Member postings for Bruce Voelkerding

I worked for General Electric Lighting and had a lot of fun designing mechanical solutions to Lamp Manufacturing Processes. Every Co-Op wanted to do things with Servo Motors, but one quickly realizes in the rough & tough World of Manufacturing that they take a far second place if a purely mechanical Device can be built.

We had mechanical Devices on some Operations that were designed in the 1920's ! All they required were a bit of Lubrication and an occasional new Cam or Cam Roller. A big plus is there is no need to "Home" these devices. Our Operators were of the "Push the Button & Go" type.

John,

now the ugly (as used in U.S. Design Dept vernacular) part - how do you eliminate the play in the Spline ? This is just a Thought that I have not thought thru thoroughly -

o eliminate the Spline and attach the Wire directly to the Upper Spindle (I assume this is the Work Holding Spindle).

o the Upper Spindle could have a machined Wire Drum.

o the Upper Spindle can not move endwise as that would negate a Tailstock.

o attach the Green Bar to the Carriage holding the Milling Cutter Spindle.

o use a Gear Train from the Spindle to a Lead Screw to move the Wire Carriage the pitch of the Spindle Wire Drum.

John,

a few decades (?) ago I saw an Advertisement for a "Lead Screw" which relied solely on the concept of 3 Friction Wheels pressed against a hardened "Lead Screw". The "Lead Screw" had no Grooves - it was an exact Cylinder. I can not find a reference to it on the Web now.

What troubles me is with your Design - doesn't your Design rely on Friction between the Wire and the Top Drum to create the Helix (and resist the Milling Cutter's Load ?).

Here is a Method (I have not actually tried it) to determine the Location of the Center of Gravity from the Front Buffer Beam using only a Simple Lever. I have not applied Error Analysis to it to see the Effects of Measurement Errors. I imagine the mathematical leaning Fellows on the Forum may appreciate this Thought Exercise.

The Term "Summing the Moments" was pounded into our Heads at University.

I just came across this YouTube Video - pure thinking out of the Box. Actual Oil Groove Cutting starts at 6:40.

https://youtu.be/9EPfRd79FPM

yes, this was an unusual weather pattern. A very cold Mass of Air originated in Siberia. A powerful high-pressure System in the north Pacific "drove" the cold Air over the Artic to the east of the Rockies into the Midwest of USA.

A rather unusual Weather Phenomena occurs here by the Great Lakes - Lake Effect Snow. I live near Cleveland, Ohio, on the south Shore of Lake Erie. During Winter cold Air comes to us from the Artic over the Canadian Landmass which doesn't warm it (as compared to UK where it is warmed by the Atlantic). When cold Air blows over the Great Lakes it picks up a lot of Moisture. When it hits Land the Moisture comes back down as massive amounts of Snow. I happen to live a bit west of Cleveland and due to the Shape of Lake Erie's Coastline and the typical Wind Direction in Winter, we miss much of the Lake Effect Snow. Sometimes we have 2" where just 25 Miles to the east it is 12". The rising Elevation also contributes to the Snowfall.

This Storm was blowing from the West / Southwest which meant the Air had Time to pick up Moisture the entire length of Lake Erie before reaching Hamburg, NY, which is next to Buffalo, NY. Additionally, it had a corresponding long Fetch to make larger than normal Waves. The left side of that Picture above is Lake Erie.

The BIG Problem for us is all the above Ground Power Lines as seen in the Picture above. Those in the Picture may have a 1" + diameter Coating of Ice on them. These Power Lines are also right next to tall Trees. When Branches are broken off they rip up the Power Lines. The Power Companies are doing a better Job now trimming back Trees during the summer Season. Property Owners really complain when they trim the Trees back, but really the Trees shouldn't be there at all. They just allow Trees to grow unchecked here.

Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes. It will freeze over in a few Weeks. At that point the Lake Effect Snow can't happen anymore. It's not solid Ice. I think the Term is "Shelf Ice". It does get pushed around by the Wind and cracks into large Sheets. You would have to be crazy to think you could walk across it to Canada.

