[TheForge] power hammer

[Andy Vida]

Dann Johnson wrote:

> Reading / hearing of a disk brake used as a clutch just doesn't turn any
> lights on for me. I can imagine that a good brake  will stop / stall out an
> electric motor, but that isn't the same  thing as a clutch.

	I'm thinking perhaps you are misunderstanding the manner in
	which the disk brake is used.  The motor drives the pinion
	gear of the differential.  Because the load on the ram is
	heavier than that on the unengaged disk brake, the disk
	spins.  As soon as you clamp down on the disk, the load on
	the ram being now less, the axle to which it is attached
	starts spinning and the hammer runs.  It's a simple matter
	of rerouting the drive energy from one axle to the other.