Beam Couplings for Robotic Systems
Ruland beam couplings are manufactured from a single piece of aluminum or stainless steel with a multiple beam, or spiral, design that allows for greater torque, torsional stiffness, and misalignment accommodation compared to commodity style single beam couplings. Medical and surgical robots with frequent stops, starts, and reverses often prioritize light components and responsiveness and have low to moderate torque requirements, making beam couplings a good choice.
Ruland’s 4-beam style couplings have two sets of two beams allowing for increased flexibility and a more compact size compared to 6-beam couplings. This style is often used in encoders or other positioning sensors found connected to servo motors in robotic systems. The 6-beam style has two sets of three beams for higher torque and torsional stiffness capabilities. Designers frequently use 6-beam couplings in robotic vision systems for their dampening capabilities.
Ruland beam couplings are zero-backlash, accurate, and can accommodate all forms of misalignment making them ideal for a variety of applications. Designers prefer aluminum beam couplings for their cost effectiveness and low inertia. Stainless steel beam couplings are capable of handling higher torque than aluminum beam couplings, but their increased mass leads to significantly greater inertia. Ruland beam couplings are available with clamp or set screw attachments in bore sizes from 3/32” to ¾” and 3mm to 20mm.