60 years ago I worked as a draftsman at an Axle manufacturing Plant in Spencer, Ohio. We made Axles for various Ford and GM Trucks, Jeeps, and large Axles for large Off-Road Equipment.

The typical Axle for the large Off-Road Equipment was around 3" diameter x 68" long. Both ends were upset forged. On one End was an SAE Spline. On the other End would be a Spur Gear about 5-1/2" OD with about 18 teeth (these are all rough numbers from memory). The splined End would enter the Differential Gearing. The Spur Gear would be the Sun Gear in a Planetary Gearing set-up in the Wheel Hub.

These shafts were made from SAE 8620 and 9310 Steels. The last two Digits on the SAE number lists the Steel's Carbon content (xx20 = 0.20% Carbon, xx10 = 0.10% Carbon). Note the normal Model Engineer's Cold Drawn Steel (or Bright Steel - a term not used over here) is 1018 (0.18% Carbon). A common leaded Steel is 12L14 (0.14% Carbon). Ball Bearing Races are made from 52100 which has 1.00% Carbon.

We would fully machine the Axle Shafts. We did not have Gear Grinding equipment but would use a Gear Shaver to improve the Gear Tooth finish, to bring the Gear to final size, and crown the Gear Tooth Profile. The end of the Shaft would be tapped 1/2", still preserving the Lathe Centers on both Ends. The Shafts were held vertically in the Carburizing Furnaces., say qty 80 at a time. It was always a sight to see them removed and quenched in the Oil Tank - lot of Flames. The Oil Tank had a large Screw (Propeller for the non-nautical Types) in the bottom which churned the Oil to eliminate hot spots.

As SOD says above the Carbon diffuses into the Steel (which is on the order of 97% Iron). The outside Surface would probably be in the Range of 0.90 to 1.00% Carbon. The Carbon would diffuse a good 3/16" into the material but the percentage would be less and less. After quenching, the Axles would be tempered. The 86xx and 93xx part of the SAE number indicates the Alloying composition - 10xx steels have no Alloy Constituents. The Issue arising during Quenching is the Heat Transfer Rate. Some Alloys reduce the required Heat Transfer Rate to obtain proper Grain Transformation. That is the reason many Alloy Steels can be Oil quenched. The advantage of Oil Quenching is slower Grain Transformation which leads to lower incidence of cracking. It also allows the Steel deeper in the part to harden where the Quench Rate is lower than near the Part Surface.

At this point a couple of Gear Teeth would be cut from a test Sample Shaft, about 1/4" thick. I would place the Sample in a Mold, pack it with some sort of thermosetting Plastic, heat it up and press a Plunger to encase the Gear Sample. I would then polish the exposed cross-section of the Gear Teeth on a Lapidary Wheel, Acid etch it and study the Microstructure under Microscope. I would them use a Diamond Point Rockwell Machine to find the location of the 50Rc point of the Case as it transitioned from 62 Rc on the Surface to 28 Rc in the Core. The distance from the Surface to the 50Rc point would typically be .06" (from memory). I made the measurement with the Microscope and recorded it with the Heat Treat Lot.

If the Heat Treat Properties were incorrect, it would be back into the furnace (which could create. another set of problems). Depending on the Manufacturer's Lot of the Steel, the Spur Gear would increase in size which led to annealing the Shaft and re-shaving the Gear Teeth - but that did not happen often. They would make that correction on all further Axles made from that Lot of Steel.

If an Axle required an area to be non-carburized, it would be copper-plated before going into the Carburizing furnaces. It was common for the Customer to specify the Outside Diameter of the Spur Gear to be non-carburized. This prevented chipping of the Gear Tooth Edges. In this Case the End of the Axle was copper-plated before cutting the Gear Teeth.

Dalboy, - by the dimensions you stated it sounds like you are talking about Eccentric Rods. If those are the parts you are working on, you only case harden the small end - not the entire part. The case hardening is only to provide a long-wearing surface on the 1/8" (?) dia hole on the one end. You only heat that end and dip it in the powder. I would have a scratch rod to make sure the powder gets into the small hole.

a question was raised in the Forum (or ME Clearing House) a few weeks ago regarding the interpretation of results from the Dockstader Valve Gear Simulator. I stumbled across this Link this morning. If you go to the attached Link and scroll to the bottom there is a Link to "Steam Locomotive Valve Gear Animation Videos". Click that and another List comes up. Click on the last item "Valve Event, Cylinder Event and Valve Ellipse Diagram Explanation".

