The Mechanical Engine

[Peter Lindemann]

Change of Reference

The pendulum in the veljko oscillator makes the opposite side rise once and fall twice. There may be merit in dr lindemann's spring returning the pendulum before centrifugal force zeros out at apex of swing.

Inquorate,

Ted is right. Veljko's system is meant to oscillate, and is balanced when the pendulum is hanging straight down. My wheel is meant to rotate, and is balanced when all of the pendulums are in the position closest to the axis. This change of reference is no accident, and took quite a bit of thought to come up with.

As soon as a pendulum is released, the whole wheel is "off balance" on that side. This is a GRAVITY imbalance. The centrifugal force generated at the bottom of the swing is a plus, and the spring return is to limit the negative effect of the "weightless" moment that occurs IF the pendulum is allowed to reach the natural apex of its swing.

Since I wrote the article and have thought more deeply about the design, I have come to the conclusion that the spring return should actually happen sooner than my original drawing suggests.

The weight should hit the spring so that the force it exerts on the frame of the wheel is almost completely RADIAL in nature. When this condition is met, the counter-force in the frame does not produce any vectors that work against the forward rotation. This can happen anytime after the pendulum has passed the "bottom dead center" of its swing, but the sooner the better, so the pendulum still has as much velocity as possible. I have also decided that the ideal "spring" for the pendulum to hit is a "super ball", cut in half. This should allow over 98% of the energy of the pendulum to be returned to it for the return trip toward the axis. A single transient excursion per pendulum, per revolution of the wheel is the ideal operating method.

Under these circumstances, when the pendulum hits the spring, and the spring is under maximum compression, the pendulum will NOT BE producing a weightless condition, as occurs in Veljko's machine. In fact, that moment will be the point of maximum gravity imbalance, and the point of maximum mechanical advantage for energy production. The two centrifugal force thrusts downward, one before and one after this point of maximum gravity imbalance, all add to the mechanical energy produced to maintain unidirectional energy production in the wheel.

Thanks, Ted, for drawing attention to these features of my design. I hope my added comments here also help make the inclusion of these design features more understandable.

Peter

[CloudSeeder]

think like an Egyptian architect a few thousand years ago is all.

Ted, good work there. I've looked at your picture several times now, hoping for an idea. Seems like what's needed is for the pendulum posts to move outward -briefly- and then somehow retract back in for the rest of the ride. If you was to move the posts in closer to the hub, then put a swing arm on the post with pendulum chains attached to that (instead of to the stationary posts)...

And somehow at the right time say 1 o'clock the arm begins a gentle swing outward adding to the pendulum weight leverage by 2:30 to 3 o'clock... does the job, then drops down perhaps from reaching a slot at the base of the post.

Then, again somehow, as the wheel continues to turn they reset for the next shot. I think if somebody or you can figure out a way to do that you would have the device working real well. All you hafta do is think like an Egyptian architect a few thousand years ago is all.

[CloudSeeder]

Perhaps a return spring slipped over the post, one that pulls the arm back up. I don't know what it's called though. Not a down pressure spring; one with hooks. That way the swing arm could find the slot, drop, then be pulled back into position as the wheel brings it back up the left side. At least it would work, til the springs got tired. Some springs last quite a while.

[Michelinho]

Leather & grease bearings.

@ Peter,

First of all, I think some of you may not know that a bearing made of stiff leather saturated with animal grease, with an iron shaft running on it, can rival a modern oil pressure bearing for friction and durability. I know this for a fact, from some old farmers who have fixed tractors using this same technology. At first, they thought of it as a "temporary fix", but it worked so well they kept putting off the true bearing replacement. After a few years, they just forgot about it!

An old practice amongst elder mechanics was to use wool on motor crankshaft to fix loose bearings. The wool turns to a glass like surface and works great for a very long time.


Take care,

Michel

[CloudSeeder]

Yeah, they use tricks like that here so you buy their Used Cars and they run smooth just beyond the 3-month Mickey Mouse warranty that came with the car.

[woopy]

Besslerlaurentius code think different!!!

here under how we can do

one single pendulum = more than a quarter turn
imagine more pendulum !!!!

let's go on

thank's to all

Laurent

[CloudSeeder]

Rocky Horror Picture Show!

[Ted Ewert]

here under how we can do

one single pendulum = more than a quarter turn
imagine more pendulum !!!!

let's go on

thank's to all

Laurent

Nice job man, great use of available resources.

