Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
As Qbranch pointed out, this thing is a system of levers and clutches. By moving the fulcrum, the user adjusts the lever ratio and thereby swaps speed for torque. The manufacturer's "constant torque" spec refers to a safe operating area (SOA).
My boss, whose current title is VP Engineering, recalls specifying one of these units for a factory machine about 40 years ago, when he was a co-op. So it seems these have been around for quite a while. They must work well in some applications. But I don't think FRC robots would be one of them.
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See that doesn't seem right. I don't think the lever distance has anything to do with swapping speed for torque but rather the frequency at which the shaft is engaged or disengaged. If this frequency is increased (by moving the lever farther back and forth) then we get higher RPM but the torque still remains the same.
Essentially all this really is is a fancy clutch mechanism.... it engages and disengages the output at different frequencies resulting in different speeds. However this does not change the torque characteristics of the system because during the time that the shaft IS engaged the motor is still in the same state had we just connected it directly to the output shaft.
I don't see the practical advantage over a traditional gear box, perhaps less motor load (because you allow the motor to free spin between cycles)
well... of course the fact that it is continuously variable