Heavy commercial vehicles demand clutch systems which are designed for high mileage and a long-life. It is not uncommon for a clutch to last for more than 600,000 kilometers in a short haul application, and for more than a million kilometers in long distance applications.
Vehicles working on construction sites also demand a clutch with greater wear-resistance because of the amount of maneuvering. Schaeffler Automotive Aftermarket has just introduced the LuK Travel Adjusted Clutch (TAC) to market, which it says delivers nearly twice the wear-reserve of conventional clutch systems.
Besides demanding high levels of wear-resistance, many commercial vehicles use automatic shift gearboxes (ASG) with clutch boost controllers that require a flat clutch-pressure curve for clutch control.
The LuK Travel Adjusted Clutch (TAC) precisely meets the requirements of such applications. The adjustment process is initiated by the TAC measuring the distance during clutch engagement and disengagement.
When the distance between the pressure plate and flywheel changes the axial amount of change is translated to the adjusting ring by a spindle with a directly-coupled pinion gear. Compensation follows with constant finger height between the pressure plate and the diaphragm spring. And because the entire adjustment mechanism is found on the pressure plate, distortion or torsion forces have no influence on the quality of adjustment. The advantage here is that the TAC has a minimum wear range of 6 mm – almost twice as large as that of conventional clutch systems.
The LuK Travel Adjusted Clutch is scheduled to be available to the global market in by the end of 2011. Designed for use as original equipment and approved by a leading global commercial vehicle manufacturer, it will be available in a 430 mm version in original-equipment quality. The TAC is produced by LuK Truck parts in Kaltennordheim, Germany. The first repair sets will consist of precisely matched individual TAC components, clutch disc and release bearing – and will initially be available for DAF and Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles and Mercedes-Benz buses.
