Mechanical engineering concepts
| Site: | learnonline |
| Course: | Mechanical Engineering Practice resources |
| Book: | Mechanical engineering concepts |
| Printed by: | Guest user |
| Date: | Tuesday, 16 July 2024, 8:07 PM |
Description
Mechanical engineering concepts
Levers
Levers are very simple mechanical engineering devices.
A lever consists of a beam or rod, which pivots on a fulcrum. The purpose is to to lift weights with less effort.
A good example of a lever is children on opposite ends of a seesaw, lifting each other's weight up and down. Another example is using a board to pry something loose.
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A pantograph, or scissor lift, is a type of platform which moves vertically rather than horizontally. It uses linked, folding supports in a criss-cross pattern. When pressure is put on the lowest supports, the cross struts are stretched out, pushing the top platform upwards. Often, a platform is fixed to the top of the structure, to allow for loads.
The driving mechanism for a pantograph can be hydraulic, pneumatic or mechanical (a leadscrew or rack and pinion system).
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A flywheel is a heavy wheel attached to a rotating shaft. It enables you to distribute a large force evenly across a device (it smooths the energy fluctuations to make the energy flow uniform). Flywheels store energy mechanically as kinetic energy.
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A counterweight is a counterbalancing weight which balances a load, and makes lifting the load more efficient. The purpose of counterweights is to distrubute weight around a fulcrum. They are commonly used in elevators and cranes.
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A block and tackle is a lifting mechanism which consists of ropes, a pulley block, and a hook, as you can see here. They are often used on the end of cranes.
The arrangement of the rope and pulleys allows you to trade force for distance.
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Fluid can be used to give 'mechanical advantage'. By confining and applying force to a fluid, you can produce pressure and movement in a different area.
Pneumatic systems use gas to transmit and store power, while hydraulic systems use liquid to transmit power.
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