Grassroots Mechanic Movement

The refining of this drive system requires intimate knowledge of what does NOT work! There have been many tries & fails throughout multiple projects on my path to this point.

It is very difficult to remain optimistic through multiple obstacles, many times where I would have to avoid the deep, sucking hole of self-doubt & even depression.

 Every time something that I thought should work, but didn’t, I HAD to see it as a “Successful Failure”. That means there is no such thing as a failure, only the opportunity to learn. That is something which made me a great diagnostician in the auto repair industry for so many years (or, so I am told).

Fortunately, that makes the successful tests, changes & experiments that much more gratifying.

Now begins the refinement of this reactionless drive into a final product that can be a useful addition to mankind’s goals of energy independence as well as cheap & efficient propulsion for virtually all types of transportation.

This refinement now begins:

The components that need immediate work are twofold, first is the “stop” taking the place of the outer planet trap & second is accurately controlling the timing of the planetary gears.

First will be the stop. I am presently working to increase the efficiency of the pendulum weight stop and hopefully impart the weight’s force more effectively.

1-      Two matching 13” gears (automotive flexplates) are attached to 3” smooth idler pullies which are mounted to a beam so that the teeth are engaged between them ant they can spin freely on the idler pully bearings. These flexplate assemblies will be referred to as “Main Gears”.

The axles that the Main Gears rotate on are 5/8” threaded rod, and they need to extend through the Main Gears enough to be used as inner planet traps (6” to 10”). A 3 or 4 inch long piece of 5/8” heater hose is slid onto each Main Gear axle for the weight to contact.

2-      A 3” flat pully is mounted to a used Honda windshield wiper motor to drive the assembly via a serpentine type automotive belt.

3-      Four 3-1/2” flat idler pullies are used for the sun & planet gears. Short (approx. 1”) pieces of 3/8” diameter steel rod is welded to the OD of the pullies, transforming them into coarse toothed spur gears. One “tooth” on each gear is made from a 3” long bolt (3/8” coarse thread) to act as both a tooth and the pendulum weight pivot. These pivot bolts have the hex head removed.

4-      A pendulum weight is attached to the pivot bolts via a steel bushing (1/4” water pipe cut to length and drilled out with a 3/8” drill) welded to the hex head of a 3/8” x 2” bolt. The weights are fabricated from three steel squares (2” x 2” x 3/8”) placed together and welded. A hole is drilled & tapped in the center on one side to accommodate the bolt. A lock nut is threaded onto the bolt and then the weight is threaded on. Once in position, the lock nut is tightened against the weight block to maintain its position with the pivot bushing. The overall length of the pendulum assembly is approximately 4-1/8” and the length from the center of the pivot is approximately 3-3/4”.

5-      “Outer Plant Traps”… That is what Roy Thornson called them, are restraints for the pendulum weights. Roy’s logs & patent documents, call for an external restraint to catch (or trap) the weight after it has left the inner trap and then release it at the correct time to allow the weight to swing outward with a snapping motion. I have experimented with different designs and for this incarnation of this machine it is unnecessary.

What IS ABSOLUTELY necessary is the Planet gear mounted stop!!! It functions to keep the pendulum weight from swinging too far when it is coming off the inner trap and it is an essential component that “catches or stops the weight when it is swinging outward.

6-      Timing is critical! There is the Main Gear timing vs the planetary gear timing. Originally the Main Gears were timed together (because the “push” is not perfectly straight) so that one would counter the other’s sideways push. We aren’t building this for use in space at this time, so, this is absolutely not necessary!!! By offsetting the timing by approximately 90 degrees the pulsation effect is reduced and thrust is increased.

Timing on the sun & planet set is quite critical and is set by placing the gears into a position where the planet’s axle, the weight’s pivot bolt, and the Main Gear axle are in alignment and that alignment (if using a straight edge) is approximately 45 degrees BEFORE top dead center (when the alignment would point straight forward). There have been incarnations of this build where that has not been the case but that was much different.

7-      The speed of rotation (RPM) is an integral part of the unit’s operation and the lengths, sizes, weights, and timing are a choreographed “dance” which requires the speed to remain constant in order to achieve & maintain flow. Different motors, battery voltages, drag coefficients, etc. can & will affect the RPM and may require slight timing changes to compensate.

Whew… That’s quite a recap… It sure didn’t SEEM that — um, “involved”…

I went back to V2 weights, removed the magnet from both and welded a “bump” onto each of the pivoting bolts so that they contact the stops firmly when the weights are in their fully extended positions. After retiming the sun & planet gears to use this setup, I am reasonably pleased with the amount of thrust.

I am not so sure that the new pendulum weights are going to work out. I have both weights installed & I have replaced their pivot bolts with somewhat longer ones so I can get a full nut on them. I also had to reinforce the stops because they were getting bent. Since I have them set 90 degrees out of phase there is no way for the weights to contact one another, so I am using both planet gears without the raised pivot.

