Grassroots Mechanic Movement

 I am now actively conducting thrust tests on the PIE 4.3 with positive results.  Since it certainly appears to have a lot of propulsive force in bench tests and is rather unruly on the bench, it seems that a heavy and sturdy cart should be used.  I have modified a steel cart, which I had originally built for an entirely different purpose, just to be the new PIE 4.3’s cart complete with solid solid tires and ball bearing wheels.   New Cart With New Wheels It took several runs at nearly full speed to properly adjust the sun gear for forward thrust without pulling to one side or the other. During those test runs, there was enough force to move the cart forward and slide the wheels sideways approximately 10 inches.   Mounting The PIE 4.3 To The New Cart During those test runs, one outer stop broke and the excessive lash on one of the planet gears caused it to skip timing, but even though weaknesses were obvious the overall test was successful. PIE 4.3 On Its Wh...

  Inverted Chain Sun Gear I am really pleased with the raw power that the PIE 4.0 exhibits. This power is still quite wild and unrefined, but it is impressive, nonetheless. I was happy with the inverted chain design, but I quickly saw some issues that would give me trouble keeping the PIE running. Mainly the width of the chain is too narrow to allow for wheel run-out and axle deviations. The main wheel is expected to deflect some and I am not using a precision sun gear axle so I have no realistic expectation of it being perfectly straight. Narrow Chain/Gear Mating Area Now the sun gear has now been redesigned/improved. It still functions as an inverted chain but rather than roller chain, 8mm (5/16”) rods are used. The new sun gear width is 30mm (1-3/16”) so there is plenty of room to change designs. Redesigned Sun Gear The new sun gear is made from two #40-26 tooth sprockets with the teeth cut nearly off and 8mm (5/16”) rods welded into the remaining tooth divots. A piece of ...

      PIETECH As we open a new chapter in the PIE project previous chapters are not closed, instead they continue as the earliest pioneering efforts put forth leading to PIETECH and will undergo more extensive power in/out ratio testing for scientific purposes. The PIE 1.0 & 2.0 are also the necessary “trainers” to teach the concepts of PIETECH, and actual building plans are forthcoming within the next few months! Update added: The PIE 2.0 requires just over 30 oz of thrust to self-propel as seen in the earlier posted video. Another test was run, using weights placed in front of the PIE 2.0. The weights were added until it would not move them, then backed off until movement was just apparent. Then a digital scale was used to push the whole rig forward in order to determine maximum thrust (stall method). This test was repeated a total of 8 times with identical results. Maximum thrust is now calculated at 230 oz which is 14.375 lbs or 6.52 kg. Bryan- PIE 3.0 i...