Flexible Shaft Couplings and Fluid Drive Couplings used to be the best solution for high vibration/misalignment applications. The new solution is a magnetic coupling which offers a clear advantage over flexible drive couplings and fluid shaft couplings. Flexible shaft couplings and fluid drive couplings offer some protection from vibration and misalignment, but they are not as nearly as effective as magnetic couplings because magnetic couplings transfer torque through an air gap. If you are looking for the best "flexible" coupling technology, MagnaDrive magnetic couplings and Adjustable Speed Drives, ASDs, are the solution. You can forget about all the headaches involved with flexible drive couplings and fluid drive couplings when you install magnetic shaft couplings.
Flexible Couplings - offer some flexibilty as a coupling but there is still a physical connection between the motor and the load. The only way to run truly flexible is with a disconnected MagnaDrive magnetic coupling. Flexible Couplings utilize elastomeric material to allow for some flexibility. While flexible shaft couplings are good for many applications, they cannot offer the same protection as a MagnaDrive magnetic coupling because only MagnaDrive eliminates the physical connection between the motor and the load.
Fluid Shaft Couplings - offer more flexiblity than a flexible coupling but they are very complicated and have lots of parts that can fail. Fluid Drive Couplings transmit energy input by the mass forces of a fluid which is circulated within a closed system between an impeller on the driving shaft and a runner on the driven shaft. Fluid couplings are used in applications that require some flexiblity and misalignment tolerance, yet they are very complicated and fluid couplings require a lot of maintenance and produce hazardous waste.With magnetic couplings this is not an issue and the term flexible coupling has a new meaning.
Magnetic Couplings - The new standard coupling for applications that require a flexible coupling or fluid coupling. Only MagnaDrive couplings can offer true flexiblity because the motor shaft and the load shaft are not physically connected. Fluid couplings and flexible shaft couplings cannot compare. Magnetic couplings from MagnaDrive have a half life of 2200 years so your company can rest assured that your coupling is doing its job and will do so for a long time to come.
Magnetic couplings and drives have a lower total cost of ownership because they will dramatically increase your system life. Fluid drive couplings and flexible shaft couplings may cost a little less intially but they will cost more in the long run. Flexible couplings are basically a rigid coupling with plastic instead of metal. When using flexible shaft couplings the motor and the load are still connected and vibration and misalignment may be reduced but they are still being transmitted through the coupling because there is a connection between the driving and driven sides. Fluid drive couplings are far more complicated than flexible couplings or magnetic couplings. They require a skilled technician to service them and they produce hazardous waste because they utilize oil in the coupling. When looking at long term costs it is very evident that flexible couplings and fluid drive couplings come up short. MagnaDrive magnetic couplings pay for themselves and then continue to provide savings long after they have paid back the initial cost.
When choosing which coupling best fits your needs there are several options available.
