Posted to News on 24th Mar 2025, 11:00
Reliable and inexpensive metal bellows couplings
JAKOB Antriebstechnik is highlighting the capabilities of its KM series of reliable and inexpensive standard series of metal bellows couplings. Like all metal bellows couplings, it is rotationally rigid, but axial, angular and radial flexible.
Despite the similarities, metal bellows couplings sometimes differ greatly from one another. The technical differences lie, for example, in the choice of bellows or the type of connection between bellows and hub or bellows and shaft. JAKOB only uses thin-walled, multi-layer bellows made from certified stainless steel sheets. This causes a high torsional spring stiffness. This ensures high positioning and concentricity accuracy even under difficult conditions, which guarantees absolutely backlash-free torque transmission between the input and output shaft.
The multi-layer bellows design also ensures the ability to absorb large shaft displacements with nevertheless small restoring forces. This means a plus in terms of reliability, operational safety and service life.
The clamping hub of the KM is equipped with the innovative easy-clamp system, which allows it to be pushed on easily with sufficient clearance. The preload force required for torque transmission is ensured by a single, radially accessible screw per hub. This simple and reliable connection allows uncomplicated installation with just a few movements, even in cramped conditions. In order to achieve the lowest possible moment of inertia, the hubs are made of high-strength aluminium.
The bellows and hub are connected using the backlash-free flanged press-fit process. In contrast to glued joints, this joining method has unlimited fatigue strength under critical operating conditions (-40degC to +200degC, chemicals, etc.) and can safely introduce the transmission torque of each bellows layer into the hub.
Metal bellows couplings of the KM series are available with nominal torques from 0.4 to 1300Nm.
