Forklift Starters - The starter motor nowadays is usually either a series-parallel wound direct current electric motor that consists of a starter solenoid, which is similar to a relay mounted on it, or it could be a permanent-magnet composition. When current from the starting battery is applied to the solenoid, mainly via a key-operated switch, the solenoid engages a lever that pushes out the drive pinion which is situated on the driveshaft and meshes the pinion with the starter ring gear that is seen on the engine flywheel.
The solenoid closes the high-current contacts for the starter motor, that begins to turn. Once the engine starts, the key operated switch is opened and a spring within the solenoid assembly pulls the pinion gear away from the ring gear. This particular action causes the starter motor to stop. The starter's pinion is clutched to its driveshaft by an overrunning clutch. This allows the pinion to transmit drive in only a single direction. Drive is transmitted in this particular method via the pinion to the flywheel ring gear. The pinion remains engaged, like for example because the operator did not release the key once the engine starts or if the solenoid remains engaged because there is a short. This actually causes the pinion to spin separately of its driveshaft.
The actions mentioned above will stop the engine from driving the starter. This significant step stops the starter from spinning very fast that it can fly apart. Unless adjustments were made, the sprag clutch arrangement would stop the use of the starter as a generator if it was employed in the hybrid scheme discussed prior. Typically a regular starter motor is designed for intermittent use which would prevent it being utilized as a generator.
The electrical parts are made to be able to work for about 30 seconds to be able to avoid overheating. Overheating is caused by a slow dissipation of heat is due to ohmic losses. The electrical parts are intended to save cost and weight. This is actually the reason the majority of owner's instruction manuals meant for automobiles recommend the driver to stop for a minimum of ten seconds after each ten or fifteen seconds of cranking the engine, whenever trying to start an engine which does not turn over at once.
In the early part of the 1960s, this overrunning-clutch pinion arrangement was phased onto the market. Previous to that time, a Bendix drive was used. The Bendix system works by placing the starter drive pinion on a helically cut driveshaft. Once the starter motor begins spinning, the inertia of the drive pinion assembly allows it to ride forward on the helix, thus engaging with the ring gear. As soon as the engine starts, the backdrive caused from the ring gear allows the pinion to exceed the rotating speed of the starter. At this moment, the drive pinion is forced back down the helical shaft and thus out of mesh with the ring gear.
During the 1930s, an intermediate development between the Bendix drive was made. The overrunning-clutch design that was made and introduced in the 1960s was the Bendix Folo-Thru drive. The Folo-Thru drive consists of a latching mechanism along with a set of flyweights in the body of the drive unit. This was an improvement since the typical Bendix drive utilized so as to disengage from the ring as soon as the engine fired, although it did not stay functioning.
Once the starter motor is engaged and starts turning, the drive unit is forced forward on the helical shaft by inertia. It then becomes latched into the engaged position. When the drive unit is spun at a speed higher than what is achieved by the starter motor itself, for example it is backdriven by the running engine, and then the flyweights pull outward in a radial manner. This releases the latch and enables the overdriven drive unit to become spun out of engagement, hence unwanted starter disengagement can be prevented prior to a successful engine start.
Click to Download the pdf