Eight best ways to wreck your coupling driven system

The following are the 8 best ways to consistently sabotage or damage your coupling driven system (and how to avoid them in the future):

1. Choosing the wrong coupling

Unsurprisingly, one of the most effective and common ways to wreck your system is
by selecting the wrong coupling. There are many factors a design engineer must keep in mind to avoid coupling failure. Balancing criteria such as torque, RPM, shaft size, tolerances, operating environment, and misalignment is paramount to selecting the right coupling.

2. Not identifying
misalignment

Most servo applications have one or more forms of misalignment. This is a primary concern, since misalignment can cause stress to system components such as bearings, not just to the coupling itself. Misalignment is often caused by a tolerance mismatch from the driving
side of a system to the driven side. This can be caused by a variety of factors, including parts from different manufacturers, inaccuracies in assembly, system/motor movement during operation, system component wear, poor mounts, and thermal shaft expansion. Each coupling style can accommodate
different amounts of misalignment. Designers must understand the nature of existing misalignment to determine if a high misalignment coupling is needed at the expense of factors such as torque, or if corrective system adjustments are necessary before selecting a coupling.

Read the full article in the March issue of DPA.