Custom Shaft
Couplings

HXC machines five shaft coupling types: Rigid shaft couplings — clamp style and rigid flange shaft coupling designs, zero backlash, zero flexibility, for aligned shafts only (also available as a rigid shaft coupling with keyway). Jaw / spider shaft couplings — aluminum hubs with a polyurethane flexible spider shaft coupling insert (curved jaw shaft couplings), tolerates small misalignment with vibration damping. Bellows shaft couplings — stainless bellows element, torsionally stiff, accommodates angular and axial misalignment, used for encoder shaft coupling. Disc shaft couplings — thin disc pack, high torque shaft coupling, low backlash, for precision servo drives. Beam shaft couplings — helical beam shaft couplings with a slotted aluminum body, low inertia, for stepper motor shaft coupler and encoder use. Sleeve shaft couplings and split shaft coupling designs are also available.

Jaw / spider shaft coupling: the most common servo motor shaft coupling — accommodates ±1° angular and 0.5 mm parallel misalignment, damps vibration. Choose this flexible shaft coupling when some misalignment tolerance is needed. Bellows shaft coupling: highest angular misalignment tolerance (up to ±3°), torsionally stiff, preferred for encoder shaft coupling and precision feedback. Disc shaft coupling: a high torque flexible shaft coupling with lower misalignment tolerance (±0.5°), preferred for high speed shaft coupling and zero-backlash servo drives. Rigid shaft coupling: zero backlash, zero misalignment tolerance — for perfectly aligned shaft-to-shaft coupling only.

HXC produces: Smooth bore H7 (for tight fit on shaft); Keyway / keyed shaft coupling (DIN 6885 key and set-screw shaft coupling for torque transmission); Clamping shaft coupling (split-clamp / clamp style shaft coupling, no key required, easy installation — including machinable bore clamping shaft coupling blanks); D-bore (for motor shafts with a flat); and custom bore (any diameter, tolerance, or profile). Each half can have a different bore — a shaft coupling for different diameters, also known as a shaft coupling reducer, matches motor shaft and driven shaft sizes.

Coupling backlash is the angular free play between the two hubs before torque is transmitted — caused by clearance in the flexible element (spider gaps, disc pack clearance). For positioning systems (CNC machines, robots), backlash directly causes positioning error: a 0.1° coupling backlash on a 10:1 gearbox means 1° of axis positioning error. A zero backlash shaft coupling (bellows, disc, rigid, or preloaded jaw — a backlash free shaft coupling) eliminates this error. For non-positioning power transmission shaft couplings (pumps, conveyors), standard jaw couplings with slight backlash are acceptable and more forgiving of misalignment.

Typical misalignment tolerances for each flexible shaft coupling: Rigid shaft coupling: zero misalignment. Jaw shaft coupling: ±1° angular, 0.3–0.5 mm radial, ±0.5 mm axial. Bellows shaft coupling: ±3° angular, 0.2–0.3 mm radial, ±1 mm axial. Disc shaft coupling: ±0.5° angular, 0.1–0.2 mm radial. Helical beam shaft coupling: ±3° angular, 0.3–0.5 mm radial, ±1 mm axial. Never exceed the coupling's misalignment rating — excessive misalignment increases fatigue load on the flexible element and causes premature failure.

Al 6061-T6 (anodized): the standard aluminum shaft coupling for jaw and beam types — light and inexpensive, ideal for an aluminum helical flexible shaft coupling. Al 7075-T6: higher strength for more demanding servo applications. SUS304 / 316 stainless steel shaft coupling: for stainless bellows and disc couplings and for food / pharma applications — 316 stainless steel shaft couplings resist corrosion best. C45 / carbon steel shaft couplings: for heavy-duty steel rigid and flange shaft couplings, with black oxide steel shaft coupling finish optional. Ti Grade 5: lightweight aerospace couplings. Spider inserts (jaw couplings) are supplied in polyurethane (98A or softer 64A Shore) or acetal / PEEK for high-temperature, vibration-damping precision flexible shaft coupling use.

Yes — every HXC shaft coupler is custom machined, so any bore size is available. Bores from Ø3 mm (micro servo / small motor shaft coupling) to Ø200 mm (vertical pump shaft coupling and hydraulic pump shaft coupling drives) are regularly produced. We make same-bore couplings where both ends share one diameter, and shaft coupling reducer designs (a shaft coupling with different diameters) where one end has a larger bore than the other — useful for an electric motor shaft coupling connecting mismatched shafts.

Yes — HXC is a custom shaft couplings manufacturer and supplier serving customers worldwide as a CNC shaft coupler factory. We produce industrial shaft couplings, precision flexible shaft couplings, and customised shaft couplings to drawing — aluminum, stainless steel and carbon steel — with full ISO 9001:2015 quality control and CMM reports. Lead times: standard jaw, beam, or rigid coupling in Al 6061: 5–7 days prototype, 8–12 days for 100–1,000 pcs. Bellows and disc couplings (more complex machining): 7–10 days prototype, 10–16 days production. Stainless or titanium: add 2–3 days. Custom spider inserts: add 3–5 days for a non-standard durometer.