Engineering and Design Notes for Clutches and Brakes

With the increase of design integration of electronic control systems with mechanical systems, new concepts of engineering are being developed to simplify the overall equipment and increase its performance with the maximum reliability possible. The mixing of pure electronic circuitry with mechanical operation imposes a great burden on the design engineer in the form of additional knowledge of components that cross the discrete line of difference between electronic and mechanical parts. Electro-magnetic clutches and brakes are one of the most used and least understood of these components. There are several types and configurations of these electro-magnetic devices, each a perfect answer to a particular design problem. Unfortunately, the selection of the wrong unit can lead to needless complications which may downgrade the system performance. It is necessary to understand the various types of electro-magnetic devices that are available and to know their exact functions as applied to the particular system under consideration.