I have an application that I need to rotate a shaft at about 3 rpm. The shaft is 2.5" dia. x 5' long and has a number of cams on it. A ratchet wheel will move the shaft incrementally through 98 steps and there are 104 teeth on the ratchet. I want to use a gearmotor and chain drive to move the last 6 steps stopped by a limit switch. I don't think I'll need a brake and the ratchet wheel has 2 pressure brakes on it to take the jar out of the ratchet. I also want the gearmotor to "walk" the shaft around for troubleshooting. All my other machines use an 2.5" air cylinder mechanism to advance the ratchet the extra teeth. One of these cylinders is $600 plus the rest of the mechanism for $1000. I think the gearmotor will be cheaper and better.
My question: I want a one-way clutch so the chain drive will just coast while the machine ratchets. Is there a one-way clutch that I can mount on the output shaft of a 1/4 hp gearmotor and just bolt a sprocket to the clutch?