Help with gondola ride power

[UKDan]

Hi,
I've nearly completed the gondola ride from wildwood designs but i want to change the way the wheel is powered. In the designs it is powered by a electric motor but I've added a steam engine to the side & want to use this. My problem comes with how to transfer the power to the wheel, as the steam engine goes very fast it needs to be slower for the wheel. I've added some photos below any help would be very gratefull.

Dan.

[CanadianScroller]

other than putting in a second set of pullies to step down the speed I cant think of much.
I bet chrispuzzle could whip up something with mecanno

[chrispuzzle]

other than putting in a second set of pullies to step down the speed I cant think of much.
I bet chrispuzzle could whip up something with mecanno

Ideally you want reduction gearing. Either housed in a wheelhouse between the steam engine and the ride, or tucked away in the base of the ride with a belt or chain drive at the rear from the base to the wheel. A realistic speed would be very slow and so I'd be inclined to use a worm drive in there.

Real life "Big Wheel" drives sometimes used a friction drive between a small driving wheel and the rim of the big wheel, but the Wildwood design doesn't have a large circular out rim.

Where and how is the transmission housed in the original design, and do you know what the actual rpm of the steam engine is without load?

Chris

[lucky788scroller]

Wow, very cool idea!!! Will there be ample torque in the steam engine to turn that ride though? I love the idea, and hope it works!! Dale

[UKDan]

Where and how is the transmission housed in the original design, and do you know what the actual rpm of the steam engine is without load?

In the original design the wheel is turned by an electric motor on the back of the ride. I'm not sure what the rpm is there is no infomation i can find on the net which helps.

You said about using a worm drive what is that i've never heard on one before.

My second plan if the wheel does not work is to use a electric motor on the back with the impression the steam is powering it!

Dan.

[workin for wood]

looks like the wheel on the engine is very small and has a groove in it for a belt?
A large circle of wood attached to the shaft of the gondola, a groove cut in the wood and a belt is hopefully going to do the trick. the small wheel spins fast but there is a relationship between big and small. it has to do with the circumferance of the two wheels. If you measure around the small wheel and it is 2". A 20" circumferance wheel would be 10 times slower. A 20" circumferance wheel would be about 5.5 diameter. I would make the largest possible wheel to mount on the gondola..you can dress it up with some fret cuts too...the larger the wheel, the slower the spin. That's the easiest way by far as opposed to a worm gear, which would be cool, but complicated.

[chrispuzzle]

Dan -

A worm gear is like a screw with enough space between the thread of the screw for the tooth of a gear wheel to sit. When the screw - or worm - turns a revolution the gear wheel advances by one tooth, so it is a good way to get a big reduction in speed (and a big increase in torque).

If you wanted to be massively cool in a scrollsaw sort of way you could cut out some wooden gears. An easy type of wooden gear would be a pegged gear, with the pegs engaging with each other. This sort of gearing was used in a wide range of old machinery.

It's a bit of a problem because the model is already built so any modification to incorporate some machinery inside the model will probably involve cutting holes in it and spoiling Wildwood's artistry.

Personally I'd use the electric motor for the gondola wheel and then think of more exciting things to do with the steam engine!

Chris

[earlinjax]

My steam engine has a valve to regulate the amount of steam going to the cylinder. You can slow it so it barely chuffs. Yours should have one as well. I don't know how much torque there is a a low speed, though.

EarlinJax
Stiil likes to play with toys.

[Buzz]

Gondola RPM's

My gondola ride turns at 4 RPMs. The motor specs also state 4 RPM's.

[UKDan]

Thanks to everyone for there comments. I think i'm going with the idea of trying to make a grooved wheel with a belt. The way the wheel is made it looks the simplist way. From the engine i'll have a belt to a small wheel on a axle to the back of the ride. Then another belt to the bottom of the ride which will then go up the back to a large grooved wheel. with all these belts and pulleys hopefully with a bit of luck it might work. If not there's plan b! of using a electric motor on the back & give the impression the steam is powering it.

Dan.

[workin for wood]

Look forward to hearing how it all works out. I love the worm gear the best, but it's deffinitely a whole lot more work...plus I think the spokes that are pushed by a worm gear need to be on a compound angle...even more work. But we all know the more work the more payoff.

[Rolf]

I would set the whole thing on a nice box so that the belt goes down to a series of step downs out of site and then come back up to the drive wheel on the gondolas. I think having a belt from the steam engine directly to the ferris wheel would detract from the overall appearance.
running the engine slow wont work very well the flywheel doesnt have enough weight to develop any torque