simonr Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Is this not what the nokken winch on the 101 does? Nope - though that is kind of clever too! The tensioner which lives with the rope storage will work in a similar manor - i.e. a motor which runs faster than the winch with a slip-clutch to make up the speed difference. The idea came from the helicopters used to recover the Apollo crew capsules from the sea. There's probably video on YouTube somewhere. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iomlt Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Long as its less than 3k and matches that of the gigglepin you'll be onto a winner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Long as its less than 3k and matches that of the gigglepin you'll be onto a winner! Is it even possible to match the power, reliability or value of a GP Winch? Ultimately, that's not my goal as the total market for high end 'competition' winches is tiny compared to commercial and utility winching. What I'd like is a general purpose winch, cheap enough that most peole can afford one which will give comparable performance in competitions but tested and rated for commercial use. That way, GP can continue selling to their market and everyone is happy! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 It's shiney Si We need a picture of a complete unit Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Really enjoying the mods made to this winch Blimey, zim listed my wish list too; " My wish list : bearings on the drum variable power (i.e. hydraulic spool valve) gears (but 3 + free, not 2 like i have now) big rope capacity " A gear between 'big-pull' and 'speed' would be very welcome Every so often I wonder if there is a way of doing somthing to that TDs to make it have a high gear by locking one epicyclic to another. ( I bought the 12,000lb- awsome pull, but slow) My bicycle can do it, why not my winch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 My wish list : bearings on the drum variable power (i.e. hydraulic spool valve) gears (but 3 + free, not 2 like i have now) big rope capacity I agree - mostly. Bearings - I think that's a given. Variable power - For hydraulic winches, I think variable flow valves are the wrong way to go. A variable displacement pump or motor is a better option. That way, you can vary between torque & speed and avoid cavitation by reducing the displacement at high rpm. I've used one in a different application - and other than cost, cannot see a single reason for not using it in a winch. Gears - if you have an appropriate motor power / torque envelope, I'm not convinced of the need for more than two gears. My electric Freelander has a top speed of 93 and accelerates better than a Petrol - but only has one gear! It's not possible with the construction of a Tds gearbox - but with an ever so slightly different configuration, it's not too hard. The problem with multiple gears is that you need to be able to change ratio under load for them to be useful. The best thought I have is to make the reduction like in an auto-box with brake bands which stop the ring gear on one of a number of planetary reductions. The sun gears all connect together and are driven by the motor. The planet carriers drive a lay shaft via spur gears which in turn drives the drum. This is probably the best for multiple gears and being able to change gear under full load. Oops! I forgot - there is another option - but I'm not going to tell you what that is! The brake band idea though is the only one which could give you more than two gears though. Big Rope Capacity - thinking outside the cupboard a bit, I had a blistering idea for this! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zim Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 If you could make it change gear whilst under load that'd be impressive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 In about 1990, I made an automatic gear change for my Bicycle - which worked reasonably well, considering it was mostly made from wood & angle iron! I started with a chain-wheel and cut it into 16 equal segments. then threw away half of them. The remaining 8 were mounted on slides, spring-loaded to push the segments outward - to give the greatest circumference possible. On the bicycle, the more tension in the chain, the more the segments close up, reducing the circumference and reducing the ratio as they do. It was a bit lumpy and prone to throwing a chain if you suddenly increased the pedaling force - but essentially it worked. With a 'capstan' winch, there is no reason the capstan itself could not be made in segments similarly - with a honking big spring pushing them apart. Under maximum load, they all close up into a solid lump and under no load could have at least double the circumference - giving you the maximum line speed possible for a given load. Just a thought! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Gears - if you have an appropriate motor power / torque envelope, I'm not convinced of the need for more than two gears. My electric Freelander has a top speed of 93 and accelerates better than a Petrol - but only has one gear! Yes, but your electric freelander does not have an on/off switch as a throttle, does it? I agree that different gears with electric motors is not needed, unless you are trying to do something with a motor that it is not meant to do. It needs a controller to make it variable. Expensive to do, a controller for an electric car can cost as much as the motor, but think it would work. Alternatively, if you dont want to go variable, how about switching between series and parallel? With a 24volt system and 2 motors that would be worth a go I reckon. Especially if your batterys are nearly flat, I think series could be a saver for both motor and batteries. Anyway, trading on ice when I talk about electrics! Ps, my winch has 5 speeds. Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 A lump of electronics to control the motor torque would be dead easy to do. You'd need some honking great power devices to handle the current though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 You could have an 'on load' gear change for winch-in only. Its done with a sprag clutch on internation tractors, plus a brake. It was like a switch operated overdrive. (I suppose it was like the car one) When it broke it defaulted to the low speed I think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 In about 1990, I made an automatic gear change for my Bicycle - which worked reasonably well, considering it was mostly made from wood & angle iron! I started with a chain-wheel and cut it into 16 equal segments. then threw away half of them. The remaining 8 were mounted on slides, spring-loaded to push the segments outward - to give the greatest circumference possible. On the bicycle, the more tension in the chain, the more the segments close up, reducing the circumference and reducing the ratio as they do. It was a bit lumpy and prone to throwing a chain if you suddenly increased the pedaling force - but essentially it worked. With a 'capstan' winch, there is no reason the capstan itself could not be made in segments similarly - with a honking big spring pushing them apart. Under maximum load, they all close up into a solid lump and under no load could have at least double the circumference - giving you the maximum line speed possible for a given load. Just a thought! Si I think that its time we had a forum dedicated to your ideas Si! Love the automatic bike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soren Frimodt Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I think that its time we had a forum dedicated to your ideas Si! Love the automatic bike X2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I just just thinking along these lines. Si you have had more good ideas than most of us put together, and you seem to have made, or at least prototyped most of them. I detect a near vapour-free environment in your inventing shed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Thanks Chaps! However - I think here is a better place! I just wish I had the time to prototype more of the slightly sillier ideas, the things that there is no possible, practical market for (like Walking Coffee Tables) but just exist to make life more fun! Last year, I wrote out all the ideas I'd had but not worked on any more than a scribbled sketch in my 'ideas' folder. I worked out that at my current average rate of getting through ideas, I would finish the list if I live to be 212! It has forced me to rationalise my expectations a little. Posting stuff on here, I figure might give someone else a spark of inspiration to go off an make their own - which is a good second best to my doing it! I'm not bothered by people 'copying' ideas - simply because I have more than I'll ever get through in one lifetime. Between you & me - that was kind of the idea behind X-Eng. Although I have less money for development than I had in my previous job, I have a bit more time and significantly better resources to turn some of the ideas into reality. I'll never be a millionaire - but if I can build 10% of them, I'll die happy! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soren Frimodt Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 What a life philosophy, I think most of us would dream of living by that. I know I would Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic-al Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Bet you've never thought of one of these though, and someone makes money out of selling kits! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Bet you've never thought of one of these though, and someone makes money out of selling kits! Fantastic! A sort of SteamPunk version of the on-screen button which moves around the screen with the mouse to avoid being clicked on. I remember one that said Format Hard Drive in 9...8...7...6 seconds - [Click here to Cancel] which caused a certain amount of amusement in a busy Call Centre I'm having a vision of how I could incorporate it into... Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 Right - this is my first scribbled idea for a variable ratio winch capstan! It's not the clearest drawing in the world! Essentially it uses five single turn coil springs (like key-rings) which are circumferentially squashed by the tension in the rope. The springs also stop the segments which form the capstan from falling out of the slots in the centre. I've drawn a dozen or so variants on this and this is the closest to something that can be machined cheaply and where the springs provide sufficient force to give variable ratio over the whole torque range of the winch. It may suffer with filling up with mud - and as yet I've not thought of a good way of sealing it other than a complicated rubber boot - but it may come to me! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 When there is tension on the rope won't the slides start to bind? Could the slides be done away with by using a pivoted linkage sloping back in direction of pull and acting against the springs instead? The whole thing could be a lot 'sloppier' then so that mud became less of an issue. Caveat: these are really just random thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 When there is tension on the rope won't the slides start to bind? Could the slides be done away with by using a pivoted linkage sloping back in direction of pull and acting against the springs instead? The whole thing could be a lot 'sloppier' then so that mud became less of an issue. Caveat: these are really just random thoughts Excellent idea! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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