Thank you for welcoming me to your community. I hope that we can all answer some big questions together.
My name is Romin and I am the president of an association based on ecology, music and the arts. With my collaborators, we plan to build a machine to recycle empty cans while having an attractive visual side as well as a purely mechanical work and effort (No elec., no air compressor). We have several ideas with large gears, pistons and connecting rod but I must admit that I need help with the calculations.
Let me explain how it works:
From a bicycle (knee oil), it drives a very large cogwheel, which in turn would power different utensils. For example, a smaller wheel with an intermediate pusher system to compress cans, squeeze a bellows to feed a fire, two small cylinders for a smoke bomb, ... (see diagram)
The project may seem difficult to understand but it is a challenge that seems rather nice to achieve. If some of you have the skills to perform such calculations and, who would possibly like to be part of this project, it will be with great pleasure!
Funny idea but I'm going to break your spirits. Apparently you have no notion of mechanics (the idea of a Ferris wheel that drives the small ones is the best proof of this). The design is quite simple, the biggest problem is to evaluate the necessary forces (and therefore the power required depending on whether you want to operate all the mechanisms together or separately) and the available power (who will pedal).
After that, if someone has the time available to manage the project, I would gladly bring my piece.
Otherwise, you can get closer to a technical high school in your region, it is a subject of study that may be of interest.
Oh, yes! Very good idea Stefbeno ! I'm going to see with a technical high school!
Indeed, I only have a notion of mechanics other than changing a wheel...^^
Basically, you tell me that it is impossible to power a Ferris wheel by the strength of your legs alone and by means of a bicycle. Even with several small forwards ??
Indeed, it breaks the morale a bit, but above all it allows you to keep your feet on the ground. I thought that with a little ambition we could move mountains...
I think that to know if your project is viable you need some additional data.
Your input power must be equal to your output power (minus mechanical losses but skip it for now) for it to be a chance to work.
you have to find the power in Watt of your cyclist(s). And then the power required to crush your can + for your bellows + for your smoke bomb...
A little help for the can : the power in watts is equal to the force needed to clog it (in Newton) times the speed (in m/s) at which you want it to be crushed.
Feel free to tell me if I'm wrong, I don't crush a can every day
"Basically, you tell me that it is impossible to power a Ferris wheel by the strength of your legs alone and by means of a bicycle. Even with several small forwards ?? "
It's a bit too schematic. A succession of large and small wheels, in the end it's the equivalent of 2 wheels. To illustrate, if you take a wheel of diameter 1 that drives a wheel of diameter 2 that drives a wheel of diameter 1, it's as if you didn't do anything. It's still very schematic. If you're a bit of a cyclist, look at what combination of chainring and sprocket you use, when and how the effort you need to put in evolves.
A can easily withstands +80kg (mass of a man mounted on it).
On the other hand, if you give a shock to the cylinder, the can crashes.
Then if you want to have an idea of the force to apply, either you load a can with weights. And you see when it crashes. Or you have a press, it comes down to the same thing.
I had made a can compaction system during my studies. From what I remember... It is best to pinch the bobbin before compaction. This limits the compaction efforts.
Then from memory, I went for a cam system. Basically, we put the can in a cylinder. We close the crankcase (safety obliges) and I operate a lever. This lever was connected to a cylindrical cam system to pinch and then crush the can. Once the can was crushed, it fell directly into a trash can through a slot in the cylinder.
For the attractive visual side, you can always enclose everything in lexan.
