Tight control with air clutches

A pneumatic clutch can easily adjust the torque of a shaft remotely or while a machine is running. A and A Manufacturing’s Polyclutch Slip-Aire pneumatic slip clutch does just that. These air actuated clutches feature long-life friction plates (between 20 and 30 million cycles) and ensure constant torque or tension.

Slip-Aire clutches accommodate shaft sizes up to 5⁄8 in. and torque capacities to 300 lb-in. The bi-directional clutches come in fixed, adjustable, and custom designs and do not need lubrication. They are best suited to servo mechanisms, because they can transmit higher torque levels than comparably sized mechanical slip clutches.

Mounting is easy, as they can be supplied as a shaft-to-shaft coupling or a shaft to pulley, gear, or sprocket model. Custom slip clutches can be provided with non-standard bore sizes, keyways, low backlash or higher torque, minus housings and with pulley, gear or sprocket.

They can also be used in torque control devices, such as cappers, when different containers need to be tightened to different torques. “In this instance it is good to have an adjustable clutch that can be adjusted remotely,” Van Harpen says. “Our Slip-Aire clutches adjust on a linear scale, meaning if you double the air pressure it should double the torque. This makes simple adjustments easy if you already know what torque is being transferred at a given pressure (up to 100 psi).”

Call (800) 298-2066 or visit www.polyclutch.com for more details.