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Thread Number: 14020
The Unimatic Mechanism |
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Post# 240484 10/5/2007 at 10:52 (6,045 days old) by unimatic1140  (Minneapolis) |
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Yay for being able to restore my old hard drive. For those who are interested in the mechanics of our beloved machines I thought I would repost some artwork that I created about five years ago. Here are two charts that visually describe how the Unimatic mechanism works detailing the Agitation, Spin and Brake segments. Discuss… 
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Post# 240485 , Reply# 1 10/5/2007 at 10:53 (6,045 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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| Post# 240490 , Reply# 2 10/5/2007 at 11:26 (6,044 days old) by fa_f3_20 () | ||
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Very nice drawings! Thanks. Interesting mechanism... especially how the braking mechanism causes the agi to pulsate because of the gears spinning around the stationary driveshaft. | ||
| Post# 240494 , Reply# 3 10/5/2007 at 12:07 (6,044 days old) by hooverwheelaway () | ||
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Ooh... Pulsators.... drive shafts.... and clutch springs, oh my! That's all so very fascinating! Thanks for posting! ~Fred | ||
| Post# 240507 , Reply# 4 10/5/2007 at 13:41 (6,044 days old) by aldspinboy (Philadelphia, Pa) | ||
Robert did u put these diagrams together yourself? This is the stuff that i get confused at there are so many parts, im learning the more im on here. Just need hands on with somebody there to show me ooh someday i get really impatient I VANT TO LEARN LOL . Robert agian very interesting ! Thanks for posting Darren k
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Post# 240512 , Reply# 5 10/5/2007 at 14:15 (6,044 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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Post# 240516 , Reply# 6 10/5/2007 at 15:06 (6,044 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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| Post# 240587 , Reply# 8 10/5/2007 at 22:10 (6,044 days old) by crevicetool (Snellville Ga.) | ||
I have to admit,
Those are fantastic drawings. I don't know enough -scratch that- I don't know anything about photostrator or Illushop. But you still had to do the input! That's the kind of stuff I can do by hand, but to make it look the way you did is just incredible! I know you have designed and built your Unimatic Super 6.000.000. (can't remember the model number), are you a professional, an engineer, what?
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Post# 240600 , Reply# 9 10/5/2007 at 23:41 (6,044 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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Robert, I'm interested in the mechanism inside the "Crankshaft, Sleeve, and Gear Assembly" section. How exactly does it translate the rotary motion of the motor-driven shaft to the vertical reciprocating motion of the plunger? I had previously imagined a simple 90 degree gear arrangement, which translated the horizontal rotary motion to a vertical rotary motion, and a pin attached to the vertical gear which drives the pulsator. However, in your diagram, these gears look like they are more like 45 degrees in relation to each other inside the crank-sleeve-gear assembly. Minor point: you colored two meshing gears as both rotating clockwise. Mechanically this is unlikely, as two gears meshing will necessarily rotate in opposite directions ;-). But I can see coloring them all the same so as to keep the diagram from getting too complex. | ||
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Post# 240864 , Reply# 11 10/7/2007 at 11:26 (6,042 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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I'm interested in the mechanism inside the "Crankshaft, Sleeve, and Gear Assembly" section. How exactly does it translate the rotary motion of the motor-driven shaft to the vertical reciprocating motion of the plunger? Hi Rich, I made this video about five years ago which should answer your question... Cranshaft/Sleeve/Gear Minor point: you colored two meshing gears as both rotating clockwise. Mechanically this is unlikely, as two gears meshing will necessarily rotate in opposite directions ;-). But I can see coloring them all the same so as to keep the diagram from getting too complex. No you are absolutely right, I noticed that as well after I was looking at this drawing again. The assembly does move counterclockwise as the drive shaft turns clockwise. | ||
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Post# 240900 , Reply# 12 10/7/2007 at 16:44 (6,042 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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Deja vu all over again
Hi Robert, Thanks, now I remember watching that video a few years ago, it all makes sense to me now. I guess the use of the term "crankshaft" had me a bit mystified, since there are no conecting rods or pistons, or even cylinders involved. From my automotive restoration work, I believe that the pin that connects the "crank" to the trunnion would be called the "trunion pin". At least that's what it's called in the ball-and-trunion type of U-joint in my vintage cars. One big advantage to the offset design of the Unimatic pulsator mechanism is that it utilizes helical gears. Those are the gears with diagonal teeth, such as the one you are rotating with your finger in the video. Helical gears tend to run much quieter than "straight" gears, although they can be a bit more finicky about proper clearances and such. While I can envision a setup where the motor rotation is translated to a vertical linear movement using straight cut gears, it would be noisy and probably more bulky than the Unimatic design. The shared characteristics of the Unimatic design to a ball-and-trunion U-joint and certain aspects of a differential is perhaps not too surprising, considering Frigidaire's General Motors connection of the time. Although modern automobiles use cup-and-cross u-joints in combination with splined shafts to achieve power transfer with freedom of motion, until the 60's the ball-and-trunion could still be found in cars (my '64 Valiant has one up front by the transmission, and my '50 Plymouth has one at each end of the driveshaft). | ||
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Post# 240926 , Reply# 13 10/7/2007 at 19:02 (6,042 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Post# 240938 , Reply# 14 10/7/2007 at 20:47 (6,042 days old) by gyrafoam (Wytheville, VA) |
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Oooh honey--- it's difficult, but no comment. | ||
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