The other items at that last list lead to YouTube videos made from the Dockstader program with the associated Ellipse Diagrams. On the Stepheson Link there is commentary on the Ellipse that gives the front & rear Cutoff Values so one can cross-check one is reading the Ellipse correctly.

Lake Forest Live Steamers Railway Museum (jghtech.com)

What I do not understand is, if you type in the "main http" name "www.jghtech.com" you don't get to the site. If all else fails try googling "Deerfield and Roundabout Railway". Click on the item "Deerfield and Roundabout Railway - IBLS" and then click on "official site".

Tug,

here is some more reading for your spare time -

thecadtutorial,com/autocad/how-to-lock-dwg-file-from-editing

there seems to be a means to lock a dwg file within AutoCAD, This is not mentioned in my 2000 User's Manual.

I tried to cut & paste the full Link but had no success.

I looked thru the "User Guide" I received with the AutoCAD CD. I found nothing.

By any chance are you trying to SAVE the File back to your Flash Drive (USB Stick) or Attachment to an Email ? I've had that problem in the past - forgot to transfer the Files. I gleefully opened the File directly from the Flash Drive to print, saw a missing Dimension, added it, but couldn't SAVE - "write-protected" ! I do think that Flash Drives act as write-protected. (All Caps to signify AutoCAD Commands).

Tug,

I am on my old Windows 7 computer this morning. When the problem first hit me, I did as you did and did the "save-as" routine to save my work. However, when I opened that new file, it too had the same "write-protected" problem.

The use of Folders makes it easy to keep everything organized.

On my Computer I have a Folder "Bruce". In that Folder is a Folder "Locomotives". In that Folder are Folders such as "Juliet", "Netta" and "Allen Mogul". Since I spent 38 years at work designing in CAD programs, I can re-draw a design in CAD as fast as I can peruse the drawings looking for problems plus tabulating coordinates for machining.

Note all the following was done in my "work" Folders. I did not have to do anything in the Folder which has the actual AutoCAD program File. I did not do any special "root directory sub-routines" or any such gobbly-gook.

On Windows 7, you right click in a blank area of the Folder and a Dialog Box opens. If you click on the bottom item "Properties", it opens another Dialog Box. On the TAB "General" at the bottom is "Attributes". There is a Box "Read-only". I clicked that Box to get rid of the Check Mark and then hit OK. A Message will come up asking "Apply changes to the Folder, Sub-Folders and all Files". Click "OK". A few times something came up about Administrator Access - I clicked "Continue".

The above procedure fixed the problem I was having. I had to do the procedure more than once for I don't know why. Everything is back to normal now.

Tug,

I still use ACAD 2000. All my ACAD files became write-protected about two weeks ago. I have no idea what happened. I have my own CD of the ACAD program which is registered with AutoDesk (by the way I live in the US).

Thru my searching for an answer, I noticed a post from someone to say to check that the Folder was not switched to "Read Only". In my case the Folder for the locomotive design plus the next Folder up which contains all my locomotive designs had both become "Read Only" (found in the Properties box of the Folder).

It took a few attempts to change the Folder and its Files to whatever the option is which is not "Read Only" (I don't recall the Microsoft term or if it as simple as unchecking the box). Doing that to both Folders finally got everything back to normal. Just thinking about it now, perhaps I should have started with the Folder at the bottom and worked my way up.

Again, I still have no idea why it happened (Windows 7). I am not a computer Guru and I have very limited patience for them and their quirks. I am the only user of that computer and I sure didn't mess with the Folder settings.

