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Food Processing

Food processing equipment require a diverse range of components due to various requirements in the operating environment such as washdown, high temperature, and caustic chemicals. Ruland manufactures shaft collars and couplings in a variety of sizes, styles, and materials and supplies adjustable handles, modular mounting systems, universal joints, and other components to meet these demands. Design engineers benefit from using Ruland because they can select many standard in-stock parts from a single source.

About

Shaft Collars

Shaft collars are one of the most common components found on food processing equipment due to their variety of standard sizes, styles, and materials. Food processing equipment has different hygienic requirements depending on what part of the system the components are on. Ruland manufactures shaft collars in 1215 lead-free steel for high holding power in applications that do not have high hygienic requirements. For applications requiring high levels of corrosion resistance and/or chemical washdown Ruland manufactures 303 and 316 stainless steel shaft collars with hardware of like material. As a cost effective alternative in light duty applications, such as guiding and spacing, plastic collars are offered with stainless steel hardware.

Ruland manufactures the widest in-stock range of set screw and clamp style shaft collars allowing designers to select and procure the right part quickly. Set screw shaft collars affix to the shaft through a single forged set screw requiring the material of the shaft to be softer than that of the screw. They are best used in light duty applications such as guiding or spacing where the collar will not need to be adjusted or repositioned.

Clamp style shaft collars are an advancement over set screw type because they do not mar the shaft, are infinitely adjustable, and have increased holding power. They wrap around the shaft allowing for even distribution of clamping forces for higher holding power and a precise fit. Ruland maintains tight face to bore perpendicularity (TIR of ≤ .002" or 0.05mm) which is critical when the collar is used to align components on a shaft or used as an axial stop such as on a cylinder. They are manufactured in one- and two-piece clamp styles. Two-piece Ruland shaft collars are mated throughout the manufacturing process to ensure a precise fit and can be serviced in-place.

Ruland offers shaft collars for food processing equipment in bore sizes range from 1/8” to 6” or 3mm to 150mm. They are carefully manufactured in our Massachusetts USA factory to a fine burr-free finish.

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Shaft Collars
Quick Clamping Shaft Collars

Ruland offers two types of quick clamping shaft collars – with cam lever and with clamping lever – which require no tools for installation, adjustment, or removal. Quick clamping shaft collars with cam lever have an integral lever that can be finger actuated. It sits flush with the outside diameter of the collar body requiring no clearance during operation of the equipment. The design features a stainless steel tension-adjustment screw that can be adjusted to tailor axial holding power to the needs of food processing equipment. Quick clamping shaft collars with cam lever are one-piece clamp style and require shaft end access to install properly. They are best suited for light duty and low RPM applications where frequent change outs of items including media, guide rails, or other setup fixturing is required. Ruland manufactures handles in 6063 aluminum and bodies in 6061 aluminum with bore sizes from 1/4" (6mm) to 3” (75mm). They have an anodized finish for corrosion resistance

Quick clamping shaft collars with clamping lever feature a Ruland manufactured shaft collar combined with an adjustable clamping lever that replaces standard hardware. This creates a shaft collar with a ratcheting handle that can easily be installed, removed, or repositioned without tools. They have the benefits of traditional Ruland shaft collars such as not marring the shaft, tightly controlled face to bore perpendicularity (TIR of ≤ .002" or 0.05mm), and a fine burr-free finish allowing them to be used in a wide range of food processing applications. The shaft collar is offered in standard materials including: 1215 lead-free steel with a black oxide or zinc plated finish, 303 and 316 stainless steel, high strength 2024 aluminum with or without an anodized finish, and engineered plastic. The lever is sourced from JW Winco and features a zinc plated handle with a stainless steel threaded stud and internal components.

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Quick Clamping Shaft Collars
Rigid Couplings

Ruland rigid couplings are commonly used in food processing equipment for torque transmission or shaft to shaft connections. They are zero-backlash and have high torsional stiffness and torque capabilities making them an ideal solution for food processing equipment where motors are connected to a gearboxes, lead or ball screws, or conveyors. Ruland is the only manufacturer that precision hones straight bore rigid couplings to ensure bores are collinear for precise fit and greater torque transmission ability. Proprietary Nypatch® anti-vibration coating is used on clamp style hardware that allows for even seating of the screw, repeated screw installations, and prevents galling, which is especially useful in food processing applications requiring stainless steel.

Ruland manufactures rigid couplings in set screw and clamp screw types. Set screw styles are best suited for lighter duty applications where vibration is limited to prevent hardware from coming loose during operation. Clamp style rigid couplings wrap evenly around the shaft for precise fit and increase torque capabilities. Two-piece styles can be serviced in-place and have a balanced design for reduced vibration. Ruland manufactures rigid couplings in 1215 lead-free steel with a black oxide finish for high torque, lightweight 2024 aluminum for low inertia, and 303 stainless steel for increased corrosion resistance in bore sizes ranging from 1/8” (3mm) to 2” (50mm).

