Pulleys 1

Pulleys 2

Rotary cams 1 Gears 2

Gear trains

Exit

Pulleys are used to transfer rotating motion, via a belt

If the belt is crossed, then the driven pulley will rotate in the opposite direction to the driving pulley.

Our modern world contains lots of mechanisms. Simple items such as scissors and windows are all based on mechanisms, while more complicated objects such as a car or the human body, may contain hundreds of mechanisms. The followings are working principles of the most common mechanisms.

Rotary cams change rotary motion into reciprocating

Multiple gears can be connected together to form a gear train

In a gear train, very high or very low gear ratios can be achieved by combining very large and very small gears

Next Page

Linear cams

Linear cams change the direction (and magnitude) of reciprocating motion.

Crank & slider Rack & pinion

Quick return Glossary

Eccentrics

A crank and slider mechanism changes rotary to reciprocal motion or vice versa,e.g. in the car engine. quick return mechanism converts rotary motion into reciprocating motion

a circular cam rotating about a point offset from its center

The rack and pinion gear is used to convert between rotary and linear motion

Mechanisms

LINEAR MOTION ROTARY MOTION RECIPROCATING MOTION OSCILLATING MOTION EQUILIBRIUM FULCRUM LINKAGES

BackExit Revisions

Pulleys are used to transfer rotating motion, via a belt, from one shaft to another. The vacuum cleaner uses a pulley to transmit power from the electric motor to the rotating brushes. If both pulleys are the same diameter, then they will both rotate at the same speed. If one pulley is larger than another then mechanical advantage and velocity ratio are introduced. A large drive pulley will cause a smaller driven pulley to rotate faster.

Mechanisms: Pulleys

Back

Mechanisms: Pulleys

If the belt is crossed, then the driven pulley will rotate in the opposite direction to the driving pulley. The velocity ratio of a pulley system is given by dividing the diameter of the driven pulley by the diameter of the driving pulley. Sometimes the pulleys and the belt are toothed to help prevent slippage. The sprocket and chain arrangement (as found on bicycles) is effectively a pulley system that can withstand very high loads without slippage.

Back

Mechanisms: Crank and Slider

A crank and slider mechanism changes rotary to reciprocal motion or vice versa. In the car engine (illustrated) the reciprocating motion of the piston caused by exploding fuel is converted into rotary motion as the con-rod moves the crankshaft around. An air compressor uses this principal in reverse - an electric motor turns the crankshaft and the piston moves up and down to compress the air

Back

Mechanisms: Quick return mechanism

The 'Whitworth' quick return mechanism converts rotary motion into reciprocating motion, but unlike the crank and slider, the forward reciprocating motion is at a different rate to the backward stroke. At the bottom of the slotted arm, the peg only has to move through a few degrees to sweep the arm from left to right, but it takes the remainder of the revolution to bring the arm back. This mechanism is most commonly seen as the drive for a shaping machine.

Back

Mechanisms: Rotary Cams

There are several different types of cam but most of these can be placed into two groups - rotary and linear. Rotary cams change rotary motion into reciprocating (backwards and forwards) motion. As the cam rotates, the follower moves accordingly. The exact distance it moves depends on the shape of the cam.

Back

Mechanisms: Rotary Cams

The protrusions on a cam are called lobes. The cams in a car engine have a single lobe - they will move the follower up and down only once per revolution. The square cam illustrated has four lobes, and hence lifts the follower four times per revolution.

Back

Mechanisms: Eccentrics

Cams with complicated profiles (the technical term for the shape of a cam) can be complicated to manufacture, particularly with the type of equipment available in the school workshop. However, if all you want to do is produce a single up and down motion for every revolution on the cam, a circular cam rotating about a point offset from its centre (an eccentric), will often suffice. Note that the cam follower need not just move up and down - it can be a lever as illustrated.

Back

Mechanisms: Linear Cams

Linear cams change the direction (and magnitude) of reciprocating motion. Unlike rotary cams, the linear cam moves backwards and forwards in a reciprocating motion and the shape of the surface of the cam determines how far the follower moves.

Back

Mechanisms: Gears

Multiple gears can be connected together to form a gear train. If there are an odd number of gears, the output rotation will be the same direction as the input. If there are an even number, the output will rotate in the opposite direction to the input. Note that for the simple type of gear train shown, the number of teeth on the intermediate gears does not affect the overall velocity ratio which is governed purely by the number of teeth on the first and last cog.

Back

Mechanisms: Gear trains

In a simple gear train, very high or very low gear ratios can only be acheived by combining very large and very small cogs. More complex 'compound' gear trains can be used to achieve high and low gear ratios in a compact space by coupling large and small cogs on the same axle - in this way, gear ratios of adjacent cogs can be multiplied through the gear train.

Back

Mechanisms: Rack and Pinion

The rack and pinion gear is used to convert between rotary and linear motion. Often the pinion rotates in a fixed position and the rack is free to move - this arrangement is used in the steering mechanism of most cars. Alternatively, the rack may be fixed and the pinion rotates moving up and down the rack. This latter arrangement (illustrated) is used as the drive mechanism for funicular railways (steep railways up the side of hills).

Back

Mechanisms: Glossary

LINEAR MOTION - motion in a straight line eg. the motion of a train

ROTARY MOTION - circular motion eg. the motion of a bicycle wheel

RECIPROCATING MOTION - repeating backwards and forwards motion eg. the motion of a piston in a car engine

OSCILLATING MOTION - repeating forwards and backwards circular motion eg. the motion of a clock pendulum

EQUILIBRIUM - a state of balance when both sides are equal

FULCRUM - pivot, a point about which things rotate

LINKAGES - two or more levers connected to produce a desired motion

Exit

Back

Next Page

References : animation & image from http://www.dtonline.org

Q.3 In a three-gear-train, the output rotation is in

____________ direction to the input.

Q.2 Driven pulley rotates in opposite direction to

driving pulley in _________________ system.

RevisionQ.1 Cam rotates while ___________ moves accordingly.A. follower

A. Crossed belt

A. same

Back

Exit

B. screw

B. pump

B. opposite

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer