one of the simplest pieces of power transmission, couplings connect two shafts in a piece of machinery to transfer the kinetic energy between them, typically in a manner that produces the least amount of wear and tear, and is most efficient at preventing energy loss over distance.
To accommodate the task, couplings come in two general flavors: rigid and flexible. Which one you need is based on the amount of variation in the angle between your two pieces of machinery. Say you’re working on combining a pump and an electric motor. While a rigid coupling would do well if both are in a fixed position and perfectly aligned, a flexible Rexnord Couplings can account for a few degrees of misalignment without much energy loss.
The Difference Between Rigid and Flexible Rexnord Couplings
As per Pumps and Systems, rigid couplings transmit more power, but can only be used in applications that present perfect alignment. Flexible couplings can make up for some misalignment, but transmit less power. They’re often preferred because of the potential for misalignment in many mechanical processes.
Between the two is a world of selection, but the specifics remain the same. Rigid couplings are either sleeved or flanged. One type covers both shafts, while the other is composed of two parts attached to the ends of each shaft and is fastened typically with rivets.
In flexible couplings, misalignment comes in four types. Two are always handled, while special flexible couplings are needed for the other two. Angular misalignment happens when the shafts aren’t parallel to one another. Parallel misalignment happens when they don’t share the same rotation axis, while being parallel.
If you buy flexible Rexnord couplings from a company they’ll always be able to take care of angular and parallel misalignment, but not necessarily torsional flexibility and the possibility of end float.
