Old Mechanisms Deserve New Attention

September 29, 2009

One of our cats got a bit too chunky for her health, so I thought seriously about building a small treadmill to give our feline friend some exercise. People have used treadmills for thousands of years and you can find a short video of a recent cat treadmill at: www.videovat.com/videos/2606/cat-treadmill.aspx. What’s old in new. It looks like the cat gets a “treat” every once in a while, but that motivation defeats a weight-loss plan.

Anyway, the ancient design of treadmills made me remember an interesting book in my collection, “Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements,” by Henry T. Brown. This 122-page paperback book offers mechanical designers a lot of food for thought. You’ll find some intriguing devices, each of which has its own illustration and a short description. None of the devices are new: the book’s first print run dates to 1868. But in 1995, the Astragal Press reprinted the book, which sells for $14.95. (ISBN: 1879335638). For book information, visit: www.astragalpress.com/.

For other worthy books about old-but-still-useful mechanisms, take a look at the four-volume series, “Ingenious Mechanisms,” published by the Industrial Press. Volume I arrived in 1930 and Volume IV went to press in 1977, so the books cover a wide period of mechanical designs. (Or not so wide, considering the history of the treadmill.) You can buy individual volumes ($US 41.95 each) or the entire set ($US 145.00). Visit: new.industrialpress.com for more information.

(You will find lower prices at Amazon, but they reduce the publishers’ profits and makes it more difficult for them to reprint interesting books.)

Dover Publications (www.doverpublications.com) also offers a variety of mechanical-engineering books at reasonable costs. Many of Dover’s books are reprints of older books that still have value. Most of the paperback books cost under $US 30. Some books have undergone a revision or two.

Given the state of the art in our current mechatronics world, it’s interesting to see what engineers and designers accomplished before the use of electronics, microprocessors, and software. –Jon Titus

Posted by Jon Titus on September 29, 2009 | Comments (4)

October 15, 2009

In response to: Old Mechanisms Deserve New Attention
Ron V commented:

For the dynamic analysis of 3D mechanisms, including arbitrary applicaton of loads, is there a good substitute for the program Visual Nastran? Based on Working Model, this package was very inclusive and versatile as well as easy to use.

October 14, 2009

In response to: Old Mechanisms Deserve New Attention
Howard B commented:

Also available at books.google.com

October 13, 2009

In response to: Old Mechanisms Deserve New Attention
ZZMike commented:

A few decades ago, I remember a 3 (or so) volume set called something like "Ingenious Mechanisms". At the time, it was an old book - but not before 1900. It had things like the Geneva mechanism, gears, levers, pulleys.
I've been trying to find it since, but without success.
Speaking of mechatronics, back in the 1300s, they built a perpetual clock, in the cathedral at Strasbourg:
You can find it on Wikipedia under 'strasbourg clock'.
It was an astronomical clock, intended to run forever (as long as someone kept the weights pulled).
More recently, there's the "10,000 Year clock", from the Long Now Foundation:
That one is at the longnow.org website.
The concept got started in the year 01997.

October 13, 2009

In response to: Old Mechanisms Deserve New Attention
Dave F commented:

There is also Lindsay's Publications at --
www.lindsaybks.com

Design News Partner Zones

Light Matters: The Unsung Heroes of Modern Health Care
First, let's define "no-compromise." In an ideal configuration, this lamp would use a high-brightness LED (HBLED) that is built into a small, integrated package and is able to produce a large quantity of focused light, operate with a high level of reliability and generate no audible noise. Is this difficult? Yes, but it is possible.
Read More

Design Engineers' Portal for Sensing and Machine Safety
Whatever industry you're in, or whatever product you manufacture, the right sensors to automate your plant, and to improve your overall efficiency, quality and safety are a must. You'll find Banner Engineering to be an amazing resource of products, training and people with expertise.