Mechanical engineering components
Site: | learnonline |
Course: | Mechanical Engineering Practice resources |
Book: | Mechanical engineering components |
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Date: | Monday, 25 November 2024, 4:09 PM |
Description
Mechanical engineering components
Nuts and bolts
Nuts and bolts are perhaps the most basic components for mechanical engineers; the actual nuts and bolts of the profession (LOL).
Bolts are screws with threaded cylinders and various types of heads. They are nearly always paired with a nut which has a matching threaded hole. The friction of the thread and compression work together to form the fastener.
Gears
The basic purpose of gears is to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion. Two gears mesh together to transmit torque. The gears themselves are toothed wheels usually linked to an axle.
If you are using gears in your device, you will need to look at the shape and ratio which you require to transmit the enegy.
Springs
Springs are components which deflect under load to store relatively large amounts of energy. They are very common in mechanical engineering, used (just to mention a few) to:
- carry load (eg, vehicle suspensions)
- apply force (eg, spring loaded safety valves)
- control movement (eg, throttle return springs)
- reduce impact (eg, rubber buffers).
Wheels
One of the requirements of your designed device is that it is able to move, so some wort of wheels or rollers will be needed. The type and shape of the wheels you choose will have a big impact on the maneuverability of your device. To some extent, the specifications of the track will dictate the characteristics of your wheels.
Belts and pulleys
In engineering, a pulley is a wheel which has a grooved rim for carrying a line. The pulley turns in a frame or block, with the purpose of either changing the direction of force or transmitting force.
The simplest use of a pulley is when one end of the line is pulled to raise a weight at the other end.
Composites
Most composites have strong, stiff fibres in a matrix which is weaker and less stiff. The objective is usually to make a component which is strong and stiff, often with a low density.
The most likely composite which you will use in the project is fibreglass or carbon fibre.