Though one may not think of gears to be versatile, gear couplings are very much regarded as a versatile coupling. A gear coupling is certainly a mechanical device made to transmit torque between two shafts that are not collinear. The coupling typically includes two flexible joints, one fixed to each shaft. These joints tend to be connected by a third shaft called the spindle.
Each joint generally contains a 1:1 gear ratio internal/exterior gear set. The tooth flanks and external size of the external gear are crowned to permit for angular displacement between your two gears. Mechanically, the gears are equal to rotating splines with modified profiles. They are known as gears due to the relatively huge size of the teeth. Equipment couplings are usually limited to angular misalignments of 4 to 5°.
Equipment couplings ordinarily come in two variations, flanged sleeve and continuous sleeve. Flanged gear couplings consist of short sleeves surrounded by a perpendicular flange. One sleeve is definitely placed on each shaft so the two flanges line up in person. A series of screws or bolts in the 
flanges hold them together. Continuous sleeve gear couplings feature shaft ends coupled collectively and abutted against each other, which are after that 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 these devices is called a gear-type versatile, or versatile coupling. The solitary joint allows for minor misalignments such as for example installation errors and adjustments in shaft alignment due to operating conditions. These types of gear couplings are generally limited to angular misalignments of 1/4 to 1/2°.