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  • Author Author: Workshopshed
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Enchanted Objects Design Challenge - Matilda is not happy

Workshopshed

"That” said Matilda, "is not good". Hans looked nervously over the top of Network Security for dummies. He knew that tone of voice and the daughter of a miner is not one to be trifled with.

 

Matilda held up her mechanism and Hans saw the distinct arc transcribed onto the paper. "Oh" he said.

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Several hours later, later the floor was deep in cardboard scraps and scrumpled paper. Matilda looked despondent. "Perhaps the Historical society might be able to help” suggested Hans.

 

The next morning Matilda headed up the back stairs of the town hall. There, behind the reference library was a small door marked "Historical society”. Behind the small door was a small room piled high with boxes and papers. On a desk she saw the model locomotive from the faire. "Can I help" asked a voice from behind the model. A bespectacled man's face popped up from under the desk. Matilda explained her predicament. "Ah yes" said the man, ”that's a problem engine designers took years to crack. It wrecks the engine efficiency to the point we could not get our model to run". He pointed to a small electric motor attached to the bottom of the model. "Go next door to the reference library and ask for a book on Watt's Linkage” he suggested.

Watts_linkage.gif

 

 

Matilda returned home with a spring in her step and a book under her arm. She quickly made a model of the linkage and confirmed it did indeed generate the desired motion. She silently thanked Mr Watt for his fantastic solution.

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Next Enchanted Objects Design Challenge - The Woodcutter and the Blacksmith

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  • Andy

    I was thinking of whether a watts linkage would work, when you did the first one.

    Most applications I've seen either have very long 'arms' or short travel distance, otherwise you get the sligt sideways motion and rotation.

     

    Is your design like the animated diagram (which is a watts linkage) or are you trying to use the cardboard one.

    The trick is both L1 and L3 should be horizontal at centre. (hence they use a short L2 on vehicles, otherwise the chassis hits the ground at L3's fixed point)

     

    This linear motion stuff has haunted automotive engineers for a long time, although the arc motion can be used to resolve some other problems and improve ride and stability.

     

    Mark

Comment

  • Andy

    I was thinking of whether a watts linkage would work, when you did the first one.

    Most applications I've seen either have very long 'arms' or short travel distance, otherwise you get the sligt sideways motion and rotation.

     

    Is your design like the animated diagram (which is a watts linkage) or are you trying to use the cardboard one.

    The trick is both L1 and L3 should be horizontal at centre. (hence they use a short L2 on vehicles, otherwise the chassis hits the ground at L3's fixed point)

     

    This linear motion stuff has haunted automotive engineers for a long time, although the arc motion can be used to resolve some other problems and improve ride and stability.

     

    Mark

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