MANUAL clutch... of sorts.

[BAMBY]

the first picture is of my stock hilliard centrifugal clutch. (drawn to the best of my abilities using ms paint... lol)

bear with me here, this is gonna take some effort to explain.

what i want to do is find a way to manually acutate this clutch.

ok using the holes in the center of each shoe, i would put a piece of metal that comes from the center of the clutch where each piece of metal can pivot on a hub like thing that rotates with the clutch. when i press the clutch lever or something... this hub will move in, therefore causing the arms that pivot on it to push out onto the shoes, and pushing the shoes toward the outside edges of the clutch housing. (locking up the clutch) and making me GO!!! the next pic i drew will help you see the hub and arms as if you are looking at the clutch in line with the axis of the crankshaft.

see my pics closeup to see notes i wrote on them... helps to explain alot i think

ok so let me know what u guys think...
my reason for this is cause i have beenthereanddunthat with belt clutches...not my thing... just keep burning up belts.
but i really like having a clutch, its just fun and cool.

gimme all the criticism you guys got... i wanna hear it. since its almost 1am, im sure theres some weird quirks or something needs to be worked out cause im running low on energy rite now.

ask ?s if you want me to clarify something, ill try my best.

BAMBY

 

[freakboy]

Nice idea i like it.

 

[frederic]

"The blue coil spring keeps the clutch disengaged when the foot comes off the peddle."

Is this how go-karts work? You have to keep your foot on the clutch pedal to keep it engaged? I'm asking because I don't know and it's backwards to how automobiles work and I'm more familiar with the latter.

The green levers need to be shorter to gain mechanical leverage, which will move the shoes less distance for a given pedal travel/pressure. Doing this would make the clutch eaier to operate. In the disengaged position there only needs to be about 2-5 thousandths of an inch between the shoe and the inside diameter of the drum.

While I enjoy engineering exercises (and kudos to you for doing this), why not use a small pressure plate and clutch? Many vehicles produced in the 50's had 5.5"-7" diameter cutches, and you can still buy the parts from places like JC Whitney. It might be easier than rolling your own from absolute scratch.

 

[BAMBY]

To my knowledge, i could be wrong, but i dont know of any manual clutches available for karts. i know they have ones with friction discs, but those too are centrifugal.

so to answer your question, i dont know if thats how gkart clutches work, cuz ive never heard or seen anything like this before...
i just dont know how to put the spring so that it keeps the clutch engaged... that would reverse my whole design too...
lol it was late when i thought of this...
yeah, i knew it was backwards, but wateva. lol
might even be a safety feature...

totally get wat u mean about the green levers being shorter, my pic isnt to scale, i tried to space it all out so it would be easier to understand.

yeah i think using a real car clutch would be harder for me to set up, just thinking about how to support the friction disc on separate shaft worries me. but i never knew this stuff used to be soooo small. kinda cool actually.

what is JC Whitney


thanks for the tweaks/ideas
BAMBY

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

sounds like a very complicated thing to do, when you could just make a belt tensioner style clutch. It is a good idea though, but it would also require a lot of pressure for it to engage very well. Have you considered trying to adapt a motorcycle clutch basket? that would be fairly easy.

 

[mattgr]

5H!T thats alot of ms paint

 

[redneck24]

motorcycle clutch

im trying to adapt a motorcycle clutch to a 1" shaft has anyone tried or done this before ?

 

[JHen]

Um, just use a belt tensioner clutch... It's normal state is engaged, and you press the petal to disengage it just like a car clutch.

 

[SpeedBoy]

I think im going to try to build this! i realy want a manual clutch but i will make it so it is alwasy engaged unless a pedel or soething is pressed.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

want a manual clutch but i will make it so it is alwasy engaged unless a pedel or soething is pressed.

So... What's different from normal?

 

[SpeedBoy]

Nothing except for the fact i would be able to rev te engine without moving. That is someting i like being able to do! Show off my modified engine a bit then.

So... What's different from normal?

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Let me clarify my question. Pertaining to a MANUAL clutch, you wrote-

I think im going to try to build this! i realy want a manual clutch but i will make it so it is alwasy engaged unless a pedel or soething is pressed.

That is how a MANUAL clutch is supposed to work... So- What's different? Only a CENTRIFUGALLY operated clutch will not let you free-rev the engine.

 

[SpeedBoy]

Ya thats what i tryed to say, i like being able to rev the engine up. Thats realy the only reason i want to try to build this..... and i was refering to a centrifical clutch.

Let me clarify my question. Pertaining to a MANUAL clutch, you wrote-

That is how a MANUAL clutch is supposed to work... So- What's different? Only a CENTRIFUGALLY operated clutch will not let you free-rev the engine.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Gotcha! What we have here, is a failure to communicate!

 

[SpeedBoy]

Ya, comunication errors 24/7

Gotcha! What we have here, is a failure to communicate!

 

[gvfc2]

someones all ready making a manual clutch on here arent they?

 

[SpeedBoy]

Yes there are, But i don't believe they will give out plans because they want to get it patented and sell them. Plus i see this as being easier because it would be chain drive where as the one the other person is building uses a belt.

someones all ready making a manual clutch on here aren't they?

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

If i wanted a manual clutch i would just use a belt tensioner...very simple, works great as long as your pulleys aren't too small (too little surface area = slipping clutch). As long as both pulleys are at least 4" you shouldn't have an issue.

 

[SpeedBoy]

Thats what i had in mind when i first started building the ATV im working on but i couldnt see using so much space up on a pully system with big pullys.

If i wanted a manual clutch i would just use a belt tensioner...very simple, works great as long as your pulleys aren't too small (too little surface area = slipping clutch). As long as both pulleys are at least 4" you shouldn't have an issue.

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

Thats what i had in mind when i first started building the ATV im working on but i couldnt see using so much space up on a pully system with big pullys.

It wouldnt be too bad, 4" on engine, 4" on jackshaft, then chain to the back. I think it would prove to be more reliable than a "modified" cent clutch. Not only would it take a lot of pressure to actually grab, but think about the pressure you will end up putting on your crank everytime you hit the clutch, most small engines dont even have thrust washers, so you may end up just wearing right into your block over time.