Page 11, Recap & "State of the Project"

To recap where this all stands at this point in its development:

1-      Two matching 13” gears (automotive flexplates) are attached to 3” smooth idler pullies which are mounted to a beam so that the teeth are engaged between them ant they can spin freely on the idler pully bearings. These flexplate assemblies will be referred to as “Main Gears”.

The axles that the Main Gears rotate on are 5/8” threaded rod, and they need to extend through the Main Gears enough to be used as inner planet traps (6” to 10”). A 3 or 4 inch long piece of 5/8” heater hose is slid onto each Main Gear axle for the weight to contact.

2-      A 3” flat pully is mounted to a used Honda windshield wiper motor to drive the assembly via a serpentine type automotive belt.

3-      Four 3-1/2” flat idler pullies are used for the sun & planet gears. Short (approx. 1”) pieces of 3/8” diameter steel rod is welded to the OD of the pullies, transforming them into coarse toothed spur gears. One “tooth” on each gear is made from a 3” long bolt (3/8” coarse thread) to act as both a tooth and the pendulum weight pivot. These pivot bolts have the hex head removed.

4-      A pendulum weight is attached to the pivot bolts via a steel bushing (1/4” water pipe cut to length and drilled out with a 3/8” drill) welded to the hex head of a 3/8” x 2” bolt. The weights are fabricated from three steel squares (2” x 2” x 3/8”) placed together and welded. A hole is drilled & tapped in the center on one side to accommodate the bolt. A lock nut is threaded onto the bolt and then the weight is threaded on. Once in position, the lock nut is tightened against the weight block to maintain its position with the pivot bushing. The overall length of the pendulum assembly is approximately 4-1/8” and the length from the center of the pivot is approximately 3-3/4”.

5-      “Outer Plant Traps”… That is what Roy Thornson called them, are restraints for the pendulum weights. Roy’s logs & patent documents, call for an external restraint to catch (or trap) the weight after it has left the inner trap and then release it at the correct time to allow the weight to swing outward with a snapping motion. I have experimented with different designs and for this incarnation of this machine it is unnecessary.

What IS ABSOLUTELY necessary is the Planet gear mounted stop!!! It functions to keep the pendulum weight from swinging too far when it is coming off the inner trap and it is an essential component that “catches or stops the weight when it is swinging outward.

This is very important, the stop and the weight MUST come together when the weight is the farthest from the planet gear’s axle! Without this, much of the functionality is lost!

6-      Timing is critical! There is the Main Gear timing vs the planetary gear timing. Originally the Main Gears were timed together (because the “push” is not perfectly straight) so that one would counter the other’s sideways push. We aren’t building this for use in space at this time, so, this is absolutely not necessary!!! By offsetting the timing by approximately 90 degrees the pulsation effect is reduced and thrust is increased.

Timing on the sun & planet set is quite critical and is set by placing the gears into a position where the planet’s axle, the weight’s pivot bolt, and the Main Gear axle are in alignment and that alignment (if using a straight edge) is approximately 45 degrees BEFORE top dead center (when the alignment would point straight forward). There have been incarnations of this build where that has not been the case but that was much different.

7-      The speed of rotation (RPM) is an integral part of the unit’s operation and the lengths, sizes, weights, and timing are a choreographed “dance” which requires the speed to remain constant in order to achieve & maintain flow. Different motors, battery voltages, drag coefficients, etc. can & will affect the RPM and may require slight timing changes to compensate.

Whew… That’s quite a recap… It sure didn’t SEEM that --- um, “involved”…