Discover What Is Cone Clutch? and how cone clutches work, their applications, and their advantages. Our informative guide provides a comprehensive overview of this clutch. Read now!
Contents
What Is Cone Clutch?
A type of friction clutch that features cone-shaped frictional areas is called as the cone clutch. Synchromesh and epicyclic gearboxes commonly use these types of clutches.
These clutches were the first type of clutch to be used in automobiles and they remained popular throughout the 1920s, owing to their simplicity. However, they gave way to single plate clutches due to the poor working characteristics of the former.
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What Is Semi Centrifugal Clutch?
Construction Of Cone Clutch
This clutch comprises a male and a female cone part. The female part, which acts as a driving member, is connected to the flywheel bolted to the engine crankshaft. On the other hand, the male part consists of two units: the central hub and the outer cone part.
- For strength, the hub of this clutch is made up of steel, while the cone part is made up of aluminum.
- The hub of the male part is splined and mounted over the input shaft of the transmission, and it has the ability to move axially over it.
- Friction material is lined on the contact surfaces of both the male and female parts.
- There is also a spring that presses the male part against the female part and there is a throw out bearing connected to the male part for disengaging the parts.
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What Is Centrifugal Clutch?
Parts Of Cone Clutch
1. Female Cone (Outer Cone) – When the engine rotates the female part connected to the engine rotates and due to the friction between the cone plates the male part rotates.
2. Male Cone (Inner Cone) – Male cone is the part of this clutch which is connected to the gearbox and is machined in the shape of a solid cone over which frictional material is attached.
3. Flywheel – The flywheel is bolted to the engine crankshaft and connected to the female part and the female part acts as a driving member.
4. Spring – The function of spring is to press the male part against the female part in this clutch. A normal thrust spring located behind the male cone is used for engagement and disengagement of the clutch.
5. Clutch shaft – It is connected to the gearbox so as to transmit the power from the engine via clutch. Also, splines having teeth or ridges on the driving shaft that mesh with grooves so as to transfer the torque.
6. Throwout Bearing – A throwout bearing is a part of this clutch that temporarily disengages the engine while shifting the gears in the manual transmission.
7. Friction Lining – The friction lining is placed on the inside surface of the outer cone and the outside surface of the inner cone so that smooth engagement will be generated between male and female cones.
8. Clutch Pedal – A clutch pedal is used to operate the clutch for engaging and disengaging.
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What Is Multi Plate Clutch?
Working Of Cone Clutch
When the clutch is engaged, the male part presses against the female part because of the springs. The male part is present completely inside the female part with its friction surfaces in contact. When the engine rotates the female part connected to the engine rotates and due to the friction between the cone plates the male part rotates as well. Thus the motion gets transmitted from the driving member to the driving member.
When the driver presses the clutch pedal the linkage moves the throw-out bearing this in turn moves the male cone away from the female cone resulting in the disengagement of the clutch. As soon as the driver releases the clutch pedal the male part returns to its original position thus the re-engagement of the clutch occurs.
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What Is Single Plate Clutch?
Advantages Of Cone Clutch
- In this clutch the normal force acting on the contact surfaces is larger than the axial force.
- It can transfer high torque when compared with the plate clutches of the same size.
- Because the mating surfaces of this clutch are in the shape of a wedge, less effort is requiews to operate the clutch.
- It creates less noise than other clutch plates.
Disadvantages Of Cone Clutch
- When the angle of the cone is large, it will require more effort to disengage the clutch.
- Even a small wear in the cone surface interrupts the proper working of the clutch
- When the angle of the cone is reduced to less than approximately 20 degrees, the male cone has a tendency to bind or stick to the female cone, making it challenging to disengage the clutch.
- Periodic dressing of the faces is necessary to maintain the surfaces smooth for easy operation, which can be achieved by repairing or adding lubricants to the surfaces.
Application Of Cone Clutch
- It is used in various manual transmissions as synchronisers.
- As these clutches can transmit high torque, they find their application in various heavy machines.
- Power racing boats commonly use this clutch for transmitting rotating motion or torque from the driving shaft to the driven shaft.
- Racing and rallying vehicles often use this clutch to transmit rotating motion or torque from the driving shaft to the driven shaft.
- This clutch finds its use in some automobiles and other combustion engine transmissions for transmitting rotating motion or torque from the driving shaft to the driven shaft.
FAQ‘s
The driving shaft transmits rotating motion or torque to the driven shaft through the use of a Cone clutch.
1. When the angle of the cone is reduced to less than approximately 20 degrees, the male cone has a tendency to bind or stick to the female cone, making it challenging to disengage the clutch.
2. A small amount of wear on the cone surface results in a considerable amount of the axial movement of the male cone for which it will be difficult to allow.
Even small wear in the cone surface interrupts the proper working of the cone clutch clutch. Due to the poor working characteristics of the cone clutch, single-plate clutch is better.
This clutch has a wide range of applications. For instance, it is used as synchronizers in various manual transmissions, as it can transmit high torque, making it ideal for use in heavy machines. Moreover, It are commonly used in low peripheral speed applications. Racing and rallying vehicles, power racing boats, and some automobiles and other combustion engine transmissions also use this clutch.
1. Mercedes 37/90 PS in 1914.
2. Mercedes Grand Prix Rennwagen used a double-cone clutch to transmit rotating motion or torque from the driving shaft to the driven shaft.
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