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Agiubo (/ˈdʒuːboʊ/JOO-boh; etymology:giuntoBoschi, "Boschi joint"), also known as a 'flexdisc', and sometimes misspelled asguibo, is a flexiblecoupling used to transmit rotationaltorque between thedrive shaft and the companionflange onmechanical devices, such as an automobile engine.
The giubo is made from flexiblesynthetic rubber and is designed to allow some angular and axial misalignment whilereducing driveline vibration in mechanical power transmission applications.
Input and output shaft flanges are bolted to the giubo on either side using alternating hole positions, so that the flanges are not connected directly to one another but instead only through the rubber material of the coupling. Theelasticity of the rubber absorbs vibration and flexes for alignment. It follows that the rubber must withstand the application's full transmitted torque, for which reason the rubber is often reinforced internally using moulded-in fibre material. The giubo may also have a harmonically "phased" design, typically requiring arrows that are marked on it to point to the corresponding flange arms.
Giubo is a portmanteau of theItalian wordsgiunto ('joint' or 'coupling') andboschi (the surname of the Italian engineer who designed and patented the first flex disc,Antonio Boschi (1896–1988)).[1] Boschi later founded GIUBOSpA, a company solely dedicated to manufacturing flex discs.[2]
The giubo is believed[citation needed] first to have been used for this purpose on theAlfa Romeomodel 1900, produced between 1950 and 1959. As used on several British cars, such as theHillman Imp,Triumph GT6 MKII/GT6+,Lotus Elan and some early versions of theLand Rover Discovery, the item is known as aRotoflex coupling.[3][4][5] ThePorsche 917 used a Giubo centered on the rear half-shaft, but in a manner that did not require the joint to laterally flex.Mercedes-Benz cars have used Giubos throughout the line, starting with theW114 and W115 chassis. TheSaab 92,93 and96 use this type of joint in the drive shafts from the transmission to the front wheels, on thesteering column connection to the steering housing, and on the gear change lever to the gear box connection.
