Do any machines NOT designed for locomotion - i.e. a stationary machine that does not move under its own power - employ the same type of gearbox that is found in a car or truck, in which there are multiple gears that control the operating speed or torque of some part of the machine, and those gears need to be changed by disengaging a clutch with some kind of lever, then selecting a gear, via a shift linkage, with another kind of lever, then re-engaging the clutch?
Or is this mechanical concept strictly limited to vehicles?
I assume they don’t have multiple gears though. But you’re on the right track.
I know it might seem like an idiotic question to people who actually know a lot about mechanical engineering and its applications. But on the other hand, there are a lot of different kinds of machines out there that require regulating the amount of power to its parts with some kind of control surface - I’m thinking of stuff like heavy machinery for construction, mining, manufacturing, etc - both historical, and in current use.
Something like a Line Shaft could be a valid answer. These transmitted a single, fixed, source of power to a variety of machines, each of which could be setup to engage and disengage from the power source for purposes of changing the machine speed.
One difference between these and locomotive devices is that they generally don’t need different gears to get up to speed.
The few I’ve used have an electric motor with adjustable speed, but apparently that motor wants to operate above some minimum RPM, so there is indeed a multi-speed transmission. Unlike a vehicle though, you don’t work your way up through the gears from a dead stop. While stopped, you select the desired drive ratio with a series of levers (I’m guessing each one controls a shifter fork), and then engage the motor. The motor doesn’t mind starting from zero speed, it just wants to be up to speed before you start loading it.
Apparently there is a clutch in there too, though I’m not clear on why, since the electric motor appears to stop when the chuck stops spinning.
So specifically a MANUAL transmission? Per wiki, automatic transmissions date to somewhere between 1900 & 1920 depending on what you count as automatic. So, anything with multiple gears before that would count?
Things that come to mind would be water-powered lathes, sawmills, powerlooms, and stationary steam engines. Unfortunately I don’t know where to look to find out if they had multiple gears, but from what I know about lathes being able to trade speed & force is rather important.
Technically, you could take a manual tranny car engine, remove it from the car, and use it as a power source for whatever. But that feels like cheating. What about bicycle based human-powered electric generators?
Chainsaws, lawnmowers and weedwhackers may have a centrifugal clutch. The clutch plates are held back with springs, and when the engine hits sufficient RPM, the centrifugal forces engage the clutch and the driven part gets to spin. It’s a cheap way to allow a low-powered motor to idle without engaging the mechanism. It is a little outside the purview of the question, but I hope it’ll be of some interest.
There are some refurbished or deliberately retro milling machines (which would have used wind or water power in the past but are now mostly driven by engines or electricity) that use a gear and clutch system. This would likely fall under what others have described as ‘heavy machinery’ however. Would we also want to include machines that have been converted from automotive to non-automotive use? If so, I would want to submit the Top Gear V8 blender.
A Rube Goldberg situation I personally know of is a gentleman who built a mobile pig roasting trailer, where he used the manual transmission of a Ford pickup, attached to an electric motor, to control the speed at which the pig spins on the spit. I don’t remember if the clutch was still involved, however.
I helped a guy repower his sawmill after the Pontiac straight 8 engine he used to power the mill expired. The mill was originally built around 1960. The guy that built the mill used the engine and 3 speed transmission from a 1948 Pontiac to power the mill. Our first attempt to install a Buick 350 engine failed, we couldn’t get the transmission pilot shaft to fit into the end of the crankshaft. I suggested a Pontiac 400 I had in my garage and it worked great. Unfortunately the 3 speed transmission wasn’t up to the task of handing the larger Pontiac engine and it broke with a resounding thud. We replace it with an automatic from a Buick Riviera and the mill was back up and operating.
Older style ‘mechanical drilling rigs’ would use chain drives from the main diesel engine to drive the rotary table and draw works ( hoist) , that would be driven through series of gear boxes and clutches.
You may still find some mechanical drilling rigs and workover units out there but DC motors on rigs and hydraulic power systems on work over units took over . Nowdays any reasonable rig in the US land or off shore drill ships are likly to be full AC drive systems
Plenty of drills have multiple (typically two) gears. They have a clutch as well, but it’s unrelated. You just need to shift while the motor is stopped.
Some pictures here of the engines plugged into drive shafts. Also a lot of Frac pump mobile truck units all run the pumps directly through clutches and gear boxes from engines, although AC drive is making an impact here.
Ordinarily lathes don’t need clutches, the gearing will be set before they begin to spin. However, a type of lathe is used to peel veneer and thin plys of wood by cutting a thin slice from an entire tree trunk section rotating on a machine. As the wood is cut down it’s diameter is reducing and it may require speed reduction as it goes.
The use of clutch and gears is not always in coordination for changing speed while a machine is operating. Some machines may have a clutch to engage and disengage from a power source, but all gear changes happen when the machine is stopped. That kind of machine would need a clutch if powered steam, water power, or IC engine, but usually not when an electric motor is used.
A spring loaded cable grip, sort of a cam type mechanism for the chairs to attach and detach from the load line
There is obviously a bunch of gears between the drive motor and the pully wheel. I would think a chair lift is the best form of transportation there is though.