Besslers Codes

[jim_mich]

I've always used good bearings with little friction. The heavy side would self-rotate to the bottom. I would then clip large binder-clips (from office supply store) to the top edge of the plywood until it balanced. I had one wheel that took about ten clips to balance. That is when I switched to MDF, which seldom need any balancing.

Alternately you could remove (saw/cut/drill) wheel material from the bottom edge.

[Unbalanced]

All good tips Jim, thanks

[rlortie]

Industrial grade MDF usually comes in 49" wide X 97" long sheets, 3/4" and 5/8" thick being the most common. Some lumber supply outlets carry 1/2", but they may be hard to come by. MDF density is calculated by cubic foot, averaging 50 lbs. However this can vary with in a sheet as it is pressed in a four part operation making up of three layers of fine to course wood chips.

What Wiki has to say:

Over time, the word "MDF" has become a generic name for any dry process fiber board. MDF density is typically between 500 kg/m3 (31 lbs/ft3) and 1000 kg/m3 (62 lbs/ft3).[4] The range of density and classification as Light or Standard or High density board is a misnomer and confusing. Density of board when evaluated in relation to density of the fiber that goes into making of the panel is important. A thick MDF panel at 700-720 density in case of softwood fiber panels may be considered as high density whereas a panel of same density when made of hard wood fibers is not so. The evolution of various types of different MDF was driven by the differing needs of specific applications.

Underlayment or UDL comes in 48" wide X 96" long sheets and can be found running from 3/8" to 3/4" thick. It has a density reading of 35 lbs per cubic foot. Due to its low bolt and screw holding capacity, I do not recommend it for making research proto's.

I am currently fabricating a 71-13/16" diameter wheel. To reduce weight I am constructing it out of 1/8" Tempered hardboard. Using a full 48" wide sheet and a 24" half of a 96" long sheet less 1/2 saw kerf. Two of each are laminated together forming a 1/4" thick disk. I lay them out on a smooth level shop floor and use 20 8" X 16" cinder blocks for a press.

Current build calls for four of the above. and four slightly smaller in diameter yet larger than what a standard 4' X 8' sheet will encompass.

As for plywood I do not recommend any grade below B-B, using the APA grading system, lower grades have irregular and often voids in the inner cores. Birch plywood is the dream of a quality build but is far to expensive for multiple research design use.

Ralph

[jim_mich]

MDF density is calculated by cubic foot, averaging 50 lbs. However this can vary with in a sheet as it is pressed in a four part operation making up of three layers of fine to course wood chips.

The MDF that I'm using seems to be made of wood powder, and the surface resembles the look of cardboard. It has fibers but no 'chips' of wood. I needed a thickness of 3/8 inch, so that I could use a standard 1/4-20 bolt, cut the head off, and use two nuts & two washers on the threaded end to give me an axle post on the wheel. Standard bolts have between 7/8 and 1 inch of thread, with the rest of the bolt being smooth. This makes an excellent axle pin sticking out of the wheel. A simply cross-drilled hole and cotter-pin keeps the components on the axle pin. Or one could use push-on caps like used on kids wagons and such.

The 3/8 thickness was a special order at a big lumberyard. The cost was a little more than for standard thicknesses. The extra cost was worth it because it saved me a lot of labor of counter-boring a bunch of holes or re-threading bolts so they would have longer threads.

[rlortie]

Jim,

The term "fine to course chips" is referred to by those who make it, for the user this is another "misnomer".

Yes! the surface appears to be made of wood powder due to the mix of formaldehyde and resins. But if you take a closer look at the inner or core of the material you will likely see a larger pattern of material.

If you require 3/8" material, you might get by using 3/16" thick tempered hardboard, it all depends upon your framework structure. It is considerably cheaper than MDF.

My last six foot diameter wheel was made of laminated 1/2" thick UDL making for a 1" thick disk, I used all-thread cut to length rather than bolts. The all-thread was purchased in 10' lengths from a local fastener supply.

A brass sleeve can be used over the exposed threads fitting a 5/16" ID roller blade or skateboard bearing.

Now enough of off topic talk and hopefully back to Bessler's codes (for those that are interested in the topic)...

Ralph

[rlortie]

Jim wrote:

This makes an excellent axle pin sticking out of the wheel. A simply cross-drilled hole and cotter-pin keeps the components on the axle pin. Or one could use push-on caps like used on kids wagons and such.

Careful of your wording: you are giving clues to the discerning! :-)

Ralph

[Oystein]

Update:

Finished the first aluminium based version of the "Orffyrean handle-construction". Tried to construct it without using ball-bearings in the joints. At first it seemed like a bad idea, but after adding lubrication it moved smooth and tight even under some load. I will still evaluate the use of small ball-bearings in the handle-construction. Picked up some led and melting equipment today. Some static test will be done, If successful, this first mechanism will be replicated and repeated several times.

[rlortie]

Bearings for extruded aluminum: Check out your local hardware outlet, look for press fit bushings made of white plastic, these are made of Nylotrol and are self-lubricating.

