Thanks for the tips, but none of those will work. The sticking point has always been that the return MUST be independent of the input. However slowly or quickly the input is moving, the output must retract at a single, high speed. It's like pushing a rock toward a cliff. It doesn't matter if you...
Thanks to everyone for their input. The requirements have been refined a bit in the last few days. Basically, what the mechanism has to do is accept downward input from a horizontal lever for a short arc, only about 20º of travel. An output lever has to match that travel, driving a piston...
zekeman,
Unfortunately, no outside power source such as pneumatics, hydraulics or electronics will be available for this. It has to be simple, extremely reliable and strictly mechanical. Sorry, I should have specified that.
We are early in the design phase and have no fixed design. That gives us flexibility, so the necessary mechanism can be linear, rotary, arcuate, or any other shape, as long as it accomplishes the goal. Criteria include simplicity, cost-effectivness and most critically failsafe robustness...
Does anyone know of a mechanism that can release a one-way clutch automatically at a specified travel distance? My need is for a fixed reciprocating motion for both input and output, but the output needs to retract quickly under spring tension at the end of the stroke, independently of the input...
