FEATURE


CLUTCHES, BRAKES & COUPLINGS


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SHAFT COLLARS FOR FOOD EQUIPMENT APPLICATIONS


Food and beverage manufacturers face unique challenges in


ensuring precision, hygiene and reliability in their equipment. Ruland’s shaft collars and rigid couplings are engineered and manufactured to meet the demanding needs of food processing, packaging and


handling systems, offering solutions that enhance efficiency and reduce downtime. Chris Gumas, Ruland’s director of marketing, explains


W


hy are Ruland rigid couplings essential for food processing? For a start, the couplings are available in a wide variety


of sizes and styles to suit the needs of food packaging applications such as case erectors, cartoners, and form, fill, seal equipment. These couplings are ideal for shaft-to-shaft connections and precise servo driven applications as they do not introduce misalignment, vibration or bearing noise into the system. They also have precision honed bores, anti-vibration hardware, and opposing hardware on two-piece styles to ensure superior fit, alignment and holding power. Ruland offers 303 stainless steel couplings with hardware of like material as standard stock items. Proprietary Nypatch anti-vibration hardware is used to prevent galling, provide event seating of the screw, and allow for repeated screw installations. Rigid couplings are offered in one- and two-piece clamp styles, with or without keyways, in bore sizes ranging from 3mm to 50mm. Custom dimensions, inch to metric step bore combinations, and 316 stainless steel are available by request.


KEY BENEFITS OF RULAND SHAFT COLLARS IN FOOD EQUIPMENT Clamp style shaft collars in food processing, packaging and handling equipment are commonly used for guiding, spacing, stopping, mounting and component alignment. Food equipment


manufacturers benefit from the tightly controlled face to bore perpendicularity of Ruland shaft


collars (TIR of ≤ 0.05mm), which is critical when they are used as a load bearing face or for aligning components such as bearings or gears. All Ruland shaft collars are machined to a fine


burr free finish that reduces the likelihood of metallic system contamination and complements or enhances the appearance of food processing equipment. Shaft collars made from 303 and 316 stainless steel utilise hardware of like material for consistent corrosion resistance and to meet regulatory standards. Plastic shaft collars can be used as a cost-effective alternative to stainless steel at the expense of performance. They are supplied with stainless steel hardware for corrosion resistance. Ruland also offers anodised aluminium shaft


collars with stainless steel hardware for areas of the system where stainless steel or plastic is not required. These are manufactured in bore sizes from 3mm to 150mm.


COMPLIANCE AND MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE Ruland shaft collars and rigid couplings are RoHS3, REACH, and Conflict Minerals compliant. They are made from bar stock sourced from select North American mills and carefully manufactured in Ruland’s advanced manufacturing facility in Marlborough,


Massachusetts, USA, under strict controls using proprietary processes.


“The couplings are available in a wide variety of sizes and styles to suit the needs of


food packaging applications”


Explore how Ruland’s shaft collars and rigid


couplings can improve the efficiency of your food processing systems on the website. Here you can find product specifications, CAD files, and can request custom solutions designed to fit your exact needs.


Ruland Manufacturing Co. www.ruland.com


Acorn Industrial Services T: 0800 8766 441 www.acorn-ind.co.uk/ruland


RIGID COUPLINGS AND


Feature


Two-piece Ruland rigid coupling in


Ruland clamp style shaft collars made from stainless steel and from Delrin: www.ruland.com/shaft-collars.html


24 DESIGN SOLUTIONS FEBRUARY 2025


stainless steel with proprietary Nypatch hardware:


www.ruland.com/rigid-couplings.html


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