Torque limiters: Load separating torque limiting safety clutches

Load separating, torque limiting clutches safeguard rotary movements. When the pre-set torque is reached, the clutches interrupt the input and output. Separation of the drive torque is purely mechanical and occurs almost instantaneously on overload and leaves minimal residual drive torque.

Depending on the application, three different modes of operation are possible:

• Ratchetting – the clutch automatically attempts to re-engage every 15 degrees of rotation and is immediately available to restart once the system overload has been removed.
• Synchronous – the clutch disengages on overload then rotates a full 360 degrees before trying to re-engage. Once the overload is removed the clutch will automatically restart in the same rotational position that it disengaged.
• Overload – once disengaged the clutch completely separates the driven and driving halves of the system and allows the drive to coast freely. It must be actively re-engaged either manually or by an engagement mechanisms before the drive can restart