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A swashplate is a type of mechanism which allows a rotating motion to be transferred into a reciprocating motion. It is used in some types of engines and hydraulic equipment, but the most common use is on the main rotor and tail rotors of helicopters.
On a helicopter the swashplate is a part of the helicopter rotor which allows the rotor blades to be manipulated to control the aircraft. As each rotor blade swings around the center of the hub, the swashplate will increase its angle of attack on one sideof the arc, decrease it on another and so on in order to allow the helicopter to be rolled or pitched according to the pilots commands.
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How does a helicopter move forward?
When the stick is moved by the pilot, it moves an assembly called a swashplate accordingly. The swashplate is at the rotor base. When this moves, it changes the pitch of the rotor blades. As the pitch changes, the orientation of lift produced changes as well. Thus, when the stick is moved forward, the blade pitch is affected by the swashplate to re-orient the lift forward, instead of directly vertical, and the helicoptor is pulled in a forward direction.
What helicopter rotary swash plate?
A Swashplate and Support assembly and a scissors and sleeve assembly are installed together, mounted around mast at top of transmission. The control unit transmits movements from cyclic and collective control systems mounted in cabin and fuselage to linkages which rotate with main rotor. Swashplate is mounted on a universal support, for tilt related to position of cyclic control stick. Collective sleeve moves vertically within swashplate support, as actuated by collective control stick. Combined effects on scissor levers andupper linkage determine main rotor lift and directional control.
What is the origin of the term swashplate as applied to helicopters?
Technical terms are difficult to find a definition. But I worked 11 years at Bell Helicopter. The Swashplate refers to point on the controls that lead up to the rotor blades where the non-rotating controls are converted to the Rotating Controls. Rotating Controls are the two rods(for a 2-bladed Bell helicopter) that are attached to the base of the Rotor blades and come down, parallel to the Rotor Mast. These two control rods are moving around the mast with the blades. At the bottom of these rods, they are attached to a rotating disc. This disc is mounted on a gimbled platform that usually has 3 non-rotating controls that come UP from inside the fuselage. There are 3 because one control causes the swashplate to tilt left and one causes it to tilt forward and one fixes the 3rd leg of the triangle. Basically, as the pilotcontrol inputs cause the Swashplate to tilt, the path of the Main Rotor blades (or the tip path plane) will follow the tilt of the swashplate but delayed by 90 degrees. A Technical explanation on helicopter controls http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/chris_berardi/Helisetup.htm More info http://avia.russian.ee/theory/control.html http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/helicopters/q0084.shtml http://www.thaitechnics.com/helicopter/heli_intro.html Photos of actual parts for a 1-seat helo. http://www.vortechonline.com/awparts/ R/C Modelparts are not different from full-size helos.http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0093p?&C=EEK http://prism2.mem.drexel.edu/~todd/heli_components.html Great illustration of R/C Model Swashplate http://www.whirledair.com/parts.html Illustration shows the top piece that rotates with 2 control rod attachments and the bottom half that is fixed with 3 attachments. http://www.brentfordrc.co.uk/scripts/prodView.asp?idProduct=961
Describe how standard main and tail rotor systems achieve lift and directional control?
Main RotorThe pilot operates the Main Rotor blade by pulling up on the Collective Lever or moving the Cyclic Stick(similar to a stick used on single-seat aircraft).The controls going to the Main Rotor blades are operated through the Swashplate. This control rods going to each individual blade rotates around the Swashplate. The Collective Levermoves fixed controls so that the Swashplate moves all Main Rotor Blades with the same increase in angle of attack. This produces a vertical lift as all blades increase lift at the same time.The Cyclic Control inputs a tilt to the Swashplate which inturn only inputs an increase of angle of one rotor blade as it rotates around the Mast. As you follow the blade, it increases in angle of attack and then decreases. The next blade follows the same pattern. This produces a "tilt" to the Lift Vector of the Main Rotor that can be directed in any direction and the helicopter moves in that direction.Tail Rotor. When the pilot applies foot pedals, he inputs movement to the Tail Rotor controls that only input an increased blade angle to both blades at once. This increases the thrust so the trail roto pulls the helicopter's tail to the side. Applying opposite tail rotor reduces the lift and the torque of the Main Rotor Blades twist the helicpoter's tail in the opposite direction. If the tail rotor fails, the torque of the Main Rotor will make the helicopter spin out of control (except if the pilot converts into an auto-rotation maneuver that dumps the torque to the main rotor).
What all on Kubota bx is hydro driven?
Strictly the transmission is "hydro driven" on a Kubota BX-series tractor. It is has a high and low range but speed is fully adjustable and controlled by a variable swashplate in the transmission. The mid and rear PTO's are gear driven by a wet hydraulic clutch pack. FWD is strictly gear driven from inside the transmission. Hope this helps.
How steering is achieved tracked vehicle?
In most tracked vehicles the drive is split so that the left hand track and right hand track can be moved at different speeds or even different directions. Originally in tanks it was achieved using differential gears but modern tracked vehicles such as earth movers and diggers use hydraulic drive systems that are driven by swashplate variable displacement hydraulic pumps. By driving one side faster than the other the vehicle will drive in a curve. The difference in speed of the 2 tracks will increase the tightness of the curve. By rotating one track forward and one backwards, it can rotate on the spot.
Why does helicopter flies slantingly?
It's in the basic principles of how helicopters actually work. The spinning rotor blades provide upwards or downwards thrust only (excepting the anti-rudder torque action). So to go forwards the spinning rotor disc is pulled down in the direction of the font on the aircraft, to an angle where the usual upwards motion turns into partial forward motion. You want to move faster or quicker, just pull the rotor disc down further in front of you. This is all done mechanically through a swashplate. These kind of movements are done constantly by the pilot just to keep hovering in one place or even wind correction. check more into this it's cool stuff
Changing the pitch of the rotor blades will result in what?
