A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecules, such as molecular machines. Machines can be driven by animals and people, by natural forces such as wind and water, and by chemical, thermal, or electrical power, and include a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement. They can also include computers and sensors that monitor performance and plan movement, often called mechanical systems.
The Watt steam engine design was an invention of James Watt that became synonymous with steam engines during the Industrial Revolution, and it was many years before significantly new designs began to replace the basic Watt design.
In mechanical engineering, a crosshead is a mechanical joint used as part of the slider-crank linkages of long reciprocating engines and reciprocating compressors to eliminate sideways force on the piston. Also, the crosshead enables the connecting rod to freely move outside the cylinder. Because of the very small bore-to-stroke ratio on such engines, the connecting rod would hit the cylinder walls and block the engine from rotating if the piston was attached directly to the connecting rod like on trunk engines. Therefore, the longitudinal dimension of the crosshead must be matched to the stroke of the engine.
A Panhard rod is a suspension link that provides lateral location of the axle. Originally invented by the Panhard automobile company of France in the early twentieth century, this device has been widely used ever since.
Steam power developed slowly over a period of several hundred years, progressing through expensive and fairly limited devices in the early 17th century, to useful pumps for mining in 1700, and then to Watt's improved steam engine designs in the late 18th century. It is these later designs, introduced just when the need for practical power was growing due to the Industrial Revolution, that truly made steam power commonplace.
In kinematics, the parallel motion linkage is a six-bar mechanical linkage invented by the Scottish engineer James Watt in 1784 for the double-acting Watt steam engine. It allows a rod moving practically straight up and down to transmit motion to a beam moving in an arc, without putting significant sideways strain on the rod.
A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle. The shock absorber and coil spring mount to the wishbones to control vertical movement. Double wishbone designs allow the engineer to carefully control the motion of the wheel throughout suspension travel, controlling such parameters as camber angle, caster angle, toe pattern, roll center height, scrub radius, scuff, and more.
A trailing-arm suspension, also referred to as trailing-link, is a form of vehicle suspension. In a motor vehicle it places one or more horizontal arms perpendicular to and forward of the axle on the chassis or unibody, which are connected to the axle or wheels with pivot joint(s). These are typically used on the rear axle or wheels of vehicles, but also found in both front and main landing gear of aircraft.
In the study of mechanisms, a four-bar linkage, also called a four-bar, is the simplest closed-chain movable linkage. It consists of four bodies, called bars or links, connected in a loop by four joints. Generally, the joints are configured so the links move in parallel planes, and the assembly is called a planar four-bar linkage. Spherical and spatial four-bar linkages also exist and are used in practice.
The sun and planet gear is a method of converting reciprocating motion to rotary motion and was used in the first rotative beam engines.
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall. The efficiency of the engines was improved by engineers including James Watt, who added a separate condenser; Jonathan Hornblower and Arthur Woolf, who compounded the cylinders; and William McNaught, who devised a method of compounding an existing engine. Beam engines were first used to pump water out of mines or into canals but could be used to pump water to supplement the flow for a waterwheel powering a mill.
A Scott Russell linkage is a linkage which translates linear motion through a right angle.
A straight-line mechanism is a mechanism that converts any type of rotary or angular motion to perfect or near-perfect straight-line motion, or vice versa. Straight-line motion is linear motion of definite length or "stroke", every forward stroke being followed by a return stroke, giving reciprocating motion. The first such mechanism, patented in 1784 by James Watt, produced approximate straight-line motion, referred to by Watt as parallel motion.
In engineering, a mechanism is a device that transforms input forces and movement into a desired set of output forces and movement. Mechanisms generally consist of moving components which may include Gears and gear trains; Belts and chain drives; cams and followers; Linkages; Friction devices, such as brakes or clutches; Structural components such as a frame, fasteners, bearings, springs, or lubricants; Various machine elements, such as splines, pins, or keys.
The Whitbread Engine preserved in the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, built in 1785, is one of the first rotative steam engines ever built, and is the oldest surviving. A rotative engine is a type of beam engine where the reciprocating motion of the beam is converted to rotary motion, producing a continuous power source suitable for driving machinery.
Grasshopper beam engines are beam engines that are pivoted at one end, rather than in the centre.
A return connecting rod, return piston rod or double piston rod engine or back-acting engine is a particular layout for a steam engine.
A cataract was a speed governing device used for early single-acting beam engines, particularly atmospheric engines and Cornish engines. It was a kind of water clock.
The Lap Engine is a beam engine designed by James Watt, built by Boulton and Watt in 1788. It is now preserved at the Science Museum, London.
A slider-crank linkage is a four-link mechanism with three revolute joints and one prismatic (sliding) joint. The rotation of the crank drives the linear movement of the slider, or the expansion of gases against a sliding piston in a cylinder can drive the rotation of the crank.
![Animation of Watt's Linkage
Dimensions (unit lengths a, b):
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Link 3: a + a
Links 2 & 4: b
Vertical distance between ground joints [?] 2a
Horizontal distance between ground joints [?] 2b
Thus, link 1 (total distance between ground joints):
[?]
4
a
2
+
4
b
2
{\displaystyle \approx {\sqrt {4a^{2}+4b^{2}}}} Watts Linkage.gif](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Watts_Linkage.gif/220px-Watts_Linkage.gif)
