# Cone friction clutch on a feathered shaft

> How does a cone clutch connect two shafts?

- Category: Mechanisms › Couplings & joints
- Kind: Hardware
- Basis: Xem Studio design following Brown No. 47 (1868)
- Page: https://xemstudio.com/objects/cone-friction-clutch-mechanism/ · JSON: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=cone-friction-clutch-mechanism · Plain text: https://xemstudio.com/objects/cone-friction-clutch-mechanism/sheet.txt
- License: dimension sheet CC BY 4.0 (Xem Studio); files Xem Studio Design License (free to use and sell from, not to redistribute as files: https://xemstudio.com/license/)
- Use in every chat: add https://xemstudio.com/mcp as a connector (https://xemstudio.com/use-with-ai/)

**Exact dimensions.** True size, with no printing tolerance added.

## Notes

- A cone sliding on a feather key on one shaft is pushed by a lever-worked fork into a matching cup on the other: the wedge multiplies the pressing force by 1/sin α at the cone, so a modest push gives a strong friction drive, and it can be engaged while running with some slip.
- Here a 12.5° cone (Ø40 → Ø32.91 over 16 mm) and cup (Ø50); Ø8 shafts end to end, the driven one keyed (2 × 2 feather key). Drawn engaged: the cones touch over their whole length.
- Brown's No. 47 (friction clutch box engaged by a lever, on a feathered shaft).
- Parts (each has its own page): cone-clutch-cup-d50-12-5deg-bore8, cone-clutch-cone-d40-12-5deg-keyed8, keyed-shaft-8x100-key2, feather-key-2x2x30, linear-shafts-h6.
- Brown's movement No. 47 (1868) shows it; this model is a Xem Studio design following his figure, every part at true size.

## Sizes

| parameter | value |
|---|---|
| cone half-angle | 12.5° |
| cone | Ø40 → Ø32.91 × 16 |
| wedge gain | 1/sin 12.5° = 4.6 |
| shafts | Ø8, key 2 × 2 |

## Where the files are

- Henry T. Brown (1868, public domain): [Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements — scan on archive.org](https://archive.org/details/fivehundredseven00browiala) — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts
- 507movements.com: [Brown's movement No. 47: figure, his text and an animation](https://507movements.com/mm_047.html) — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts

## Free STEP/STL (1 parts, Xem Studio Design License, Xem Studio)

Index: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/cone-friction-clutch-mechanism/index.json · license: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/cone-friction-clutch-mechanism/LICENSE.md

- cone-friction-clutch-mechanism-assembly: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/cone-friction-clutch-mechanism/cone-friction-clutch-mechanism-assembly.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/cone-friction-clutch-mechanism/cone-friction-clutch-mechanism-assembly.stl) — Assembled mechanism, all parts placed at one pose (STEP keeps each part separate)

## Questions

**How does a cone clutch connect two shafts?**

A cone sliding on a feather key on one shaft is pushed by a lever-worked fork into a matching cup on the other: the wedge multiplies the pressing force by 1/sin α at the cone, so a modest push gives a strong friction drive, and it can be engaged while running with some slip.

## Fits with

- [Cone-clutch cup Ø50, 12.5° internal cone (Ø40 → Ø32.9 over 16 mm), Ø8 bore](https://xemstudio.com/objects/cone-clutch-cup-d50-12-5deg-bore8/)
- [Cone-clutch sliding cone Ø40, 12.5°, with Ø32 × 4 fork groove, keyed Ø8 bore](https://xemstudio.com/objects/cone-clutch-cone-d40-12-5deg-keyed8/)
- [Shaft Ø8 × 100 with a 2 × 1 keyway (60 mm)](https://xemstudio.com/objects/keyed-shaft-8x100-key2/)
- [Feather key 2 × 2 × 30](https://xemstudio.com/objects/feather-key-2x2x30/)
- [Linear shafts Ø3 to Ø25 mm (h6), 100 to 1000 mm long](https://xemstudio.com/objects/linear-shafts-h6/)