Clutch Plate

Whether one drives a commercial vehicle a car or a tractor, a well-maintained and good quality clutch plate is a necessity. The clutch plates come in various designs with full-fledged research and development, highest technology and international standards. One should use a clutch plate, which is thoroughly tested and field proven . A wide range of clutch plates are available in the market for different makes of vehicles.

   
A clutch is a useful device present in every vehicle one drives. It is a mechanism for transmitting rotation. These devices with two rotating shafts are required for the proper functioning of a vehicle. While one of the shafts is driven by a motor or pulley, the other one drives another device. The clutch joins the two shafts and they spin at the same speed or are decoupled to spin at different speeds.

Clutch Plates in Heavy Vehicles

In vehicles there are one or more friction discs that are joined together or pressed against a flywheel using springs. Clutch plates found in trucks and speed cars are made of ceramic. When the clutch pedal is depressed the spring pressure is released pushing or pulling the diaphragm of the pressure plate. Thus, the friction plate is released and allowed to rotate freely.

The clutch plate is used to increase or decrease the speed of a vehicle. However, increasing the engine speed too high engages the clutch. This, in turn, causes excessive clutch plate wear.

There are two types of clutches available- wet and dry. While the wet clutch is bathed in a cooling lubricating fluid, a dry clutch is not. A wet clutch gives good quality performance and lasts long due to the clean surfaces. But, they lose some energy to the liquid and can be slippery.

Clutch Plates in Automobiles and Motorcycles

Clutch plate in a car is controlled by the left-most pedal. This makes use of hydraulics or a cable connection. The clutch may be physically located in close proximity to the pedal, but remote means of actuation are required to remove the effect of slight engine movement. If there is no pressure on the pedal, it means that the clutch plates are engaged. It gets disengaged once the clutch pedal is depressed. Cars can also function with manual transmission. In this there are cogs that have matching teeth to synchronize the speed. One can select gears with the help of these cogs.

In motorcycles, the clutch is operated by the clutch lever. One can engage the clutch plate by applying no pressure on the lever. Pulling the lever back towards the rider disengages the clutch plates. Slipper clutch plates are often used by racing motorcycles to get rid of engine braking.

Last Updated on 1/3/2012