Having fun to become an Engineer

Lubricant? What are they and why do certain machines needs it?

2012-11-28T00:07:00.005+00:00

The main purpose of lubricants is to separate the sliding or rolling of 2 or more different surfaces so that it reduces friction, the lubricant works by forming a cushion of lubricant molecule between the different surfaces; if the right lubricant is used for the right machinery, the lubricant will keep the surface apart even when its squeezed by high contact pressure. As the lubricant moves on the surface of the material, the lubricant is subjected and offers some resistant on both of the surfaces; this is far less than 2 different surfaces in dry contact.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/bitogwp/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/hydrodynamic2.jpg

Further more, another advantage of lubricants is that a steady flow of lubricant cools down the machinery by carrying the heat generated away from the moving part, the surface which is covered in lubricant cleans the surface by carrying away the deposits with it and also it minimises oxidation; corrosion can lead to rust and weakening of the material. If the surface of the material is exposed to oxygen (O2) and moist (H2O) it can cause corrosion witch will eventually cause rust on the surface of the material. Rust will eventually weaken the material and will increase friction between the surfaces.

http://r2.cygnuspub.com/files/cygnus/image/CAVC/2012/SEP/300x200/thermal-image-rollers_10775198.jpg

There are 3 main types of lubricants, synthetic oil, grease and graphite. Synthetic oil is a lubricant with is engineered for the job of a conventional lubricant, but much better. As they can be specifically be designed to fulfil a particular need. However because of this synthetic oil is very costly to produce and there for more expensive to buy, it can offer significant performance as it remain stable in extreme temperature.

All lubricants fall into one of their three different lubricant categories; liquid (oil), semi-liquid (grease) and solid lubricant (graphite). The lubricant are made from vegetable oil, synthetic base stock and minerals witch are hydrocarbon, hydrocarbons is a compound witch only contains hydrogen and carbon, hence the name “hydrocarbon”, also graphite is only made from carbon (c). raw lubricants are not in used because if additives aren’t added the raw lubricant alone can over heat, catch fire or evaporate which can lead to both of the surfaces to touch whilst dry which can led to irreparable damages. To prevent this from happening, all lubricants are processed to remove impurities and chemical such as additives are added.

The first main lubricant that is mostly used in formula 1 engine are synthetic oil, synthetic oil is different from the other lubricants because synthetic oil had polymer added to mineral oils to enhance there properties, furthermore, various types of ester, silicone and other polymers are added mainly to increase the viscosity and the wear resistant of the lubricant.

The second main lubricant used is grease, grease is mainly used for wheel bearing because it can function for a long period of time with out needed attention. However, grease doesn’t dissipate heat generated as well as liquid oil because of its higher viscosity compared to liquid oil. Graphite is not used on its own as it will turn into fine particles which is useless for the machine however graphite is a very useful lubrication when mixed with grease making Graphite grease, graphite is entirely made of carbon atoms only. Carbon bonded to 3 other carbon molecules making a lot of hexagon together. Since carbon could make 4 bonds in total it loses an electron from its outer shell so as each carbon loses an electron, they form a “cloud” of electron between each layer of carbon hexagon allowing them to slide over each other witch makes it an effective lubricant.

The last main lubricant is cutting fluid, this fluid is mainly used whilst cutting, hence the name “Cutting Fluid” this is used to keep materials clean whilst being cut and cooled so that the cutting edge doesn’t “stick” to the material whilst being cut or doesn't wear off easily. Lastly, they use this so that it doesn’t oxidise and give the material a good finish.

There are 3 main oil lubrication system, total loss, self contained and re-circulation. Total loss lubrication is when the oil is applied to the moving pars by means of an oil can or an aerosol spray, hence the name “total loss” because it needs to be reapplied once the oil evaporated, drips, takes in dust or dirt and becomes a semi solidified lubricant an example of this is a chain bike, the bike chain is lubricated using this method and needs to be re-applied once the chain has been cleaned or the lubricant has solidify. Another method witch is used on large equipments is supplying lubrication oil or oil mist periodically for a central reservoir by means of having a manual control or a semi-automatic pump.