Forward thrust (with V3 weights) is present but is not as good as I was hoping. I may go back to the V2 weights.

The pendulum weight itself has changed several times & now I will try out another change. This latest incarnation (Version 3) replaces the threaded mounting pivoting on a steel bushing with a solid 1”x1” square steel rod weighing in at approximately 1 pound. The swing rate is actually slow enough that unit rpm will be limited and an outer trap may be of a simple momentary contact design.

The outer stops/traps are the next (last?) item to get working properly. Roy (Thornson) stated that the planet traps (stops) could be either mechanical or electromagnetic and that they should act as a braking system that would momentarily restrain the pendulum weights and release them at the correct moment in the planet’s orbit & rotation. When the weight is released it snaps outward in the direction of desired movement pulling the unit forward.

Now having tried several variations of stops/planet traps, I can see that this is a very important part of the unit that enhances its functionality as much if not more than any other single component does. It seems to be all about “steering” the weight into a position where it can “whip” outward at the correct time.

At this time, several methods have been attempted to steer (or trap) the weight(s) with some limited success. So far, the most effective method uses permanent magnets mounted on an adjustable steel bar and on the weight. When running at low speeds (30 rpm or less) magnets placed in attraction steer the weights into position and whip outward as soon as the weight is pulled away slightly. When the rpm is increased to the 40-60 rpm range, more magnets must be added in repulsion and placed slightly outboard from the attraction magnets. When rpm is in the 60-100 rpm range the weight will not always be properly directed demonstrating the need for a much more robust method for the unit to be used effectively through multiple rpm ranges allowing for a more adjustable thrust output by simple rpm adjustment.

A minor distraction has shown that the statement “It’s about the impact” is partially correct. Impact is very important to creating an inertial thrust device with enough efficiency to be worthwhile, however,impact alone does not make a viable working unit!

It is very apparent that if the centripetal push is in opposition to impact push the two will attempt to cancel each other out.

A POP device was created with a 2-speed motor which freewheeled at either 60 or 80 rpms. A loose bracket with a sliding bar was fastened across the axle. Each end of the bar had a bearing on it and the whole assembly inserted in a plastic housing.

Operation: The bar would impact the housing and be pushed away from the impact and the reaction pushed the unit in the direction of the impact… However, by pushing the bar into an opposing position it instilled the centripetal force in the opposite direction. By indexing the position of the housing into a more “sideways” push, the impact was able to push forward with slightly more force creating a very weak forward motion.

Only if the impact and inertial (centripetal) force are within the same 180-degree arc is there enough usable linear push.

The inner stop/planet trap is reasonably simple (at this point in the development) and serves for impact and keeps the weight from crossing the center of the sun gear.

The outer planet trap is much more complex, in function as well as in form. Stopping movement of the weight is not a viable option but a brake creates impact and directs the movement into a position for the desired “whip-like motion” which is effectively another impact (on the pivot pin of the weight). It is this “virtual impact sequence” that makes up most of the linear force used in this drive, the Thornson, and all Thornson-like drives.

The diversion was informative and now can be seen as a useful tool in the overall understanding of this technology. Understanding leads to improvement!

 

Now that I have the POP (Proof Of Principal) demo able to propel itself on wheels without any reverse action. It is strong enough to push small objects along with it, things like wrenches, spray cans, etc. It is time to find someone willing to duplicate it.

I am also switching back to just 2 flexplates turning as it is much easier to experiment with.

It should be made perfectly clear that I want this technology perfected but I also want it freely disseminated! In this blog there are no secrets regarding the workings of the reactionless drive. Most patents leave out critical details, or the details are skewed just enough to make an actual working model impossible. Such is the case with the patent filed by Brandson “Roy” Thornson. He spoke of stopping and/or steering the movement of the pendulum weights attached to the planet gears and he called them “planet traps”. I suppose he did this to increase the mystique of this critical component.

Much of this project is based upon Roy’s work from the 1970’s & I want to make sure that he gets credited for all his hard work and personal investment. Thank you Roy!

As this blog progresses there will be components talked about which should be defined now to aid in understanding and reduce confusion. So, here is a Glossary of common components.

Flexplate = The large round rotating plates the other gears are mounted to.

Sun Gear = The center gear, mounted to the flexplate’s axle, it does not turn.

Planet Gear = The outer gear, mounted to the flexplate. It rotates & orbits the sun gear.

Pendulum Weight = The weight attached to the planet gear(s) via a pivot.

Inner Stop = The place on the flexplate’s axle where the pend. weight makes contact.

Outer Stop = Mechanical device stopping or redirecting the movement of the pend. weight.

Brake = Stop