POSTS TAGGED - pneumatic clutches

How Do Pneumatic Clutches Work? [updated]

Jun 13, 18 • Air Clutches, Clutches2 Comments

pneumatic clutchGrab. Spin. Decouple. Repeat.

At one level, clutches really are that simple. But pneumatic clutches are just one example of what a few innovative twists can do to complicate (and improve) the process.

So let’s start with the basics:
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Investment Pays: Three Ways to Save With K&L Clutch Parts

Jun 7, 11 • Industrial Mechanical PartsComments Off on Investment Pays: Three Ways to Save With K&L Clutch Parts

K&L Clutch and Transmission offers customers a solid investment for their industrial projects since our products are longer lasting, our work more efficient and our quality services mean less downtime.

1. Longer Life

The longer industrial transmission and clutch components last, the more you’ll save on your project’s bottom line.

For example, our torque converters are tough, durable, and long-lasting, meaning you’ll spend less on equipment repairs and replacement parts, and more on investments that are actually profitable. But beyond their own integrity, our industrial torque converters actually extend the life of heavy equipment engines and transmissions themselves, thanks to smooth operation at optimum efficiency speed ranges, and shock protection from load and equipment damage.
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Client Case Study: Norfolk Dredging

May 18, 11 • Industrial Product ServiceComments Off on Client Case Study: Norfolk Dredging

Here at K&L Clutch, we don’t just supply our clients with critical industrial transmission parts like pneumatic clutches and torque converters. We keep companies drilling, digging, dredging, and doing the work that powers the world.

In other words, our goals exist to make it easier for companies to achieve their’s.

Just take a look at Norfolk Dredging “” a company we’re proud to support, especially in the most demanding work environments. According to Building and Construction Northeast Magazine:

One of the company’s most recent triumphs, for example, was the Hubline Project for Algonquin Gas Transmission Co. “” a 29-mile long, 30-inch steel pipeline installed under Massachusetts Bay. It is the longest undersea gas line in New England, and was built to carry natural gas for local and regional markets. […]

Complicating matters was the location of the work, the company adds. “The uniqueness of this restoration project is that Norfolk Dredging Co. had to perform this work some five miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean, in the middle of winter, digging to depths of 120 feet over an active high-pressure gas pipeline, while working under a rigidly defined time frame for completion,” it says. Nevertheless, the work was completed on time and without incident.

No excuses. They just got the job done.

We’ve been working with crane and dragline companies like Norfolk Dredging for more than 30 years “” and this company typifies the sort of relationships we aim to build with our clients.

The key is customer service, because professional service capabilities can make the difference between project profitability and failure “” especially since so many industries we work with are hard at work around the clock in hostile work environments.

In the end, customer service is a state of mind. From our headquarters in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, this mission revolves around a series of service capabilities:

  • Fully-equipped service trucks that come to you.
  • 24/7, round-the-clock readiness.
  • Expert technicians and staff.
  • An innovative in-house machine shop that provides customized solutions to unique challenges.
  • A comprehensive catalog, including parts from companies like Twin Disc, Clark, Allison, Rockford, and Oil States.
  • Same-day shipping.
  • An ideal location just nine miles from Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport
  • The willingness to go anywhere in the world we’re needed, and the experience to do so effectively.

Fantastic Fully-Equipped Field Service Truck Capabilities

Apr 14, 11 • Industrial Product ServiceComments Off on Fantastic Fully-Equipped Field Service Truck Capabilities

Time is money when you’re out in the field, and even a small breakdown can be crippling to your project’s finances. When you need service, you need it then and there””not in three to five shipping days needed to get the right tools for the fix (or even the three to five hours it takes an ill-equipped company to get the industrial transmission part into the right place) and that’s where K&L comes in with our fully-equipped field service trucks.

Our field service trucks are carefully designed to respond to the complex and ever-evolving needs for job-sites in industries like oil, gas, mining and construction. Our trucks will come to you””24/7, wherever you’re working””and they’ll come armed and ready to get the job done.

