11.3  The crank-slider and its inversions

The crank-slider converts rotation into translation. Its kinematics is in Particle kinematics, Example 11, its forces in Virtual work, Example 1 and its dynamics in How a motion solver works; this chapter is about design. The stroke, the offset crank and the time ratio of the quick return; the inversions of the same chain: the engine and the pump (ground the cylinder), the Whitworth quick return and the crank shaper (ground the crank), the oscillating cylinder of a hydraulic actuator and of a toy steam engine (ground the connecting rod), and the Scotch yoke with its pure harmonic motion. The two dead centres of the engine and why a flywheel carries it through them. Example: a printed crank-slider for the RC car laboratory, measured against the formula.