April 21, 2020
The working phrase of the day is: “There is a necessary dynamic stability in the build as well as a necessary dynamic instability. An Excess of either is intolerable”.
I learned a few things today. Some of these things I already knew, but was not giving proper consideration, others that have formed new ideas and will be added to my list of things needing exploration.
Today I made it into a 3-wheeler, two flexplates turning clockwise (CW) & one turning counterclockwise (CCW). The two CW plates are timed exactly together while the CCW is still 90 degrees behind them. The amount of forward push effectively doubled, coming from the pair of CW plates. And the single CCW quite effectively extends the time that the machine pushes between “pauses”. This tells me that configuration is of the upmost importance!
I learned quite a bit about this machine’s timing & it seems that it can be correlated to a spark ignition type IC engine’s timing (cam, tach, dwell & timing correlation).
The obvious list is as follows.
Inertial Drive: IC Engine: (Definition):
Flexplate timing Camshaft Timing (Timing gears, chain or belt)
Planet Timing Ignition Timing (Distributor timing)
Inner Stop to Outer Stop Ignition Dwell (Ignition coil saturation time)
RPMs RPMs (Speed of rotation)
I also had an issue with the belt slipping. At first I didn’t notice the slippage, but there was suddenly a problem with the drive oscillating back and forth. Tightening the belt corrected this oscillation.
This has led me to the tentative conclusion that dynamic rotation speed is very important during the time when the weight is between the inner & outer stops.
I cannot help but wonder if changing motor speed at precise times could enhance the functionality… The velocity of the weight is already being manipulated by the orbital path, why not expand on this premise.
I believe that the intermittently slipping belt (caused by weak motor mounting) was what would intermittently cause poor performance. I also believe that it could be an important discovery! A feature that could be added as a performance enhancer if the timing of speed differences were reversed!
The updated “To Do” list:
1- A better locking mechanism for the sun gears to the axles.
2- A way to vary the sun gear timing by adjusting axle position.
3- A different drive system from the motor to the plates, maybe a double-sided timing belt or a roller chain drive.
4- Explore the possibility of having sun & planet gears on both sides of the plates.
5- Mount in a motor vehicle for road testing.