Encoders

Ruland 4-beam couplings are manufactured from a single piece of aluminum or stainless steel with multiple spiral (helical) cuts allowing for a zero-backlash encoder coupling with higher accuracy and better overall misalignment capabilities than traditional single beam couplings. They are designed with extra flexibility to provide reduced bearing loads, which is critical in encoders which have small sensitive bearings. Ruland 4-beam couplings have a balanced design for reduced vibration at speeds up to 6,000 RPM. Ruland manufactures two series of 4-beam couplings, P and MW, giving designers a variety of performance and dimensional characteristics to choose from. Ruland manufactures 4-beam couplings in our Marlborough, Massachusetts factory with bore sizes ranging from 3/32” to 1/2” or 3mm to 12mm.

Controlflex couplings are a zero-backlash design comprised of two aluminum hubs mated by one or two center inserts allowing for a highly customizable coupling that can match the performance requirements of most encoder systems. Controlflex couplings are lightweight, have low inertia, and have a balanced design for reduced vibration at speeds up to 25,000 RPM. They can have a wide range of bore sizes in a given outer diameter with ratios of large to small bore over 3:1, which is particularly useful in encoders where the motor shaft can be more than twice the size than that of the encoder. The inserts are designed to concentrate forces onto their flexible limbs to reduce bearing loads on sensitive bearings such as those found in encoders. Single and double insert styles are available allowing the designer to select the length and performance characteristics that best meet system requirements. Controlflex couplings are manufactured by Schmidt Kupplung in Wolfenbüttel, Germany and are widely stocked by Ruland for worldwide fulfillment. Bore sizes range from 1/8” to 1-1/2” or 3mm to 40mm.

Ruland bellows couplings are comprised of two anodized aluminum and a stainless steel bellows creating a low inertia zero-backlash coupling that is well suited for speeds up to 10,000 RPM. The thin wall of the bellows allows the coupling to remain flexible under misalignment conditions while maintaining rigidity under torsional loads. They are the most torsionally stiff flexible coupling Ruland offers making them a good fit for encoders that require the highest level of resolution. When designers select a bellows coupling for an encoder they must control for misalignment. While bellows couplings to accommodate all forms of misalignment, they are not as flexible as beam or controlflex types. Bellows couplings are manufactured in our Marlborough, Massachusetts factory with bore sizes ranging from 1/8” to 1” or 3mm to 25mm.

Ruland thin line shaft collars are designed for the narrow shafts commonly found on hollow bore encoders. Encoder shaft collars from Ruland have reduced width, outer diameter, and weights while maintaining the traditional benefits of Ruland clamp style shaft collars including high holding power, precise face to bore perpendicularity, and hardware that tests beyond DIN 912 12.9 standards. Hollow bore encoders usually require a clamping shaft collar to secure the connection between the male motor shaft and female encoder shaft. Designers benefit from Ruland thin line shaft collars having bore sizes with multiple outer diameter and widths to choose from allowing them to match system needs with shaft collar capabilities. Two-piece styles have a balanced design for high speed applications. Encoder shaft collars are available in aluminum for lightweight and high holding power and 303 stainless steel for corrosion resistance. They are manufactured in our Marlborough, Massachusetts factory in bore sizes ranging from 3/16” to 1-1/2” or 5mm to 40mm.