Clutch for rotary autopilot drive

[catsketcher]

Hello all

My son and I are working on a below decks autopilot for my boat. He has got a circuit board printed up with accelerometers, rate gyros and a compass all installed as tiny components. He is now doing software testing to get it to talk to my tablet or phone.

My part is to get the mechanical drive going. I have a nice 12 volt motor that has good gearing and need to connect this to my shaft. I was thinking about using a timing belt and loosening it off mechanically by moving the motor but I would rather use chain and an electromagnetic clutch.

Does anyone know much about 12 volt clutches suitable for mounting onto an electric motor? I have spent a fair bit of time trying to work out the clutches that normal autopilots use but I have come up empty.

cheers

Phil

[Sebastien972]

Hi Phil,

Did you end up finding a mechanical drive with a functioning clutch? I'm also working on a similar project and would truly appreciate if you could let me know what you found out. Thanks!