Pete.
Member
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- 14,151
- Location
- Kent, UK
I've got this little Allspeeds variator 1/2hp capacity. I've always wondered how they work inside so I thought I'd take it apart a: to inspect it's condition b: find out why it was empty of oil and c: just to find out how they work.
So here it is. I think it's very unusual in that it has a manual lever speed control rather than the more usual worm gear adjustment.
The stamping says it's a type 14 serial 6844 from 1956. The spec says it has a 9:1 ratio which I'm pretty sure means it'll go from 1:3 to 3:1 input/output range, which from what I can gather is pretty standard.
It was covered in crud and green hammerite when I got it so all that has to come off then it was time to open it up. I whipped out the screws and popped one side (the wrong side, as it happens) off.
I dunno what I was expecting but three huge balls wasn't it. After taking a few minutes to figure out how it works it's so comically (or conically ;p) simple it's no wonder they do hundreds of hour of work with little or no maintenance.
The variator has two shafts (input and output) each with a cast iron cone connected. the three balls are trapped between these shafts by an outer ring, and the axis of rotation of the three balls can be changed by the control disc with the three spiral slots.
So here it is. I think it's very unusual in that it has a manual lever speed control rather than the more usual worm gear adjustment.
The stamping says it's a type 14 serial 6844 from 1956. The spec says it has a 9:1 ratio which I'm pretty sure means it'll go from 1:3 to 3:1 input/output range, which from what I can gather is pretty standard.
It was covered in crud and green hammerite when I got it so all that has to come off then it was time to open it up. I whipped out the screws and popped one side (the wrong side, as it happens) off.
I dunno what I was expecting but three huge balls wasn't it. After taking a few minutes to figure out how it works it's so comically (or conically ;p) simple it's no wonder they do hundreds of hour of work with little or no maintenance.
The variator has two shafts (input and output) each with a cast iron cone connected. the three balls are trapped between these shafts by an outer ring, and the axis of rotation of the three balls can be changed by the control disc with the three spiral slots.