Re: Five hundred and seven mechanical movements

[Kludge]

I wonder how many of those mechanisms are in use today?

I wouldn't doubt quite a few in one form or another.

The original copyright date for the book is in 1870 and as of 1995 the most recent edition was still in print. Guess those ancients had pretty good heads on their shoulders.

Best regards,

Kludge ... who regards that book an Essential Read

 

[ChooChooMike]

I bought that book last year ! Very neat to thumb through and wonder what the heck most of the odd-ball mechanical movements were used for !!

 

[bentprop]

"I wouldn't doubt quite a few in one form or another"

I'll second that,Kludge.The first page I looked at,p12,shows bevel gears.Found in every rear-wheel drive car/truck differential!Interesting.Bookmarked for further perusal .Thanks for that,sorveltaja.

 

[Kludge]

The first page I looked at,p12,shows bevel gears.Found in every rear-wheel drive car/truck differential!

Wouldn't a front wheel drive have them somewhere in the transaxle too?

sorveltaja.

Okay, not German or Dutch (not enough doubled vowels for the latter ;D) so next likely candidate is one of the Scandanavian countries and I'm leaning toward Norwegian. Close? Also translation?

Best regards,

Kludge (1/4 Scandi and doesn't speak a word of any of the languages included)

 

[carbide_burner]

Thanks for the link. Will be an interesting read for sure!

 

[Kludge]

Quite close, I'm from Finland.

Home to a lot of things including the Nokia phone and a good chunk of the Internet's core structure.

So I kind of 'morphed' those two words, and got sorveltaja .

Cool. Thanks.

Best regards,

Kludge



Since it isn't literary language, it can't be found on any dictionary.
[/quote]

 

[rickharris]

Many kinds of mechanisms from 1908: http://www.archive.org/details/fivehundredseven00browiala

I wonder how many of those mechanisms are in use today?

I also have a copy of that book (Amazon if your interested) - I guess 99% of thos mechanisms are used in one way or another - although I expect electronic control systems have had a considerable impact in this field as they are usually lighter, more compact and more flexible.

In fact for some time I have been thinking about how you could replace almost all of a steam engine (minus the steam) with some electronic equivalent.

Electro magnets and magnets for cylinder and piston - Wires for conrods and cranks, magnetic bearings.

Hang on I am describing an electric motor!.

 

[Kludge]

Electro magnets and magnets for cylinder and piston - Wires for conrods and cranks, magnetic bearings.

Hey, get outta my head!

A lot of the sketches I have are electric (electromagnetic) equivalents of steam engines which simply swap out the steam cylinder & piston and install what is essentially a solenoid in its place. These are part of a Neo-Victorian (aka: Steampunk) approach which has a few rules associated with it. Two of those "rules" are that AC was never much more than a laboratory curiosity and conventional electric motors like we understand them were never developed. A few exist but they don't fit the Order of Things so aren't even much of a lab curiosity.

Now, before anyone says anything about the approach, please remember I used to write science fiction so creating a world where different rules apply was fairly easy. The laws of physics et al are the same, of course, just how they were applied changes. Another fundimental "truth" in that world is that the Baghdad Battery really was a battery and the technology was never lost but was continuously developed through the ages.

That world would be much like this one around the late 19th and very early 20th centuries as far as technology goes in many respects, but ahead in some respects and behind in others. Machines and machine design ... well, there are only a few ways to make something work and the book that's the title of this thread still applies.

That's kind of convenient, isn't it.

Best regards,

Kludge

 

[rickharris]

5 good reasons why AC will NEVER catch on:

1. The maths is too hard for any "normal" engineer. (on the grounds that anything you can't workout in your head is too hard to do)

2. Current goes back words and forwards ... Come onnnnnn! how could that work it wouldn't get anywhere.

3. Why make something that needs to be reconverted into a differnt form to use it - That's why steam is sooo cool. make it - use it.

4. It Hums.

5. If it was so good there would be AC batteries because someone would package it.


I always knew that all that Royal Air Force electronics training would be some use one day!

 

[Kludge]

1. The maths is too hard for any "normal" engineer. (on the grounds that anything you can't workout in your head is too hard to do)

Further, AC introduces that nasty SQRT(-1). How could anything with an imaginary component to the math be real?

2. Current goes back words and forwards ... Come onnnnnn! how could that work it wouldn't get anywhere.

Net voltage over time = 0. (I think that's an integral over time but I haven't had my coffee yet.) I guess all the power available is in that imaginary component.

3. Why make something that needs to be reconverted into a differnt form to use it - That's why steam is sooo cool. make it - use it.

It and DC are both all real too.

4. It Hums.

DC knows the lyrics.

5. If it was so good there would be AC batteries because someone would package it.

Even AC Delco batteries are DC. what kind of a deal is that?

I always knew that all that Royal Air Force electronics training would be some use one day!

The USN uses the same instructors.

Best regards,

Kludge

 

[Bluechip]

If you find 507 not enough, you can always try a few more




http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-...0-Mechanical-Movements-and-Devices-480708.htm

dave

 

[Kludge]

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-...0-Mechanical-Movements-and-Devices-480708.htm

The original title was Mechanical Movements, Powers and Devices or some variation thereof, and was published at least to the 12th edition in 1911. (The 3rd edition was printed in 1897. I have no clue about the 1st.) It's more of an illustrated dictionary but if you've ever been curious about things like the equalizing draft for a four-in-hand coach, I suspect it's in there. (I didn't check beforehand.) It is an entirely different type of book from Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements but, in my never humble opinion, is another pretty cool one to have.

This micro-book review brough to you by the escapee from the Home for the Terminally Weird.

Best regards,

Kludge

 

[Bluechip]

Hi Kludge

You're right. On page 56, there's one for ' Three Horse Whiffletrees '

Must find a way to drop that one into a conversation sometime.

The index is not too comprehensive, so maybe there is one for four horses somewhere.

Regards

Dave.

 

[Kludge]

You're right. On page 56, there's one for ' Three Horse Whiffletrees '

Must find a way to drop that one into a conversation sometime.

Heh, that should be fun. Let me know how it works out.

I kind of cheated with the four-in-hand. It's basically two 2-horse whiffletrees (or just "trees"), one in front of the other. Coaches pulled by six and eight horses were/are just extensions of this.

The index is not too comprehensive, so maybe there is one for four horses somewhere.

The index is general but you're right, it lacks a bit in detail. The older editions (which I have in ebook form) aren't a whole lot different.

Have fun with it. I like the books from that era; they've got all sorts of cool information not found in todays' texts.

BEst regards,

Kludge