MEPX
Chapter 10 of 10All chapters
  1. 1The simple machines
  2. 2Levers and gears
  3. 3Engines
  4. 4Hydraulics and pneumatics
  5. 5Getting power where it is needed
  6. 6Household machines
  7. 7Electric motors and generators
  8. 8Efficiency and losses
  9. 9Why machines fail
  10. 10Working out an unfamiliar machine

Chapter 10 of 10

Working out an unfamiliar machine

A method for looking at anything.

Follow the energy

Find the power source, trace how energy reaches the moving part, and identify what converts or transmits it along the way. Almost any device becomes legible that way.

  • Ask what is trying to move and what is stopping it.
  • Look for the simple machines hiding inside: every mechanism is built from them.

Take it apart

Photograph each step, keep fasteners in order, and expect to find the design constrained by manufacturing cost as much as by physics. Most machines are cleverer and cheaper than they look.