Cone Clutch

A cone clutch serves the same purpose as a disk or plate clutch. However, instead of mating two spinning disks, the cone clutch uses two conical surfaces to transmit torque by friction. A friction cone clutch has conical friction material acting against a mating concentric conical metal surface (cup). Drive is obtained by bringing the two together along the axis. They are used to connect or disconnect the source of power from engine to the transmission or direct to the driveshaft, where they have an advantage that they provide high performance in a smaller diameter than an equivalent plate clutch. They work on the basis of frictional forces developed from two or more surfaces being in contact. They can be used at high engagement speeds and give relatively smooth engagement due to the gradual increase in transmitted torque. cone clutch has become obsolete as a means of transferring power from the engine to the gearbox. The power transfer is done through friction clutches/ torque converters.