Advantages:
Torque limited only by clamping force between coupling and shaft
Simple, economical
Low moment of inertia
Driving and driven shafts maintain relative angular position
Disavantages:
Metallic versions can accommodate virtually no shaft misalignment, and nonmetallic versions only trivial amounts of misalignment – and some shaft misalignment is always present between any two shafts. Even after precision alignment, thermal expansion during operation will lead to some radial misalignment if both shafts are fully radially constrained.
Typical Applications:
Applications requiring hermetically sealed rotary feed-through, including specialized pumps moving caustic or hazardous material; semiconductor fabrication equipment; laboratory apparatus.