Good morning Paul
 I am sending you the propeller shaft design and i would like to know if
 Jeff can machine this shaft and how much.
 I specified sae 4130 but you can recommend a better choice for shafting
 and treatment.
 I modified my housing design for a larger surface bearing at prop side
 and also a better ring gear attachment with back plate and rivets plus
 bolts.
 The ring gear back plate is already machined .
 With Alibre i can not convert for Rhino files but dwg can be open with
 Solid Works eDrawing

 Jean Prudhomme

 Looks good Jean. Is it an exact copy of a Lycoming or Continental
 shaft?

 If so that is good. Do you mean planet carrier back plate? If you
 want a 2.85:1 gear box you will need to drive the planet carrier
 and hold the ring gear stationary.

 You will have to contact Jeff directly and see if he will do it.
 If you are only making one or two you don't need an NC lathe.

 jeff doddridge <4starr@cox.net <mailto:4starr@cox.net>
<mailto:4starr@cox.net <mailto:4starr@cox.net>>

 Paul Lamar

 Yes Paul this is the exact Lycoming 10-540 big journal from the seal to
 the flange included, i did turn around 180 degree the planet outer ring
 and machined the back plate and fix with rivets a larger plate in
dia so
 i can bolt it to the housing and the fact the planet stay forward  i
 will need a thin oil impregnated flat washer between the outer ring and
 the back plate and panet housing.

 I did drive out the small gears shaft from the planet and i will make 6
 longer shaft for the small gears to been driven by the propshaft and
 the planet embossed reset shaft will be press fit into the
 propeller shaft.
 I intend to built one unit for testing and built a second one may be
 more.
 I will request also a quote from a drive shaft manufacturer if they
have
 the material available

 Jean Prudhomme


Jean,IMHO the rear flange that the planetary attaches to needs a
large radius fillet where it meets the shaft OD for the same reasons as
the flange on the other end.  Also the internal bulkhead might be easier
to fabricate if the center had a conical 120 degree depression the same
shape as the largest drill bit you will use before changing to the
boring bar  A boring bar small enough to machine the center flat would
be seriously overhung at that depth.  The shallow end could be cut to
constant thickness by setting the compound to 30 degrees.You might
save on machining costs if you cut the billet down to .100 from all the
surfaces and have the fine finish cuts done by  someone like Jeff. The
bearing journals will likely be done by a crankshaft repair shop who
could chrome the journals as well.

george grimes


Good points George. The aft steel bulkhead could be replaced by an
aluminum
plug pressed in.  That would make it much cheaper to build as a
large drill can
do most of the work. See the attached jpg.

Paul Lamar

Paul,  As I understand it Jean has a support bearing for the input shaft
located at the planetary end of the prop shaft and that is the reason the
rear bulkhead is not flush.  Also the whole purpose of this PSRU is to
have a hydraulically controlled constant speed prop.
I am a little leary about a pressed in welch plug holding the 120 PSI
prop  oil pressure.If I had to change the bulkhead I would  bore it
with a step  as shown in your JPEG above and fit a disk with an "O" ring
in the rim and retain that with a snap ring. The bulkhead as designed is
light and leak proof, just ugly to fabricate.

george grimes

The alloy plug would be ideal for that. The alloy plug could be two inches
long. Hardly a welch plug. You could also add a set screw or two. I would
still press it in as the alloy expands faster than the steel. A couple
of tons will do the press job.

The only think that holds the prop on in Tracy's box is a pressed
on steel collar.

A small hole drilled in the bulkhead could feed it with oil. Since the sun gear rotates in the same direction as the output shaft the speed difference would only be about 5K RPM.

Making it easier to fab would also lower the cost.


Paul Lamar