MadSci Network: Engineering |
An air clutch works much the same way a hydraulic clutch in a car works. The idea of a clutch is (usually) to limit or engage/disengage torque from a drive shaft. A clutch is almost always located between the power (say an engine or electric motor) and a load (the car wheels or a part being machined). A limiting clutch prevents the motor from stalling out and being damaged; an engage/disengage clutch allows for selecting when power is applied to the load. An air clutch is still a clutch, and it uses air for its actuation. In a car, when you press the pedal down, the increased pressure in the hydraulic fluid disengages the engine power from the drive train. Almost always in an air clutch, the increase in pressure ENGAGES the clutch. The design is so if air pressure is lost, the machine will go to a SAFE mode, or disengaged from the drive. The air pressure usually pushes an air cylinder that engages one disk with another, frequently with interlocking tines, and transfers the torque from one side of the clutch to the other. When pressure is lost on the cylinder, a spring acting in the opposite direction disengages the interlocked disk, which then separates the power side from the load side. A good illustration and short description is located at Logan Clutch's website: http://www.loganclutch.com/product.html The reason air is used is it is cleaner than hydraulics and most shops have a good pressurised air system in place. Hope this is enough info. BK
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