Friction solution to a slip clutch

A Canadian company were making a slip clutch to reduce the load on the drive belt on the motor engine. This was at the time already undertaking a subcontractor that had made prototypes which had been approved in both the short and long term field tests. When it was time for the subcontractor to start the serial production, they could not achieve the proper quality.

So what would happen now? Would they need to shut down the entire new product launch? The answer to this was Rydahls. The Canadian product manager traveled to Sweden within three days of Rydahls positive response and in his luggage he had test plates (metal carriers). He put them on the office table and said, "I want to have a prototype with me home - on Sunday."

Design calculations, production and bonding

So Rydahls had to start production work very quickly. The requirements were that the friction lining must be punched out, be thin, bendable and flexible. It must be working in a certain speed and heat. After careful brake calculations and brake design suggestions from Rydahls' designers, the choice fell on the friction material BK4200. This was bonded to the proper design and then fitted onto the test plates during the weekend.

Field testing was successful

When the product manager came home to Canada on the Sunday, the first short-term tests started immediately. It was successful and the prototype was approved within days. Then it was time for the month-long term tests. Also they fell out well for Rydahls.

Serial production of over two million parts

After the prototype was approved the serial production was launched, where Rydahls today has delivered over two million parts in total.

In addition, over time, they together developed the way they punched out the details of the friction material. Originally the punching resulted in a lot of waste material that could not be reused. Rydahls proposed for water jet cutting the parts to reduce material loss. This meant that all parts of the friction materials could be used. This created a very beneficial business value for the customer.