Chris, something to consider is how the Ashpan is removed (or opened) to remove (or clear) the Firebox Grate. I believe both M.Evans and D.Young avoided the Brake Compensation in some designs in order to ease Ashpan / Grate removal.

commercially available Hex Nuts in the US are

1-1/2" screw size > 2-1/4" across the flats Nut size, i.e. 2.25/1.50 = 1.5 ratio

3" screw size > 4-1/2" across the flats Nut size, i.e. 4.50/3.00 = 1.5 ratio

I would be tempted to use the 1.5 ratio on model work for smaller size Hex Nuts. In my professional design work I often used "narrow pattern" Hex Nuts for mechanical assemblies. For #10-32 (0.190" major dia) thread size, Hex Nuts are available in both 1/4" and 5/16" across the flat sizes. I never encountered one of these Nuts failing.

I would think if you took the (Major dia minus the tap drill size)/2 as the approx thread depth, add two of those thread depths to both sides on the screw size (total of 4 x thread depth) you would get a satisfactory minimum Hex size for model work. In the case of the #10-32 screw size -

(0.190 - 0.159 ) / 2 = 0.155" ANSI #10 Thread major diameter, Tap Drill #21 = 0.159" dia

0.190 + (4 x 0.155) = 0.252" which matches the 1/4" across the flats size listed above.

with the 1.5 ratio,

1.5 x 0.190 = 0.285" or 9/32" which lies in the middle between 1/4" and 5/16" sizes listed above.

In any case of a design for anything in real life I would not stray away from the commercial sized components. And remember there are many different strength grades for Nuts. I remember rebuilding a Triumph Spitfire engine in the early 1970s. The Manual stated not to re-use the Hex Nuts that came off the Studs holding the Head on. I, being young and dumb, decided I knew better and re-used the Hex Nuts. Half of the Nuts failed as I approached the torque value listed in the Manual. The Studs did not fail. The original engine designers made a conscience decision which item was to fail first and selected the material properties to suit the application. I am sure this was based on previous design experience and testing. I think we ended up buying the new Hex Nuts at the Auto parts store as genuine Triumph spare parts.

Here, where I live, northeast Ohio, the Water shutoff near the street is covered with a ~4" dia round cast iron Cover Plate which is secured with a 5-sided screw which is recessed in a counterbore in the Cover Plate. This is to make it tamper-resistant.

Bruce

IanT,

my Oilite catalog from ~1975 lists the following :

AA-1008-9 .876" ID x 1.003" OD x 1/2" (noted that as stock is sold will become obsolete)

AA-1008-6 .876" ID x 1.003" OD x 1"

AA-1009-3 .877" ID x 1.003" OD x 1" (no listing for 1/2" wide)

What many people do not know is, back in the good, old days there were Oilite Bushings available with various OD/ID size ranges. I am refering to actual Oilite Corp (Amplex division of Chrysler). As an example for the common 1" ID x 1-1/4" OD there are (were) :

1.001" ID x 1.252" OD

1.002" ID x 1.252" OD

1.003" ID x 1.253" OD

1.005" ID x 1.2525" OD

for most of the Oilite materials the tolerances for all the above values were +.000/-.001". Oilite Corp had 7 different materials to choose from.

I purchased a Noga NG-1200 Rotodrive Countersink. (I believe the 1200 is the size I bought, ~10mm diamerter). I highly recommend it. It works much better than the Blade style, but limited to 10mm Holes. The Countersink measured 45 degrees per side. I believe you can buy larger diameter Heads.

instead of paper between the Packing Pieces and the Cylinder I use double-sided Scotch Tape. The nice thing is the Packing Pieces don't shift or fall off as one adjusts the 4-Jaw Chuck.

I live in the USA, I'm not sure that Brand name is used in the UK. I think you have Sellotape. Normally it has the Adhesive on one side only, but the double-sided variety is easy to obtain.

Bruce

Henry - how many coats of Primer do you apply ? Do you sand between Primer coats ?

Bruce

both the LBSC designs for Maisie and Juliet show the Cylinder mounting hole size as No. 21. I assume the hole size No. 21 in England is the same as here in the USA, that is 0.159". In neither of these drawing sets do I see the actual Screw size for the attaching Screws. The 0.159" seems rather coarse for 4BA. Would LBSC have expected someone to use a 5/32" Screw (I'm assuming that back then someone would have a 5/32"-32 Die or some such thread) ?