Ted

[Ted Ewert]

Ted, good work there. I've looked at your picture several times now, hoping for an idea. Seems like what's needed is for the pendulum posts to move outward -briefly- and then somehow retract back in for the rest of the ride. If you was to move the posts in closer to the hub, then put a swing arm on the post with pendulum chains attached to that (instead of to the stationary posts)...

And somehow at the right time say 1 o'clock the arm begins a gentle swing outward adding to the pendulum weight leverage by 2:30 to 3 o'clock... does the job, then drops down perhaps from reaching a slot at the base of the post.

Then, again somehow, as the wheel continues to turn they reset for the next shot. I think if somebody or you can figure out a way to do that you would have the device working real well. All you hafta do is think like an Egyptian architect a few thousand years ago is all.

I was thinking along those same lines. Moving the fulcrum could work just as well if it was done right. It just depends on which method is easier with the materials that are available. Both methods take a certain level of thoughtful engineering and craftsmanship to function properly. Nothing beyond what most guys here can do though.

Ted

[CloudSeeder]

That's a very true, honest and humbling assessment that some here may not be equipped to hold this cup. However, many times it's the newbie who knows something no one else does. But I think with our various backgrounds and abilities and book learning we're going to smash this rock, pull the sword out of the stone and ride into the city to the sound of much cheering and Thank Yous.

Those who oppose us even those who hate or despise us will bow. We're better than Bruce Willis. And we will do it This Year. I'm not waiting for 2012, 2011, or 2010. And the machine(s) we make are going to make Johann Bessler's look like an apple cart from 1712.

No disrespect.

[CloudSeeder]

If the swing arm holding the pendulum chain was to not swing around but instead slide over the post... Let's say the post is not round but square, then angled at the correct angle to begin sliding outward as it passes 1 o'clock, that would provide a temporary outward extension of the pendulum.

Perhaps it could be spring loaded to draw it back, or a cam, or we can use some invisible Howdy Doody puppet wires no one can see but us.

I'm reminded of how an automatic gear changer mechanism works on those new bikes, the one that uses centrifugal force. A wire could come back to the center hub and somehow be activated automatically as the device spins. Maybe we could turn it around somehow to work in reverse, fed through the hub to a weight on the other side of the wheel that outweighs the pendulum weight.

Has anyone looked into that?!

It would essentially make the pendulum weight weightless as regards position and distance from the hub! Pendulum weight itself would be unaffected, just moving in & out from the hub as needed. (They would have to be paired to the opposite weight on the other side of the wheel on the back side, in balance, so that when one moves away from the hub the other one counterbalances it to help pull it back as the wheel spins on.)

[marxist]

don't understand

... here under how we can do....

Hi woopy,

I don't understand the movement of the pendulums in your design.

Is the wheel rotating clock wise?
Are the pendulums 'flipping over' at ca. 2 o' clock?
Are they deflected by the white plastic part, which is not part of the wheel and which is fixed to the background at 2 o' clock?

Thanks for any additional clarification.

[woopy]

Beslaurentius code

Hello all

Yesterday was a long day ,playing with the wheel and trying solutions to spin it

hereunder you find a code solution in 9 phases which give good results


I notice that the wheel must imperatively spin at a very specified and constant speed, so the swing occures regularely and atmost important the back swing (phases 8 and 9 of the code) must be strong enough so the fulcrum can be chopped to travel back to the releasing point (phase 1)

to regulate the speed i have to put a friction brake ( see on the right side of the picture "beslaurentius wheel1" ) in other word the brake could be a generator or any power consumator

to simplify i have the wheel mounted on a wood board that i can incline at will from flat to vertical i think it is a solution to regulate the power of the wheel

i could get more than 1/4 turn on one swing in fact at a good speed i got just less than a 1/2 turn per swing
so i think that with 4 or 5 fulcrums it can be veeeery interesting

so now back to the workshop

all the best to all of you

Laurent

[CloudSeeder]

@Woopy:

Your pictures give me an idea, that if it was possible to have a pendulum do a swap on the way back up. If it/they were able to pull off a transfer to the next post, sort of a Slinky toy maneuver...

except it would not remain in the downside position! On the next post it would place itself in an upper position so that when topping 12 o'clock it would be held up higher in the air like an axe.

You'd be giving up something in order to gain pole position.
Walking backwards to find yourself at the head of a new line.

[Michael John Nunnerley]

An Old Idea Of Mine

This is an old idea of mine that I never built but if someone would like to put it into the 2D program it would be interesting to see what it would come up with