Originally Posted by
ala_xfire
Regarding the overall design of the supercharger clutch :
Years ago ( back in the 60's - 70's ) I used to service large computer systems that had printers with magnetic clutches for moving the paper.
These clutches utilized powdered magnetic metal ( I THINK it was iron. not sure ) that had an internal rotor and stator.
Surrounding this was a coil that when energized caused the powdered metal to align, thus bonding the rotor and stator.
These clutches lasted for thousands of hours, the only failure was usually attributed to bearing failure.
NO springs to break, NO clutch surfaces to wear, and totally silent.
Why didn't they utilize this technology ?
I would imagine that the torque could not be transmitted.
If you study the springs in the OEM clutches and compare the thickness of them to the after market ones you can see that the after market ones are at least twice the thickness. If these were true springs they would be impossible to bend.
These springs have to be just strong enough to pull the clutch plate back from the magnet when the power is switched off and not too strong that the magnet can just attract them which would lead to slipping. They also have to be able to take the power longitudinally.
The Code 3 pulleys appeared to have the correct thickness of spring, the aluminum ones suffering from a weakness in the riveting.
The rivets have to be a tight fit in the holes prior to the riveting process.
Surely this is not too hard, but rushing product to market too soon often uncovers unforeseen troubles.