HOW THE TORQUE UNIT WORKS

Figure 1

SPECIMAS reels are driven by torque units which work on a patented self braking
hydrodynamic clutch system.

The functions of the torque unit are:

 To provide a constant torque on the drum shaft.
 To gear the drum rotating speed to the reeling diameter of the cable.

To brake the drum when stationary.

 To allow a controlled unreeling of the cable.
 To regulate the torque output accordingly to the requirements of each application.

The torque unit is powered by a motor rotating at constant speed. Normally a

conventional electric squirrel cage motor is used but also an air or hydraulic motor can
be used.

The torque of the driving motor is transmitted to the drum shaft through a hydrodynamic
clutch which is combined with a worm gear reduction.
The output torque is only minimally affected by the rotating speed of the input and
output shaft. The output torque can be set from zero to maximum torque through a
spring arrangement of the clutch.

The following is a brief description of the torque unit components:

The bronze crown gear (pos. 3) which is freely mounted on the drum shaft (pos. 1) has
specially machined surfaces on either side.

The two friction plates (pos. 4, 5) are mounted on both sides of the crown gear. These
are made of steel and are fixed to the drum shaft through a key.
The friction plates are also specially machined so that an oil film is created whilst
turning, thus transmitting the torque between the crown gear and the friction plates.

Due to the special machining of the clutch surfaces, they remain lubricated even when
the clutch is not moving; thus eliminating normally occurring stick-slip effect. The
variation between the dynamic and the static friction remains within 3-10% depending
on the size of the torque unit.
Since the worm gear is irreversible the clutch also functions as a brake when the motor
is off. This gives two major advantages:
The electro-magnetic brake, which is required in conventional cable reels has been
eliminated in the SPECIMAS torque unit.
a) The torque of the brake is the same as the reeling torque which thereby avoids an
uneven pull on the cable when the motor is switched on and off.
b) In order to vary the pressure on the clutch to obtain the required output, the torque
unit has an adjustable spring assembly.

The spring assembly consists of the rear friction plate (pos. 5), compression springs
(pos. 6), the spring holder plate (pos. 7) and the torque regulating nut (pos. 8).

The springs are placed between the rear friction plate and the spring holder which is in
turn fixed onto the drum shaft through a key but can slide along the shaft axis. The
torque regulating nut is screwed onto the drum shaft and pushes against the spring
holder plate through a series of steel ball bearings.

The torque can be regulated by using the torque regulating key (pos. 10) by placing it
upside-down into the torque unit. With the torque regulating nut held in position the
drum can be turned manually or by help of the cable reel motor thus increasing the
pressure on the spring assembly and thereby increasing the torque output of the clutch.

Torque unit Reduction Weight Fixing Bolts Max. torque

type ratio (kg) (Nr.xSize) (daNm)

10.0 1:42 35 4 x M10 8

20.0 1:60 55 4 x M16 16
40.0 1.63 125 4 x M16 32
120.0 1:90 320 4 x M20 100
200.0 1:186 610 4 x M24 200
300.0 1:237 610 4 x M24 270
550.0 1:202 1005 8 x M24 450
700.0 1:256 1020 8 x M24 570