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Rigid Couplings
Stainless Steel Oldham Couplings

Ruland now manufactures standard oldham couplings hubs in 303 stainless steel for food processing equipment. Oldham couplings are a three piece assembly comprised of two hubs mated by a center disk. Disks are available in acetal for high torque, nylon for dampening and noise reduction, and PEEK for high temperature and hygienic environments. This allows designers the ability to select a disk that matches the desired performance of the application. Food processing equipment designers looking for a coupling that can survive high temperature washdown environments often use the stainless steel hubs combined with a PEEK disk.

Ruland manufactures oldham couplings with a zero-backlash balanced design for reduced vibration at speeds up to 4500 RPM. The three piece design allows for a high amount of customizability with the designer being able to select clamp or set screw hubs with keyed, keyless, inch, and metric bores. Oldham couplings are a good starting point for applications connecting a motor to a ball or lead screw, conveyor, or gearbox.

Ruland stainless steel oldham coupling hubs are carefully manufactured in our Marlborough, Massachusetts USA factory under strict controls using proprietary processes with bore sizes ranging from 1/8” to 3/4" or 3mm to 20mm.

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Stainless Steel Oldham Couplings
Beam Couplings

Ruland beam couplings are manufactured from a single piece of aluminum or stainless steel with multiple spiral (helical) cuts allowing for a zero-backlash coupling with higher accuracy and better overall misalignment capabilities than traditional single beam couplings. They are manufactured in 4-beam style for increased misalignment and 6-beam style for higher torque and torsional stiffness capabilities. Beam couplings are best suited for light duty packaging applications such as encoders, belt driven conveyors, and motor to ball screw connections. They have more windup than other styles of flexible couplings giving beam couplings dampening capabilities that are useful in lower torque applications with frequent starts and stops. Beam couplings are manufactured in our Marlborough, Massachusetts factory in bore sizes ranging from 3/32” to 3/4" or 3mm to 20mm.

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Beam Couplings
Adjustable Handles

Adjustable handles are a mechanical component designed to replace standard metric or inch hardware in food processing equipment where the use of tools is not desired or convenient. They are most commonly used to adjust the width and/or height of conveyor rail mounts, sensors, and slicers. Additionally, handles can be used to keep plexiglass guards in-place during operation while offering an easy solution to remove them when the machine has been safely locked out.

Handles are an assembly comprised of a handle, spring, serration, inlay, and threaded stud or threaded hole. Users simply turn the handle by hand to loosen and tighten, significantly reducing the time it takes to reposition components on a shaft. The handles are available with glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic for lightweight and powder coated zinc steel for corrosion resistance and durability. They come in black which is suitable to most food processing applications and orange for safety or easy identification. Inserts are available in steel for high holding power and stainless steel for increased corrosion resistance. The variety of standard stock options offered allows food processing equipment designers flexibility to select the right part for the application. It is common to see the same conveyor with multiple handle styles. They are sourced from JW Winco and stocked in our Marlborough, Massachusetts factory.

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Adjustable Handles
Modular Mounting Systems

Modular mounting systems are a series of components that fit together to make adjustable sensor mounts, adjustable conveyor rail mounts and other adjustable assemblies. Traditionally, the designer must select these components individually and combine them to make a complete system. This is time consuming and leads to a lack of standardization that may be confusing or undesirable for customers. Ruland has greatly simplified this process by offering predesigned systems for the most common applications. They have some degree of flexibility such as allowing users to select tubes with or without scale and the number of adjustable levers that can be used, but the options are intentionally limited to speed up the design process. If users want to start from scratch, Ruland has put together a quick tutorial on how to select the various components to ensure they fit together. All modular mounting system components are sourced from JW Winco and stocked in our Marlborough, Massachusetts factory.

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Modular Mounting Systems
Vibration Isolation Mounts and Rubber Bumpers

Vibration isolation mounts and rubber bumpers are cylindrical and have a metallic core encased in a rubber jacket with threaded components that allow them to be connected to many different types of equipment or flat surfaces. Vibration isolation mounts have a threaded stud or tapped hole on both flat ends to connect two parts of a machine together. They are ideally suited as shock or vibration isolators sandwiched between two machine components or surfaces. Rubber bumpers have a threaded stud or tapped hole on one end and a rubber jacket over the other to act as end stops or mounting feet. The rubber jackets have 55 shore A durometer for a balance of shock absorption and rigidity. The metallic cores are made from 304 stainless steel for high corrosion resistance and can be used in washdown applications. The zinc-plated steel cores have higher strength and are ideal for general purpose use. All vibration isolation mounts and rubber bumpers are sourced from JW Winco and stocked in our Marlborough, Massachusetts factory.

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Vibration Isolation Mounts and Rubber Bumpers
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