Are you innovating eVTOL/VTOL vehicles? Formsprag Clutch is your partner for overrunning sprag clutches, brakes

October 20, 2022
VTOL eVTOL

Are you innovating eVTOL/VTOL vehicles? Formsprag Clutch is your partner for overrunning sprag clutches, brakes

The rapidly growing interest in various types of eVTOL/VTOL aircraft has created a highly competitive market environment for vehicle OEMs.

A global leader in clutch and brake technologies with key certifications, Formsprag Clutch is the premier partner for aircraft design engineers.

Formsprag clutches and brakes can be utilized on all types of VTOL designs, including aircraft that...

  • are electric battery, electric hybrid, electric hydrogen or turbine engine powered
  • utilize multirotor, tilt-rotor or decoupled-propulsive drive systems
  • are driven by 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 or more vertical thrust tilt rotors/fans
  • incorporate pusher/lateral rotors/fans
  • are piloted or optionally piloted
  • utilize tilt and/or foldable wings
  • are designed to carry passengers, cargo or both
  • feature redundant electric motors on all rotors/fans

Decades of Aerospace Experience

VTOL over City

Formsprag has been serving the aerospace industry since 1943. Since that time, major aircraft OEMs have come to rely on Formsprag’s creativity and vision to meet their power transmission challenges. Experience matters – we now have over 500 years of combined engineering experience under one roof.

Responsive Engineering Support

Whether a modified standard product or a completely new custom solution is required, Formsprag provides complete engineering and sales support to customers around the world.

To improve speed-to-market, custom prototypes are often delivered in weeks, not months.

Precision Manufacturing & Certifications

Our state-of-the-art facility in Michigan utilizes that latest manufacturing technologies and equipment, as well as in-house heat treating and metallurgical test lab.

Formsprag products come with key AS9100D & ISO9001:2015 certifications.


Electromagnetic Clutches & Brakes

Formsprag Electromagnetic Clutches and Brakes
  • Formsprag offers a wide selection of energy-efficient electric clutches and brakes designed to reduce power consumption.
  • Virtually any VTOL application can be solved with a custom electric or hydraulic clutch or brake solution from Formsprag



Overrunning Sprag Clutches

Formsprag Overrunning Clutches Aerospace and Defense
  • Overrunning clutches (also known as sprag retainer assemblies oneway clutches, or freewheels), permit drive during normal operations and autorotation during emergency situations.
  • To allow for power redundancy, these clutches can be installed on all rotor/fan drive motors to enable backup drives to engage as needed.
  • Formsprag’s unique Formchrome® process diffuses chromium into the surface of the sprags in the clutch creating a surface hardness that translates into extended wear life of 180% over Non-Formchrome sprags.

Click here to learn more about our engineering capabilities for the VTOL market!

Standard products are just the starting point. Leverage our engineers’ decades of experience to innovate the best solution the relationship between performance, weight, and cost.

CONTACT a member of our team today