KBE⁺, Inc. Develops Hydraulic Clutch Design System

KBE⁺ , Inc. worked closely with the Engineers at Cotta Transmission Company, LLC (https://www.cotta.com/), an industry leader in manual transmissions for truck and off-highway vehicles to assist and guide them through a new product development cycle.  Their challenge was to create a line of clutched gearboxes that their customer would use to engage or disengage the drive equipment on their rigs including components such as large capacity pumps, conveyor drives, and drill rigs.

Structured as a collaborative development project, Cotta took on the detail design of the gearbox and KBE⁺ tackled the development of a clutch model and an automated modelling system.  The objective was to create a system that would become the design guideline for Cotta engineers to use in the future to design other sized clutch systems and next generation integrated clutched transmissions.  Both the clutch design for a specific customer application and the design system were delivered as expected.  Shortly thereafter, the first clutch system underwent testing and validation.  The results were then used to verify the model predictions and fine-tune its ability to design the right clutch the first time.

Cotta was clear that the clutch design system had to be very modular.  Thus designers do not need to design a full clutch, they can select from task-oriented  modules.  These modules, as an example, allow the designer to develop a stand-alone lubrication system or evaluate the thermal aspects of an existing design.  The clutch design system incorporates a complete friction plate and reaction disc database derived from various vendors within the industry.  It includes a fully functional lubrication module based on lubricants common to this industry.  It also has a full spring design and catalog selection systems for return springs. And finally, it provides predictive modules for thermal considerations, service expectations, and wear rates of the various friction materials including a means to predict filter life as a function of the expected friction material wear rate.

KBE⁺ was chosen for this project because of our excellent reputation for completing difficult tasks on time and on budget.  Our extensive expertise in transmission system development and clutch design and analysis was also a key factor.  Please visit www.kbeplus.com for more information about how we can help you move forward.