Mechanisms and Motion
Mechanism Identification
Engineering Principles
Mechanisms
Mechanisms are designed to do different
jobs but have some things in common.
They make a job easier to do
They involve some kind of movement
They involve some kind of force
They need some kind of input to make them
work
They produce some kind of output
Engineering Principles 2
Wheels and Axles
Wheels are usually fixed to axles so
the wheel and axle turn together.
But sometimes, as in a supermarket
trolley, they can spin freely on their
axles. Here there are usually bearings
between the wheel and the axle to
reduce friction.
Engineering Principles 3
Shafts
A shaft is a rod which transmits rotary
movement along its length.
Spline shafts
Engineering Principles 4
Bearings
There are usually bearings between the
rotating shaft and its support to reduce
friction.
There are many types of bearings, each
used for different purposes.
These include ball bearings, roller
bearings, ball thrust bearings, roller thrust
bearings and tapered roller thrust
bearings.
Engineering Principles 5
Bearings
Tapered roller bearing
Ball bearing Roller bearing
Roller thrust bearing
Ball thrust bearing Engineering Principles 6
Ball bearing animation
Engineering Principles 7
Engineering Principles 8
Couplings
Engineering Principles 9
Gears
A gear is a wheel with teeth.
It can be fixed to a shaft so that it turns
at the same speed as the shaft.
You can use one gear wheel (the
input) to drive another (the output) if
the two sets of teeth mesh together (a
gear train)
Engineering Principles 10
Gears
Many types of gears have been designed
for different types of movement.
helical gear Engineering Principles 11
Idler gear
When two gear wheels
mesh the output gear
turns in the opposite
direction to the input
gear.
With a third gear wheel
in between, the output
gear turns in the same
direction as the input
gear.
The middle gear is
called an idler gear.
Engineering Principles 12
Bevel Gears
Bevel gears have sloping sides so that they can
be used for driving shafts that are at an angle
to one another.
Engineering Principles 13
The Worm and Gear Wheel
When this worm
gear turns once the
gear wheel is
‘moved on’ by one
tooth.
The input shaft
must turn 22 times
to turn the output
shaft once. This is
gearing down.
Engineering Principles 14
The Worm and Gear Wheel
It is a good way of
obtaining large
increases in force and
large decreases in
speed.
A small force turning
the worm is turned into
a large force turning
the gear wheel.
Engineering Principles 15
The Rack and Pinion
This changes rotary movement to linear movement.
The pinion is fixed on a shaft.
When the pinion turns it makes the rack move in a
straight line.
Pulling or pushing the rack makes the pinion turn.
Engineering Principles 16
The Rack and Pinion
A rack and pinion is used to move the
drawer of this CD player in and out.
Engineering Principles 17
Ratchets
A ratchet mechanism
consists of a wheel
with saw-shaped teeth,
called a ratchet, which
engages with an arm
called a pawl.
The specially shaped
teeth allow rotation in
one direction only and
this mechanism can be
used to prevent motion
in the reverse
direction.
Engineering Principles 18
Pulleys and Sprockets
A pulley is a wheel used with a belt that grips onto it.
There may be a groove in the pulley to help the belt grip.
A sprocket is a gear wheel used with a chain wrapped around
it. The teeth on the sprocket fit into the gaps in the chain.
Engineering Principles 19
Pulleys and Sprockets
Belts and pulleys and chains and sprockets
change rotary movement to linear movement.
In conveyor belts and escalators a motor
provides the input (rotary movement). The
output is the object or person moving along in a
straight line (linear movement).
Engineering Principles 20
Chain and belt drives
Apart from gears, there are two main
methods of transmitting power between two
shafts
Chain drives and
Belt drives
The choice of the type of transmission
depends mainly on four factors
The distance between the shafts
The required performance
The cost
The maintenance of the system
Engineering Principles 21
Cranks
Cranks are stiff
arms fixed to a
shaft, so when the
shaft rotates, the
arm rotates too.
They are often
attached to handles
and used to make
turning and
tightening easier.
Engineering Principles 22
Levers
Levers are bars or rods that move
about a pivot or fulcrum.
All levers are one of three basic kinds
– Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3.
They can be used individually (e.g. a
spanner), in pairs (e.g. pliers), or
connected together to form a linkage
(e.g. an umbrella).
Engineering Principles 23
Levers
Engineering Principles 24
Linkages
Linkages are used to join different parts together so that they
can move in a particular way.
They are often connected with pin joints.
You can use parallel linkages to make two or more parts
move together and/or stay parallel as the linkage moves.
Engineering Principles 25
Linkages
Engineering Principles 26
Cams
A cam is often a non-circular wheel that
rotates.
As it turns, it pushes a follower that moves
according to the shape of the cam.
The follower is usually a slider or a lever.
It is held against the cam by a spring or by
gravity.
Cams change rotary movement to
reciprocating or oscillating movement.
Engineering Principles 27
Cams common
Common cam shapes
Engineering Principles 28
Cams animations
PEAR SHAPED CAM DROP CAM
As the cam rotates, As the drop cam
the follower stays rotates the follower
level for ½ a stays level for a short
revolution, then it time. It then rises
rises and falls slowly and suddenly
following the cam drops
profile.
ECCENTRIC CAM SWASH CAM
The follower moves up This cam is like a
and down in a vertical ‘spinning top’. As the
direction. Its movement angled disc rotates
is very smooth. the follower rises and
falls, following the
movement of the
Engineering Principles
disc. 29
Cams other
Engineering Principles 30
Automobile Cams
Engineering Principles Cam shaft
31
Engine cam animation
Engineering Principles 32