VEX Clutch

VEX V5 Technical Support UNOFFICIAL Tech Support
#1

I have a few questions about the VEX clutch:

  1. What is a clutch?
  2. What does it do?
  3. How can we use it?

I’ve searched all over the web but I can’t find any article or description about what the clutch does and why you should use them. I assume this might be because they were discontinued?

My team has some in our box; is it legal to still use the clutch on a robot now?

Anyone know what this part is for?
#2

They were for the old vex motors with plastic gears. There’s no reason to use them now with 393s, but you can.

The purpose of the clutch was to allow an axle to spin in it if too much torque was applied so that the motor did not stall and destroy its plastic gears.

#3

They are still legal. Additionally, they aren’t fully discontinued: VEX servos still ship with clutches.

You can see pictures of how to use them here.

#4

There are also springs inside of the clutches that fit around an axle and are perfectly legal to use.

#6