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Sun and planet gear

 
Sun and Planet Gear

 
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Sun and planet gear
 
 
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The sun and planet gear (also called the planet and sun gear) was a method of converting reciprocal motion to rotary
Rotary

Rotary can refer to:...
 motion and utilised a reciprocating steam engine
Steam engine

File:Steam-powered fire engine.jpgA steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines have a long history, going back at least 2000 years....
. It was likely invented by the Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 engineer William Murdoch
William Murdoch

William Murdoch was a Scotland engineer and inventor. It is believed that his name was Anglicisation to Murdock when he moved to England.He was employed by the firm of Boulton and Watt and worked for them in Cornwall as a steam engine erector for ten years, spending most of the rest of his life in Birmingham....
, an employee of Boulton and Watt
Boulton and Watt

The firm of Boulton & Watt was initially a partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt ....
, but was patented by James Watt
James Watt

James Watt was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both the Kingdom of Great Britain and the world....
 in October 1781. It played an important part in the development of devices for rotative motion in the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, production, and transportation had a profound effect on the socioeconomics and cultural conditions in United Kingdom....
.

sun and planet gear
Gear

A gear is a component within a Transmission device that transmits rotational force to another gear or device. A gear is different from a pulley in that a gear is a round wheel that has linkages that mesh with other gear teeth, allowing force to be fully transferred without slippage....
 converted the vertical motion of a beam, driven by a steam engine, into circular motion using a 'planet', a cogwheel fixed at the end of the pumping rod (connected to the beam) of the engine.






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The sun and planet gear (also called the planet and sun gear) was a method of converting reciprocal motion to rotary
Rotary

Rotary can refer to:...
 motion and utilised a reciprocating steam engine
Steam engine

File:Steam-powered fire engine.jpgA steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines have a long history, going back at least 2000 years....
. It was likely invented by the Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 engineer William Murdoch
William Murdoch

William Murdoch was a Scotland engineer and inventor. It is believed that his name was Anglicisation to Murdock when he moved to England.He was employed by the firm of Boulton and Watt and worked for them in Cornwall as a steam engine erector for ten years, spending most of the rest of his life in Birmingham....
, an employee of Boulton and Watt
Boulton and Watt

The firm of Boulton & Watt was initially a partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt ....
, but was patented by James Watt
James Watt

James Watt was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both the Kingdom of Great Britain and the world....
 in October 1781. It played an important part in the development of devices for rotative motion in the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, production, and transportation had a profound effect on the socioeconomics and cultural conditions in United Kingdom....
.

Operation

Sun and Planet Gears
The sun and planet gear
Gear

A gear is a component within a Transmission device that transmits rotational force to another gear or device. A gear is different from a pulley in that a gear is a round wheel that has linkages that mesh with other gear teeth, allowing force to be fully transferred without slippage....
 converted the vertical motion of a beam, driven by a steam engine, into circular motion using a 'planet', a cogwheel fixed at the end of the pumping rod (connected to the beam) of the engine. With the motion of the beam, this revolved around, and turned, the 'sun', a larger rotating cog which turned the drive shaft, thus generating rotary motion. An interesting feature of this arrangement, when compared to that of a simple crank
Crank (mechanism)

A crank is an arm at right angles to a shaft , by which motion is imparted to or received from the shaft; it is also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion....
, is that when both sun and planet have the same number of teeth, the drive shaft completes two revolutions for each stroke of the beam instead of one.

See also

  • Epicyclic gearing
    Epicyclic gearing

    Epicyclic gearing or planetary gearing is a gear system that consists of one or more outer gears, or planet gears, revolving about a central, or sun gear....
  • Beam engine
    Beam engine

    A beam engine is a design of engine based on the principles of a first-class lever. A force is applied to one end of a beam, which is pivoted in the middle, and the lever action transfers the force to create work at the other end of the beam....



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