Infinitely variable drive : design, building and testing

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to design, build and test an infinitely variable drive. Here I have tried to design a friction drive which is capable of changing the output speed without making use of a clutch or having to stop the machine. The ideas involved in the design were discusses with my tutor and the workshop technician to check whether the materials for parts involved were available. Finally, a working drawing was made and the machining of the various components commenced. Having machined all the parts, the assembly was quite easy and then everything was mounted on a rigid wooden base. During testing some problems were faced with. The major problem was imposed by the prime mover since a suitable motor could bot be found. At last, I resorted to an electric drill rated at 500 W. Another problem was that imposed by the rubber O-ring fitted on the follower. Since the time available was limited, I could not go through the research of finding the most suitable materials to be used on the driver and driven units. To solve this problem I decided to use wood and rubber, as the two friction materials since from experience these two exhibit a goof coefficient of friction. Unfortunately, although the rubber O-ring proved to have a good coefficient of friction, it began to pit at a very fast rate due to its cheap material [...].