Electro-magnetic clutches debut at Seawork

The EMC will make life easier for manufacturers, boat builders and engine packagers facing the challenges of remotely clutching ancillary drives or equipment.

With seven sizes running from 400 to 7800, the new Centa EMC can be fitted directly to the engine SAE flange via a torsionally flexible coupling onto the flywheel or assembled as a stand-alone unit for auxiliary drives from the non-flywheel end.

Given the correct application factors, all items of drive can be accommodated from high inertia fan drives to hydraulic pumps. The versatile design allows generators or hybrid motors to be added to the clutched, or drive end, and all PTO requirements can be accommodated with the one compact unit.

Centa sales manager Nigel Smith said: “Centa has responded to calls from the market for this type of electronic clutch control and we believe that it will make drive systems easier to install and operate and, hopefully, more efficient, which will be a welcome prospect for everybody in the marine industry.”

The Centa EMC are not limited to use on marine applications as they are compatible with all types of auxiliary drives.

The benefits of the design, which combines versatility with practicality, include easy integration into any propulsion drive and application, with varying power for large capacity operations. The control electronics are fully sealed in a watertight unit, which means that the EMC can be utilised on all types of vessels and can be operated in all seas and weathers.

Centa is confident that the new EMC will meet demand from designers and engineers in the marine, industrial plant, and energy sectors who are seeking a cost effective and versatile electronic alternative to the manually operated clutch.