The second method is self-contained, self-contained lubrication self contains the lubricant in a reservoir. Hence the name “self-contained lubrication” for example, the gearbox of a car is generally lubricated this way.

http://www.dansmc.com/splash_lube2.jpg

As shown on the picture, the partly submerged arm in the lubricant, "splashes" the oil sump to lubricate all moving parts, this process is known as “splash lubrication” oil is carried up to the other parts of the gears that are not submerge or/and need lubricant, this also creates a mist inside which keeps the gears well lubricated.

The last lubrication process witch is used is “re-circulating lubrication”, the oil from the reserve is fed under pressure through a filter directly to the moving part using the delivery pump, the lubricant continuous and after each passing over the contact surface the oil runs back into the reservoir under the effects of gravity.

In an engineering workshop lathes uses “splash lubrication” to lubricate the gearbox, splash lubricant works by having one gear or more which is partly submerged in oil (show in diagram before). Lathes have been designed this way because this process is much more efficient for this machine, the splash will create an oil mist and will keep the gears lubricated and helps the gears moving. The best lubricant to use for this job is synthetic oil because this lubricate would be able to handle the pressure of the lathe and also it is engineered for a curtain job, the synthetic oil has an excellent viscosity for this job. If I would design a lathe I would use this process because this process is cost effective and also it is much more effective.

Engineering project

2012-09-21T08:47:00.001+01:00

Well, the year has come were I need to make a project, but what to do....it seems like I started college yesterday and now I'm second year, "time dose fly when your having fun".
All summer I have been thinking of what to do, searching on the web for problem around the world, so I can produce a product which will help to save people lives or something.
Then Bam- thought to my self, the tv shows several problems around the world, so I ended up watching tv nearly everyday of the week, because my girl friend left my to go holiday for 2 weeks.
Whilst watching Alaska's Toughest Pilots it came to me. Nearly falling up the stears to write it the idea down, I was already online searching on the web if there's any divises which dose this.
So is it risky putting my design and my idea on blogspot? Yes, being optimistic about my project, I will be certain that I will me a millionaire are this sets of at the age of 20. The only problem is the money for my project. "money"- the killer of an inventor.
So what's my plan? Get a copy right on my idea then blog more
I will re blog as soon as about my project.

Manchester to liverpool and back!

2012-02-07T14:52:00.002+00:00

Yes its nothing to do with engineering however, this group is dedicated and aims to raise a substantial amount of money for the John Thornton's - Young Achievers Foundation. Their purpose is to provide opportunity to develop outstanding people. Importantly to honour the life of Lt John Thornton RM, by encouraging young people to achieve their potential.

'Climb as high as you can dream'

Our mission is to cycle to Liverpool from Manchester and back with YOUR support, this is approximately 94 Miles of constant elevation variance throughout the journey.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/158652044248890/

"How can a 1.2 million pounds (540,000 kg) aircraft fly?

2012-01-15T22:49:00.001+00:00

This report is focused on a research question ''How aircraft's are manoeuvred both on air and on ground flight'', and "how aircraft's try to be efficient". In this case the aircraft which my report would be focusing on is the RAF Vigilant T1, a Glider/Air Experience Flight (G/AEF) used by the Air Training Corps; this means it is both capable of being a normal aircraft but also a glider.

RAF Vigilant T1 in the background being cleaned

To answer the question ''How aircraft's are manoeuvred both on air and on ground flight''; the information is found in ACP 33 Volume 2 on Principles of Flight, first of all I am going to break it down by answering the question on air only so that you can easily understand.

Aircraft's as a matter of fact are manoeuvred in air using 3 main axes'; one of which is the longitude, vertical/normal and horizontal axis.

1) The longitudinal axis is responsible for the rolling movement of the aircraft, normal for the yaw and lateral for the pitching. To roll is a movement by the wings to raise one side and to drop one side to get a left or right roll, which runs along the longitudinal axis.

2) To yaw is a movement where by the whole aircraft moves side to side on its centre of gravity where all points meet on the normal axis.

3) Finally to pitch is a movement where the nose of the aircraft moves up and down on its lateral axis.

There are actually controls which enable the roll, yaw and pitching movement, the controls are called the ailerons, elevators and the rudder which are all external parts. To roll the aircraft the movement of the ailerons are used which is simply to push the control column to the left or to the right, similarly to yaw the aircraft uses the rudder by simply pushing on the right pedals to yaw right or vice versa. Finally to pitch is simply the movement where by the nose of the aircraft moves up or down using elevators, the pitch movement is controlled by pulling back on the control column to pitch up and push forwards to pitch downwards.