The term "rotor blades" usually refers to a Helicopter. Increasing the pitch of the blade means the angle of attack is increased which produces more Lift. Increased pitch of bothMain Rotor Blades will result in all blades increasing Lift, thus causing the helicopter to climb vertically. For directional control (or cyclic control), the swashplate is tilted and causes a cyclic input into the pitch of each individual blade as it rotates. Increasing the pitch of Main Rotor Blades individually is the method used to cause the helicopter to fly forward. This causes the thrust vector of Main Rotor to tilt forward (or sideways) and pulls the helo forward. Tail Rotor Blades increase pitch together. They do not have cyclic pitch. Increasing the pitch of the Tail Rotor Blades will create more lift to one side and cause the tail to be pulled to that direction. Custermen
How does a tandem helicopter steer?
There is a part on a helicopter that is called a swashplate, it converts non rotating controls into rotational movements via an inner ring riding on a bearing attached to an outer ring that is able to pivot on the shaft. On a tandem helicopter it uses both of them in unison most of the time. A helicopter maneuvers by adjusting the pitch of the blades to be more biased to one side, basically pushing air at an angle, causing it to go the opposing direction. So when a tandem rotor helicopter wants to fly forward it pitches both (or even one depending on what you want to do with it exactly) to fly forward. This all applies to the cyclic (steering). For yaw (turning) they either tilt the back only (to pivot around the front rotors), the front only (to pivot around the front rotors) or both (to pivot around the center). with the joy stick!!!!!!!! A helicopter with twin main rotors steers by flying the rotors just as a single rotor helicopter would do to make a turn. A single rotor helo uses the main rotor to tilt and bank. For a twin rotor helo, the two rotors do the same but can pivot the helo about its axis. The controls are a bit more complex than for a single rotor.
How does a helicopter stay in the air?
The source of lift force from the rotor (Rotation of two objects 'blade' creates a lifting force) blades allows the helicopter to stay in one area for extended periods of time. Each rotor blade, whether it is 2 or 7, has the ability to change pitch. This means the blade can rotate so that the nose or leading edge can tilt down or up. If it pitches up, the lift of the blade increases. Collective Controls As the blades rotate it produces lift. The pilot inputs controls that increases the pitch on all the blades at once. All the blades pitch up and produce more lift, so the helicopter rises. Cyclic Controls The pitch of the blades can also be controlled so that the blade pitches UP when it is on one side of the helicopter and pitches DOWN when it is on the other side. As the advancing blade is moving from rear to front, it decreases it Lift. Then as the blade moves to other side, it increases its Lift and pushes the helo through the air. In a simply explanation, this is what causes the helicopter to fly forward. Think of it like someone paddling a canoe. On many helicopters, the input is accomplished through the controls of the Swashplate. Custermen - Worked 11 years at Bell Helicopter.
How does a rotary tattoo machine work?
Most of what is available, especially on the cheaper end, are all most commonly based on your average "prison gun" style. But be forwarned that there are snags to rotaries as a lot of people see them. This is only a problem for the cheaper versions out there for the most part. First the main snag....rotaries in the cheaper end of the aforementioned style are usually inferior motors never intended for the skin, and as a result they lack the smooth packing power to deliver nice, and professional grade lines, so most people end up using them for nothing more than black and gray. With that said, these are very useful for B&G, as you can set them rather low voltage wise, thereby allowing you to build up your gradients smoothly without a lot of trauma to the skin. Also, depending on what kind of rotary machine you get, they are temperamental in packing color. But once again, this is the main snags for the cheaper end of the "prison gun" style. On the good side of it all, these machines are superior in the fact that they on average weigh at least half of what a coil machine does, which takes a lot of stress off of your hand. Also, as stated above, they reduce the trauma that you do to the skin, so you can hit an area multiple times with a rotary, whereas you can usually only hit an area with a coil at most 3-4 times before you have to back off. Lastly, most rotaries are relatively quiet machines, in that they "hum" as opposed to "buzz" like a coil, which for an artist like myself with a tendency to get headaches, is a great change of pace to hearing the nagging buzz of a coil for hours on end all day. With that last statement said, if you have headaches as an artist, the WORST machine to get would be a Neuma. They are sleek and light as a feather, and really run phenomenally but they sound quite literally like a dentist drill or a dremel. Whichever is the more annoying sound to you...imagine that one for HOURS whilst your doing a tattoo. One last thing about Neumas is that when I originally picked up an N2 a stretch ago, I found with my clients (most of whom have only ever been tattooed with coils their whole lives, and know the pain associated with getting tattooed by same) almost shat their pants and went bug eyed when they heard that beast scream to life. So, in summation on Neumas...they are great machines, but the sound they make and not to mention the fact that you need an air regulator, an air compressor, a special footpedal, oh and not to mention right around $1,500.00, gives them their good and bad points as well. But anyways, Neuma's aren't the point here. Back to my main point, there are great alternatives to the most common rotary designs, mainly of which are designs which incorporate both the motor and/or a swashplate or an armature bar. A Swashplate, or more astutely, an Australian Swashdrive, owes it's superior ability on the fact that the stroke is more focused, and most variants of a swash have adjustable settings, which allow you to control the stroke of your machine. The second is that the motors that they use on their products are very small, light, and powerful....these machines are like the Neuma, QUITE expensive as far as machines go be they coil or otherwise. Other very good, and significantly pricey variants is the German Cheyenne Hawk, Stigma Hypers, as well as most of the Swedish designs that you would find. Well, I hope that this has been informative for you, and I will stop rambling on and on now. Thank you.
