Semiconductor & Solar

Ruland oldham couplings are a three-piece assembly comprised of two anodized aluminum or stainless steel hubs and a center disk as the torque transmitting element. Hubs are manufactured in clamp and set screw style with inch, metric, keyed, or keyless bores. Designers can choose between acetal for zero-backlash and high torque, nylon for dampening and noise reduction, and PEEK for high temperature, corrosion resistance, and low outgassing. This level of variety allows for the oldham coupling to easily be specified throughout the machine based on the performance requirements of each application.
Aluminum oldham coupling hubs are lightweight, cost effective, and have low inertia. These properties make them useful in stop-and-go systems that require precise motion control such as in wafer handling. Stainless steel oldham couplings can be used in corrosive, high temperature, and vacuum environments when paired with a PEEK disk. Designers do need to consider that the use of stainless steel has increased mass resulting in higher inertia than aluminum hubs. All hubs undergo a proprietary machining process allowing for smooth interaction with the disk resulting in the longest service life in the industry.
Ruland oldham couplings can accommodate up to 10% of the coupling outer diameter in parallel misalignment while maintaining low bearing loads and zero backlash operation. They have a balanced design for reduced vibration at speeds up to 4,500 RPM. Oldham couplings can act as a torque limiter because if the disk fails it will break cleanly and cease power transmission, potentially protecting expensive machine components. Bore sizes are available from 1/8” to 1-1/8” and 3mm to 30mm.

Ruland zero-backlash jaw couplings are a three piece assembly comprised of two lightweight aluminum hubs and an insert called the “spider.” Hubs are machined with a proprietary curved profile that press fits onto the spider for zero-backlash operation. The curved profile also concentrates the forces to the center of the spider’s limbs, improving the effectiveness of the material.
Spiders are available in three durometers, allowing designers to balance torsional rigidity, torque capacity, bearing loads, and dampening for their applications. The dampening characteristics of Ruland jaw couplings reduce settling time and shock loads in start and stop machine vision systems used in the semiconductor and solar industries, making them ideal for precision applications with high acceleration/deceleration curves. Jaw couplings are considered failsafe because if the spider fails, hubs interlock resulting in direct power transmission allowing the machine to be shutdown safely. Replacing the spider will restore the original performance characteristics of the coupling, significantly reducing maintenance costs when compared to coupling styles that require complete replacement.
Bore sizes are available from 1/8” to 1-1/4” and 3mm to 32mm. The three piece design allows the user to mix and match clamp or set screw hubs with inch, metric, or keyless bores making it easier to tailor the coupling to specific system requirements.

Semiconductor and solar equipment such as wafer handlers, screen printers, and bonders often require rapid, short, precise movements to precisely position wafers, panels, or chips. The high torsional stiffness and torque capabilities of Ruland disc couplings make them an excellent choice for these highly accurate systems in applications with speeds up to 10,000 RPM. Disc couplings have similar performance to bellows couplings with slightly less torque capacity in exchange for greater misalignment capabilities.
Ruland manufactures single and double disc couplings to meet the needs of semiconductor and solar applications. Single disc couplings are comprised of two lightweight anodized aluminum hubs joined by stainless steel disc springs. They are ideal for space constrained applications but cannot accommodate parallel misalignment. Double disc couplings are made from two lightweight anodized aluminum hubs, an anodized aluminum or electrically-isolating acetal spacer disk, and stainless steel disc springs. This design allows for equivalent torque and torsional stiffness as the single type with the ability to accommodate all forms of misalignment.
Ruland disc couplings have a balanced design for reduced vibration at speeds up to 10,000 RPM. They are available with clamp or set screw hubs. Bores can be keyed or unkeyed and are available in sizes from 1/8” to 1-1/4” and 3mm to 32mm with or without keyways.

Zero-backlash slit couplings are manufactured from a single piece of aluminum with intermittent slit cuts allowing for high torque and torsional stiffness capabilities, low inertia, and a long maintenance free life. The proprietary slit pattern with radiused edges reduces stresses that build up during misalignment conditions and torque loads allowing for reduced wear and stress on the coupling.
Slit couplings are a high performance coupling that balance torque, misalignment, and torsional stiffness capabilities making them suitable for a variety of semiconductor and solar applications. Their torque capacity is comparable to that of a single disc coupling with misalignment accommodation like an aluminum beam coupling and torsional stiffness like a stainless steel beam coupling. This combination results in a well-balanced coupling that can be used in demanding applications with high misalignment. Ruland offers slit couplings in RL- and RS-series. RL-series couplings have longer lengths allowing for greater parallel misalignment and increased torsional stiffness. RS-series couplings are designed to fit in compact spaces and offer parallel misalignment capabilities, an advantage over single disc couplings in certain applications. Both series can accommodate all forms of misalignment with low bearing loads and have a balanced design for speeds up to 70,000 RPM.
Slit couplings are available in clamp screw and set screw designs with inch, metric, and inch to metric bore sizes ranging from 1/8” to 3/8” and 1.5mm to 12mm. They are manufactured by Reliance Precision Ltd. in their Cork, Ireland factory. Ruland stock and bores to size slit couplings in our Marlborough, MA factory for immediate delivery.