Let’s take a closer look at what they carry:

A 5,000-Pound-Capacity Auto Crane

A heavy-duty Auto Crane makes it much easier to respond to demanding industrial power service needs, and gives us the flexibility and accuracy needed to do fixes in hard-to-reach places.

Why? Reach and lifting abilities matter. If we just showed up with the right tools and replacement parts, but no way to easily position them to where they need to be, additional time and manpower would be wasted trying get everything in the right place.

The cranes feature rack-and-pinion rotation systems””resulting in the high torque needed for heavy lifting and positioning””and rotational cylinders guarded by flow controls and load-holding valves, which boost safety and operational precision. All together, this makes repairing or replacing equipment like torque converters, mechanical clutches and pneumatic clutches simple.

In other words, the 5,000-pound Auto Cranes on our trucks make sure they arrive ready to work.

Complete, Customized Tool Capabilities

There’s nothing more dismaying than a service provider showing up unprepared or unable to do the job. From the heaviest-duty appliances to the smallest hand tools, we’ll arrive with everything needed to install and service the wide range of units we sell.

In fact, at our headquarters in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, we thrive on coming up with customized solutions to unusual and unexpected problems. Our tool sets reflect these diverse, nimble solutions capabilities.

Machine Shop Support and Talent

In the end, what’s on our truck is only as good as the people that arrive with it. And thanks to our extensive support experience, our technicians are simply the best in the business. Headquartered just nine miles from DWF International Airport in the town of Hurst, we’re also ideally located to get them to jobs all over the country.

Furthermore, as with our tool sets, our North Texas machine shop and service center gives us the backing needed to solve problems specific to your job’s unique needs and situation. We’ll get you back up and running in no time.

Contact one of industrial clutch and transmission service specialists for more information.

VC-Style and CB-Style Air Clutches: The Basics

Feb 9, 11 • ClutchesComments Off on VC-Style and CB-Style Air Clutches: The Basics

At KL Clutch, we’re proud to provide both VC-style and CB-style pneumatic clutches “” the sort rugged enough for peak, reliable performance out in the oilfields, and flexible enough to be provide pneumatic clutch solutions across a variety of other industrial applications using air clutches.

Both are constricting-type clutches featuring Oil State’s ELASTA-FLEX drum clutch elements””a flexible, fabric-reinforced inflatable elastomeric tube that expands radially inward””designed for severe, demanding clutch applications. When the tube constricts, it pushes the friction shoes against an outer cylindrical drum surface, which makes it easy to accurately determine and control element torque capacity.

Let’s take a look at the unique capabilities of each:

VC-type pneumatic clutches: Better heat dissipation. Higher torque capabilities. Increased longevity.Air Clutches | A Comparison by K&L Clutch and Transmission

VC elements were principally designed for severe, high-torque, high-thermal capacity clutching in heavy machinery with high starting loads. In other words: toughness, toughness, toughness.

By design, torque gets transmitted via torque bars from the side plates to the friction shoes. They work well for a few reasons: A well-ventilated construction improves heat dissipation from the friction shoes and cooling airflow. And the clutches boast high torque ratings, which makes it easy to use smaller diameter units (better for lowering contact velocity on high-speed applications). Because of what’s required of them, VC-style air clutches are in are in many ways considered to be the most trusty, tough styles of drum clutches.

A VC-style clutch might especially come in handy (compared to less efficient conventional clutches) if you’ve faced repeated clutch failures resulting from extensive slippage and high starting loads.

CB-type pneumatic clutches: torsional resilience and flexibility

CB-style air clutches, meanwhile, are most noted for their flexibility. Designed for power transmission in oilfield machinery, the CB elements work best in high-speed, medium-torque applications””especially those where high heat generation (as seen in VC applications) is less of a problem. CB torque also gets transmitted through a sort of flexible neoprene side wall and cord actuating tube, which lets minor, naturally occurring shaft misalignment happen without causing larger problems. The neoprene tube automatically tightens up when friction surfaces wear, providing constant compensation.

Out in the oilfield, the CB-types fit a more broad array of applications than VC types, including engine, slush pump, and PTO applications.

Contact our industrial clutch specialists to get a better idea of which pneumatic clutch suits your needs.