Ralph

[Oystein]

Thank you, I will take a look.

[johannesbender]

what were handles according to bessler ?
i wish you luck with your build .

[Oystein]

I don`t have the original MT text avail. so I can`t tell/ compare what he originally meant by "handle" (construction). Or what the original text was. Maybe the original text has been posted here before? If so, it must be compared to other MT texts etc.

After some time with severe back-pain I mounted the pair of led weights and did the static force tests on the first prototype mechanism. It seems like they will be able to move where I have predicted and calculated. (Note to self) The total "startup-friction in the mechanisms will be crucial.

The test was to tell if one mechanism/pair of weights will be able to move three others from the positions they will have just before the driving weight fall, and they are moved to total overbalance. The position measured is where the wheel is in balance, and where the force from the driving mechanism/force has to at least balance the opposing forces from the others, and when the wheel is rotated just a little bit more, it has to overcome the resisting forces from the other mechanisms and moved all to new total overbalance.

I have decided to pursue the principle further.

[Oystein]

My latest update:

December has sadly been used to try to help our 3y old son with health problems, and he is at the moment at the hospital.

I am very tired, but has gotten some late nights finishing more of Besslers Codes and tried to improve the mechanisms internal adjustments on paper.

I have again a dialogue with a prof. PM Machine-builder.

I will add some words about Besslers principle. I have found that the outermost part of the wheel does not contain any weights. This was also reported in reports/letters about the Kassel wheel.

Some has also implied that Beesler used small weights to move larger weights, because what he stated about the leverage principle.(1 quarter vs. 4 quarters etc...)

But when looking at his words about the internal workings he say that when the "schwere" weight move inwards, the others are lifted high! Schwere, could mean heavy, but also powerful or strong!!

My research show that when a strong (force) weight moves towards the center. two or more weights are lifted (depending on internal configuration). All of the same weight.

I had intentions to post a few pictures from Besslers Codes but must travel to the hospital now.

Bye

[Grimer]

Sorry to hear about your son's health problem. I'll say a pray to Our Lady of Lourdes for him.

[Art]

.

Hi Oystein , I hope your 3 year old son’s health problems are improving , there is nothing like such problems with young children to focus your mind on the important things in life . Hang in there , children are amazingly resilient when given good parental support !

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In relation to your Quote : -

“outermost part of the wheel does not contain any weights� : -

In the codes that you are deciphering , is this something that Bessler seems to indicate clearly or do you think there is some room for interpretation ?

It appears that Bessler’s chosen method of increasing the power of his machines took the form of increasing the diameter rather than the thickness of the wheel .

I believe he said also something to the effect that the power increased approximately by the square of the radius , if I’m remembering this correctly .

There are 3 possibilities that I can think of where the increasing diameter could be important in the production of the energy produced.

The first possibility would likely be due to the fact that if leverage is involved in producing the energy , then the leverage involved between two masses in the wheel would correspondingly increases approximately with the square of the radius . In addition the centrifugal force experienced by the mass in a flywheel increases by about the same ratio. In both cases this would require the mass to be located mainly at the circumference for maximum effect .

A second possibility could be that the increased diameter is required strictly as a flywheel storage system for the energy produced , - as a buffer between the prime mover and the point of work application . In this scenario it also would appear that the mass or weights should be concentrated at the perimeter of the flywheel for maximum effect .

A third possibility might be that the increased diameter of the wheel is required as a covering to hide the mechanism that just needs to be larger but could be hanging on the axle . In this case what is seen revolving is merely a casing and would be expected not to have much mass at the perimeter. But if the hypothetically larger mechanism needed to revolve with the wheel , as I believe Bessler stated , then this returns us to the ‘second possibility’ above where you would expect the mass to have a concentration close to the perimeter .

If Bessler is stating clearly that the outermost part of the wheel contains no weights , then I personally need to thoroughly re-evaluate most of my preconceptions ( possibly not a bad idea based on progress so far ! ) but I might say that this will require some awfully hard mental work which I’m not looking forward to and don’t know if I’m even capable of : )

.

[Oystein]

Thank you for your concerns. (You and Grimer) He seems better now and has come home. We cross our finger for smooth recovery and that we may stay at home through Christmas.

The codes don`t explicitly say that there are NO weights there. But they indeed say that something else is there. If I still try to add weights there too, nothing good/better happens to the principle.

(Edit, I did not say how wide this outer zone is, and it can be made quite small, if we use longer arms that will overlap into this zone)

Bessler did not say that the power increased by the square of the radius, but rather that the power could be increased or improved up to four times, which is a whole other thing. There is no reason to believe that the wheel only could be doubled in size (increasing power 4 times) and nothing more.

And he was desperate to show power, so I conclude that the bidirectionality limited the maximum power output pr. radius/diameter. And could be increased up to 4 times by maximizing the number of mechanisms and their internal spacers. This would make the wheel constantly out of balance.

Nothing is stationary to the wheel/axle/rotation.