Though one may not think of gears as being versatile, gear couplings are extremely much regarded as a flexible coupling. A equipment coupling is certainly a mechanical device made to transmit torque between two shafts that are not collinear. The coupling typically consists of two flexible joints, one fixed to each shaft. These joints are often linked by a third shaft called the spindle.

Each joint generally consists of a 1:1 gear ratio internal/external gear pair. The tooth flanks and external diameter of the exterior equipment are crowned to allow for angular displacement between the two gears. Mechanically, the gears are equivalent to rotating splines with altered profiles. They are known as gears due to the relatively huge size of one’s teeth. Equipment couplings are generally limited by angular misalignments of 4 to 5°.

Gear couplings ordinarily come in two variations, flanged sleeve and continuous sleeve. Flanged gear couplings contain short sleeves encircled by a perpendicular flange. One sleeve is normally positioned on each shaft so the two flanges line up face to face. A series of screws or bolts in the flanges keep them jointly. Continuous sleeve gear couplings feature shaft ends coupled collectively and abutted against one another, which are then enveloped by a sleeve. Generally, these sleeves are made of metal, however they may also be manufactured from Nylon.

Single joint gear couplings are accustomed to connect two nominally coaxial shafts. In this application the device is called a gear-type versatile, or flexible coupling. The one joint permits small misalignments such as installation mistakes and adjustments in shaft alignment because of operating conditions. These types of gear couplings are usually limited to angular misalignments of 1/4 to 1/2°.