Ruland offers the widest range of standard off the shelf shaft collars designed for semiconductor and solar equipment. They are manufactured in set screw and one- and two-piece clamp style. Given the demands of semiconductor and solar applications, designers prefer clamp style because they do not mar the shaft, are infinitely adjustable, and have higher holding power when compared to set screw types. Ruland mates halves of two-piece collars throughout the manufacturing process for proper fit and to maintain holding power.
Ruland clamp style shaft collars wrap evenly around the shaft ensuring a precise fit and maximum holding power capabilities. They are commonly used for guiding, spacing, stopping, and component alignment. Ruland manufactures shaft collars with tightly controlled face to bore perpendicularity (TIR ≤ 0.002" / 0.05mm) which is critical when the collar is used as a load bearing face for components such as bearing or gears.
Shaft collars from Ruland are carefully manufactured in our Marlborough, MA factory for strict control of proprietary processes that ensure superior fit finish and holding power. They are made from 1215 lead-free steel with a black oxide or zinc plated finish for high holding power, 303 and 316 stainless steel for corrosion resistance, high strength 2024 aluminum, engineered plastic, and lightweight titanium. Ruland shaft collars are available with bore sizes ranging from 1/8” to 6” and 3mm to 150mm.

Ruland bellows couplings are made up of two anodized aluminum hubs and a flexible stainless steel center bellows. This creates a lightweight, low inertia coupling that has a long maintenance free life. The stainless steel bellows allows the coupling to retain high torsional stiffness while accommodating all forms of misalignment. Ruland manufactures bellows couplings with a balanced design for reduced vibration at speeds up to 10,000 RPM. Semiconductor and solar often require these high speeds to maintain efficient throughput and a bellows coupling is a good starting choice for these high performance systems. Ruland manufactures bellows coupling with clamp or set screw style hubs, with or without keyways, in bore sizes ranging from 1/8” to 1” and 3mm to 25mm.

Adjustable clamping handles are used to replace standard metric or inch hardware in semiconductor and solar applications that require frequent adjustments. They allow users to turn a lever by hand to install, adjust, and remove machine components without tools.
Semiconductor and solar applications benefit from adjustable clamping handles that are fast to install or remove for reduced downtime, have corrosion resistant zinc die-cast levers to suit most operating environments, and lightweight thermoplastic levers to reduce energy use and stress to other components in the machine. Ruland has adjustable clamping handles with black levers for general purpose use and orange levers for safety and ease of identification.
The zinc die-cast levers have a powder coated finish and are ideal for use in corrosive environments and extreme temperatures. The thermoplastic levers are glass fiber reinforced for added durability and lightweight to reduce stress on torqued components, machine weight, and energy use. Inserts are available in steel for high holding power and stainless steel for increased corrosion resistance. The variety of standard stock options offered allows designers flexibility to get the part they need for the application. They are sourced from JW Winco and stocked in our Marlborough, MA location.

Ruland star knobs are ergonomic, star shaped handles that are attached to a threaded stud or tapped hole. They are used to replace components that require frequent adjustments in semiconductor and solar applications. Star knobs allow users to turn a knob by hand to install, adjust and remove semiconductor and solar components such as motors, sensors, processors, control panels, and mechanical parts without tools.
Semiconductor and solar applications benefit from star knobs that are quick to install or remove, low-profile, and lightweight. Semiconductor and solar applications are made up of multiple components that need to be operating correctly and the ability to change components without the use of tools saves time during repairs, adjustments, or replacements. Small knob dimensions allow for use in confined spaces that are difficult or impossible to reach with wrenches. The lightweight plastic knob design reduces stress on other components and can reduce energy use. Stainless steel knobs have better corrosion resistance and durability and can withstand extreme temperatures from 20°C to 700°C.
Ruland star knobs are available in tapped and stud types with inch and metric threads ranging from #10-32 TPI to 1/2" - 13 TPI or M4 to M16. Knobs are made of lightweight, shock-resistant technopolymer plastic with zinc-plated steel components for general purpose use and stainless steel with stainless steel components for corrosion resistance and extreme operating environments. Star knobs are sourced from JW Winco and stocked in our Marlborough, MA location.