On the ground the controls for movement around the airbase really depends on the type of aircraft or what it has just been through or about to do; in this case I am still going to focus on the Vigilant T1. As it is a small light aircraft that does not require a Jeep to pull it around with a wing span of 17.4 metres; the propeller is used to apply thrust to the aircraft. They are manoeuvred depending on the day before they start with a brief from the admin of the airbase, normally aircraft's fly against the wind and depending on the weather this also means creating a certain course around the airfield. This is how aircraft's are manoeuvred but in a different prospective where how aircraft's move from one place to another is similar to flying, but only the controls of thrust and yaw are used for the simple reasons that one direction is only being used.

Now I will answer how aircrafts such as the Vigilant T1 try to be as sustainable as possible or also known as economically friendly. One of the ways in which this is done is the way the aircrafts has been designed, as you would see modern aircrafts has a more streamlined shape than all the other old aircraft designs. This is not obvious but the less the streamlined and aircraft is the more drag it created, this intern makes the aircraft use more fuel than necessary.

Having a streamlines aircraft does not just have an advantage of being a bit more economically friendly but it also allows the aircraft to travel at much faster speeds, in this case the Vigilant T1 is able to save a lot of fuel as it is able to glide due to its aerodynamic shape; it used its long wing span of 17.4 metres which make it really friendly to the environment compared to some other aircrafts.

Another point which makes the Vigilant and modern aircrafts today very strong and efficient is the way they structure their wings; a factor they have to include is the fact that it needs to be light, so in this case creating it to be hollow.

Arguments to support my answers are just basic knowledge and common sense; such as a child would not run with the wind to try to fly a kite, but they would automatic notice which and how to fly their kite although not necessarily knowing why.

These are the links to retrieve my bibliography, such as the Air Cadet Publication Books:

http://www.crowleaircadets.co.uk/Docs/acp33vol2.pdf

Principles of Flight ACP33 Vol. 2

http://www.crowleaircadets.co.uk/Docs/acp34vol2.pdf

Airmanship 2 ACP 34 Vol. 2

http://www.crowleaircadets.co.uk/Docs/acp33vol4.pdf

Airframes ACP 33 Vol. 4

Other Website’s:

http://pilotsweb.com/principle.htm

http://www.raf.mod.uk/equipment/vigilantt1.cfm

http://www.juddccf.co.uk/?page_id=211

My Snail

2012-01-15T22:49:00.000+00:00

My Finished Snail with its Natural look(rust) no speciall effects added- ipod camara

On November 25th My Engineering teacher said "make what you want and surprise me" from this I thought about a garden art which can be a present with a natural look. I took a long piece of 200x30x2cm steel and curved until it has made a small ring then continued bending the steel by hand until it looked like a back of a snail. Then I bent the front 30 degrees then -30 degrees again to create the neck and the head. I still had excess material; I cut the rest off using a plasma cutter which did it under 10 seconds. For health and safety reasons I curved the edge and also to make it look much more realistic. I used the excess for its mouth and its tail allowing the snail to balance and preventing it from rocking backwards. After this I got 2 pieces of 10cm metal pole with a diameter of 5mm for the eye neck and used 2 biggest bolts that the college had for its eyes (about 1cm diameter). Once I had all of this done I used the Mig welding process to weld them together. I have left it out side since then and gave it a natural look.

My teacher was very impressed with my creativity and my initiative skills of using different types of tools to make this process fast and effective.

Music To all Engineers.

2012-01-09T00:13:00.001+00:00

I was listening to music today using You-tube because I find it much more enjoyable whilst I glance at the music video as I clean my room. When the song was finished I found this song about Engineers which is very funny and true, for example when we said "Optimising the things iv always had" I was I was laughing because it is very true, since I was a child I have always tried to "Improve" my toy using my old ones, because it was very interesting to see what the end product will be. However it always ended up broken because the parts doesn't fit or I cant put it back together, becuase the spring has "flug" out and i cant fix it so I wait for a new toy so that i can use the spair parts which i have!

