Steel bellows coupling can be removed without damage

At first glance all steel bellows couplings seem alike; but on taking a closer look, there can be substantial differences in the technical details. The construction, structure and manufacturing quality of the steel bellows are the main factors for operational safety, reliability, service lifetime, misalignment capability and functional safety of the entire coupling. Further quality-influencing factors are the connection of the bellows to the hub components and the shaft-hub connections. They influence, for example, the transmittable torque and the coupling running characteristics.

Mayr power transmission has been developing and manufacturing such couplings for several decades. Using its years of experience in the field, the company has developed innovative features to enhance reliability and facilitate operation.

The backlash-free Primeflex coupling can be plugged in for easy installation and disassembly, plus it can be dismantled safely without putting the steel bellows at risk. Mayr says that with many other plug-in steel bellows couplings there is a risk of damaging or even the steel bellows being destroyed when loosening the plug-in connection (due to tribo-corrosion effect on the conic hub). However, the Primeflex couplings feature specific materials and geometry to avoid this problem.

Easy installation

Extremely compact and offering high performance for their size, Primeflex couplings can be mounted easily onto shafts via clamping or shrink disk connections. Another outstanding performance characteristic is the coupling design's excellent misalignment capability; it compensates for axial, radial and angular shaft misalignments. Torque is transmitted via frictional locking or frictional and positive locking. Furthermore, the internal mechanism integrates a stop in order to avoid the bellows being damaged - which might otherwise occur with excessive mounting pressure.

Mayr currently offers three sizes, with nominal torque ratings from 24 to 120Nm. In the field of shaft couplings, Mayr power transmission has specialised in backlash-free couplings in servo power transmission services. With its steel bellows, elastomer and disk pack couplings, the company is able to provide the three most common constructional designs for this power transmission segment.

Steel bellows coupling are most often for transmitting power between a motor and a reducer or a shaft. Typical applications include machine tools, food processing machinery and packaging machinery.