Type of Clutches - Electric / Hydraulic

TYPE OF CLUTCHES

Electric Clutches

• Used where intermittent motion is required especially to start and stop the drive motor on short time cycles.
• A magnet or coil is mounted on a driven component or machine while an armature plate is mounted on the driving motor or shaft.
• When the two parts are de-energized, no contact or action takes place between them, even though the motor may be running/
• When an electric current is introduced into the magnet or coil, a magnetic field is set up causing the armature and the coil to draw together.
• This action the couples the two halves electrically and physically causing them to rotate as one piece.

Hydraulic Clutches

• Widely used in industry because of their ability to start under heavy loads and absorb shock loads.
• Also used to provide a smooth flow of power to the driven side of a machine (also known as fluid coupling).
• The driven half of a fluid coupling is actuated by the hydraulic fluid.
• The driving half (pump/impeller) and driven half ( turbine) will rotate at the same speed during operation.

The hydraulically controlled clutch uses a small master cylinder to apply hydraulic pressure against a piston in the slave cylinder. The slave cylinder is mounted to the outside of the bell housing. The piston pushes a small rod that moves the clutch fork. A release spring pulls the slave piston to the release position when the clutch pedal is released.