Engineering Gods

2012-01-08T11:51:00.002+00:00

Engineering Gods!

This might sound out of the ordinary however, have you ever thought that the gods that came to earth and helped the Mayans built Large and almost impossible structures at that time were just engineers from another planet?.
Well, my Theory/Opinion is that the “gods” that travelled thought space and time to land on earth for resources are just "average alien engineers", but because they were much more smarter and stronger than the Mayans they accepted that they were Gods.
Further more, whilst the Engineering gods were finding/taking recourses, they decided to help the Mayans by teaching them how to build structures. In return the “Crazy Mayans” sacrificed people to give them food; even thought they didn’t want to eat humans.

In conclusion, I think that this "god" that be believe in, is just an ordinary alien engineer.
(some of these facts may not be facts.)

Robot killers?

2012-01-07T23:13:00.001+00:00

Engineers and machines working together!

“Will robots take over the world one day?”

Well my personal opinion about this question is that it is nearly impossible. Impossible because all machines/robots are programmed to do something such as moving moulded parts from one machine to another. However, I said “nearly” because there are robots which have been programmed to learn by recording data like learning how to flipping a pancake and also learn how to play the violin. So maybe in 50 years or less their will be machines working for us but it is impossible that they will go ageist us. But if they do try to kill you....just tip them over with a chair!

All About me!

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000+00:00

My name is John and I grew up in the Philippines and moved to the UK when I was 10. Since I was a child I have been always tried to fixing or improve my toy using parts from other toys which is broken however always ended up breaking it.

Since I have left primary school and progressed into year 9, I have taken GCSEs in Resistant Materials, Graphics, Maths, Science, English and Level 2 engineering Diploma. Engineering, Resistant Materials and Graphics was the best lessons I had. All of these lessons consists of hands on and design work; which is my talent.

Progressing onto my first year of college (age 16), I have chosen BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in engineering (operation and maintenance) which will give me a national certificate once I have completed it; I have not regret taking it. This course consists of many different units which has given me general and advanced knowledge of maths, physics and a wide range of engineering skills.

Currently I have several different engineering skills such as arc welding, mig-tig welding, plasma cutting, lathes, using CNC machines and many different manual machines like a pillar drill. After I finish College I am going to progress on to universities to gain and become an Air Frame Engineer.

Since I have moved from the Philippines I have progressed on from a child who improved toys using broken toys to an adult who has a mind and skills of an engineer.

This blog will not tell you about my life. But my life’s work to be come an Air Frame Engineer.

Happy wind-chime

2012-01-03T10:00:00.000+00:00

On the 1st December it was nearly Christmas and my teacher “Mark” from Canada told us that we can make a gift for some-one because all our welding booths were taken from the day. I decided to make a large wind chime made out of disposed copper pipes and scrap metal from the workshop bins. This came into my mind when I saw the workshop scrap bin full of materials which can be used like the copper piped. So I thought about making something which will be simple using scrap metal which will be thrown away.

I got 4 large copper pipes with a diameter of 2cm and 3 small copper pipes with a diameter of 1 cm. I cut all the copper pipes into its right length to give its nice effects then drilled holes 1cm from the top. Once I finished this, I got a long piece of steel (15x1x0.5cm) and rolled it making sure that both end meats then mig weld it to make sure that it will stay together. This is the main part where the pipes will be held in place with strings, I drilled 4 holes with 1inch part for the large pipes and then 3 more hole with 1/2inch part for the smaller pipes so that it is able to hit each other and make its sound. Afterwards I got a short piece of steel (10x3x0.5cm) and made the inside disk with holes 1cm apart so that I an able to thread string thought it. Lastly I made the wind chime it self using mig welding and using a plasma cutter.

Finally I cut out a circle with a diameter of 7cm with a mouth with the plasma cutter and took 4 of the large nuts the college had and mig weld it onto both of its faces. Once I had finish threading it together (took me about 2hrs and I used yarn), this is my end product.

Engineering Clamp

2012-01-02T01:30:00.000+00:00

When I was in year 10 and I have chosen Engineering level 2 Diploma we had several different tasks that we got given and one of them is to make an engineering clamp. As you can see the photo it is very simple and effective. It is easy to use and also it dose have a firm grip!

Made in 2009