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Has anyone modified a universal joint? Was your modified part successful?
I find that the uni joints are too long for certain train applications. I
propose to take a broken uni joint (the axle holding parts break at the ends),
and do the following bold, illegal things:
1. Take a uni joint and shave off the broken axle holding part.
2. Drill out the round hole in the axle holding part to 1/8", to hold a flex
tube.
3. Cut down a piece of axle so that it has just over 1 stud length of axle and a
short length of flex tube profile to fit inside the modified uni joint round
hole. This will possibly be 1/2 stud of axle instead. The round hole insert
provides the necessary additional support.
4. Insert axle into modified unit joint and, hey presto, a uni joint with 1 stud
(or 1/2 stud) of axle rather than 1 stud of axle holder.
5. Add parts to make an extending shaft that can extend and contract by 2.5
studs whilst transmitting power. I won't use a suspension spring casing as the
extension needs to be longer than 2 studs length. I'm trying dark grey axle
pegs in 24mm pulleys at the moment. It works OK but it's rather fat. I would
prefer to use modified cams (axles in the 1/2 offset hole and flex tubes in the
others), but I'd prefer a solution with fewer mods.
6. Add two modified uni joints and the extension device together, making a total
length of less than 9 studs, to form transmission for a Shay locomotive.
7. Build 2 more sets of transmission for the other bogies.
I don't like to mod for the sake of it, but I think broken parts are fair game
as they are otherwise useless. I mod for mechanisms to make things work, not
for aesthetics as it's difficult to get a good finish.
For those unaware, a Shay engine has a 3-cylinder engine hanging over one side
of the loco with jointed extending shafts running the length of the loco to 2 or
3 bogies. In principle this requires 6 uni joints and 3 extension devices. The
problem with the Shay is to get the flexible transmission into a very short
length (I'm aiming for 8 studs or less), yet extending and contracting by 2.5
studs as the bogie turns.
Any ideas for alternative solutions that fit the above spec are most welcome.
Mark Bellis
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Universal Joint Modifications for Train Applications
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| (...) For what I can read, it seems to be a good use for the broken u-joints (yes, they are toooooooo long)... but, can we see the piece modified? It may help looking for an alternative solution. An also, where can I see a Shay engine? I've never (...) (21 years ago, 7-May-04, to lugnet.technic, FTX)
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