The Eccentric Cam is driven at an exceptionally slow rate - up to 2 rpm at most, this being achieved by copious use of epicyclic gearing (my god am I a fan of that!). At the extended position (top), the band heats up due to the fact that you have put energy into stretching it, and since nothing is 100% efficient, some energy is lost; in this case it comes out as heat. This state is maintained by the shape of the cam (constant radius = no movement), letting the band reach room temperature. The cam follower rides up the slope of the cam (sorry, should have given the follower it's own slide bar to keep it straight) to transition the band into the relaxed state (bottom), the band is allowed to contact the Storage Box, and since it relaxed at room temperature, the band reaches a new, sub-ambient temperature; in order to reach room temperature again the band must take in heat, in this case from the box which renders it cold :)
In principle it is simple enough, but I can't help but feel that a practical model will look relentlessly ridiculous, something not helped by my amateurish late-night drawing. God knows how many reductions are required, the resulting gearbox probably looks like a Mongolian Death Worm as imagined by Dishonored. I hope I left you with a mechanical nightmare ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment