I've stripped down a Kenpro KR-400 rotator and found that the brake pad material was full of grease and had come away from the plates. I'm finding it hard to find spare parts and wondering if anybody knows what I could replace the friction material with?
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Kenpro KR-400 brake material
- Thread starter 26OD004
- Start date
Kenpro was purchased by Yaesu...
Yeah I phoned Yaesu UK today, they were of little help
I have seen that video, it was a great help in just to see how it all came apart. I've been on his website too but he is in AU and importing stuff is expensive here now, thanks Brexit ! lol. Plus I can't seem to find what I need for sale on his site.
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I wonder if you could use a motorcycle flat brake pad and cut the friction material off and dremel it? I know it would be time consuming and you would need to be careful of dust etc. (respirator needed) But you should be able to fashion something and then epoxy it to the washer after if has been thoroughly degreased?
This is what was thinking about. I have seen small brake pads for e-scoters that would work and they are cheap, but they are stuck to a metal backing plate so they would need removing. The original friction material comes as a disc with double sided tape on the back. I figure I just need to find the right material, cut it to size and glue it in place. I just don't know much about clutch/brake pad material to choose and source the right one.
So I posted the same question in a rotator repair group on facebook and someone replied back that the original material is made from cork. After a bit of research it seems cork is used as a friction material in sewing machine clutches. So I bought a sheet of rubberised cork sheet and cut some discs out of it and superglued them on yesterday. It seems to work but I have no idea how well it will work (what the braking capability now is). I still have a lot of cleaning and re-greasing to do but it's getting there.
I mostly avoid taking rotators apart, but I can tell you that inside reel-to-reel tape machines the two friction materials used for brakes were felt and cork. Not sure what else you could find in the thin-layer form you need.
73
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It's not something I've done before and I've been putting this off for years
It either has to be repaired or I throw it away, and I hate throwing things away lol. I've used two 1mm thick discs of nitrile infused cork and it is working as a brake. Once I get it back together I'll mount a stub mast and a bit of boom to it and see how well the brake works once there is a bit of leverage on it.