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Couplings Overview

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Couplings are devices that connect together two adjacent parts or objects. They can be very small, such as in the use of different types of hoses for fluid applications, or very large, such as in the use of heavy industrial equipment. Most couplings are made of a type of metal, such as brass or steel. Non metallic couplings are called elastomeric. Couplings are designed for specific uses, such as for air or water or other fluids, or high pressure gases. They can be flexible, and they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, such as “tees”, “tree-branch” and “bend” styles and designs. For most kinds of industrial uses, couplings are straight forward without any type of bend in the design. Large scale uses of couplings include power plants, refineries, processing plants, turbines, pumps, compressors, generators, and motor drives. Couplings have two main functions. The first is to transmit power from one shaft to the other, causing the components to rotate at the same speed. The other function of couplings is to compensate for the fact that the two shafts in the equipment are rarely perfectly aligned, which can lead to damage to the equipment. For example, in diesel engines, the couplings absorb some of the friction associated with the vibration of the engines, thus increasing the life-span of the equipment. Numerous industrial equipment companies are found all over the world that supply all shapes, styles and sizes of couplings, depending on how the coupling will be used.

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