Cascade Clutch & Performance llc
Motor Sports Performance Specialists
46404 Barlow Trail Road
John Day, Oregon
97845
541-419-0500
Owners: Dave & Dorothy Lynn
Cascade-Balancing
For The Motor Sports Industry: Polaris, BRP, Arctic Cat and others. BRP 850 E-Tec, P-Tec, X-3,
We are able to balance most any precision rotating part on your motor sports equipment. What we will focus on will be the clutch's and flywheel's. When selecting a Balancing company look closely at the method they use to hold the clutch during the process. Cones with a small center shaft is not the best way. We use a custom built mandrel that replicates the crank shaft. We have found this produces a far superior end result. The information below is a more detailed explanation of the process. Most find it boring. However it is part of what we do. We use a "Hard Bearing" balancing machine with Easy Balance 2.2 software. Balancing should be put on your list of yearly maintenance. Give us a call if you have any question about the process. $150.00 Primary Clutch. $85.00 Secondary Clutch. Pricing assumes the clutch does not require any new parts. We will check the clearances on all parts before we balance. If we find any issues we will call before we proceed. See photos on this page to see a clean clutch. Dirt adds weight and affects the balancing. Complete rebuild service is available.
Here we are using one of our support vendors CNC lathes to measure a crankshaft.
A Polaris clutch on the balancing machine.
Double click here to add text.
Cascade Balancing is a full service precision balancing company. We have the ability to balance items up to 33" between bearing supports, up to 36" in diameter and up to 165 pounds. We can accommodate items such as pumps and impellers, electric motors, shafts and axles, cooling fans, HVAC components, most engine components, and most any rotating part that requires balancing.
Benefits of balancing: More efficient operation, less vibration, less bearing wear, longer service life of components, less down time and less heat build up just to name a few.
If you have any balancing needs please give us a call to discuss your specific requirements.
What Is Balancing?
Balancing is the procedure by which the mass of a rotor is checked and adjusted in order to ensure that the vibration of the journals and/or forces on the bearings at a frequency corresponding to service speed are within specified limits.
In practical terms, balancing corrects unbalance. There are several types of unbalance, single and two plane. Single plane unbalance can be pictured as disk shaped part, with a weight taped to one edge. When the disk rotates it will come to rest with the weight at the bottom. If you were to spin the disk, it would shake as the disk tried to rotate about the center of the mass, which is no longer located at its the center point. The center of mass is displaced from the geometric center-line. Another way to explain this effect is to imagine a large clump of heave mud stuck to the tire of your car just on one side of your wheel. As the speed of the wheel increases the wobble due to unbalance will increase incrementally due to the fact the center of mass has shifted.
This type of unbalance can be called force or static unbalance. It can be corrected by removing the weight or by adding an equal weight directly opposite to the unbalance area. Adding or removing weight would move the center of mass back to the center-line.
Two-plane unbalance can be pictured by imagining a cylindrical or drum-shaped part with one weight attached at one end of the cylinder and another attached at the other end, but offset 180 degrees from the first weight. Note: the ends of the cylinder are in different planes. (Left and Right sides) Spinning the drum will cause it to wobble as it seeks to rotate about the axis of this mass, which is no longer parallel to the geometric axis. Two-plane unbalance can be called couple unbalance. It can be corrected by adding or subtracting two correction weights at a calculated distance from each other.
When both single and two-plane unbalance are present in a rotating part the condition is called dynamic unbalance. To correct this type of unbalance, one must compensate for both eccentricity (caused by static unbalance) and wobble (caused by couple unbalance). In practice, any dynamic unbalance can be corrected by making adjustments in two separated planes.
Two-Plane Unbalance
Single-Plane Unbalance
Even New clutch's can be substantially out of balance. The factory does what we refer to as a quickie balance. In this photo you can see a 12 gram unbalance on the back side of the secondary clutch. The closer you get to Zero Unbalance the better better the process and the less wear on your equipment.
Something else to think about: When an item arrives at our shop we have to unpack it, tag it with the owners information, inspect general condition, measure all tolerances, check belt to sheave clearance, dissemble to inspect bushings, buttons, rollers and verify the fly weights are all the same weight. Media blast (in most cases) and inspect for damage or wear, once cleaned. Assuming all parts are usable we re-assemble and adjust belt to sheave clearance which in most cases means a trip to the lathe. While on the lathe we correct any minor wear caused by the belt to the sheave faces.
Once this is all completed we move the clutch to the balancer. (A $24,000.00 investment) Once balancing is completed, we remove the clutch from the balancer and send back to be repackaged, invoiced and print a shipping label. All these steps take time. So when you see a company offer to balance your clutch for $50.00 bucks ask yourself how much time could they really be spending on your clutch for that kind of money.
Note: We will be happy to add insurance to your return shipment if you request it. There is an additional charge for insurance which is based on claimed value. Please be aware that if UPS or the USPS doesn't pack the box themselves they will not pay a claim. They will take your money for insurance however. We ship with UPS and they determine the insurance rates. Thank You!
NOTE: When you pack your clutch for shipment PLEASE insert a note with instructions on what you want done along with all your contact information.
Once you have your clutch balanced then we want to keep it on center line of the crank shaft. The stock Polaris bushing and washer allow the bolt to move off centerline .017" Now in the grand scale this seems like a small number until you start spinning the clutch at 8000 RPM. All unbalance and centerline issues magnify exponentially with RPM.
We have produced a replacement bushing and washer that is within .002" and will keep your clutch centered on the crank. The bushings are made of 303 Stainless Steel and the washer are heat treated 17-4 Stainless Steel. These replacements fit all P-85 Polaris snowmobile clutch's 35.00 a set.
Stainless Bushing and Washer set
55 HP Electric Motor
Armature Balance to G2.5
