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VIAGNETIZED . strips of ivIroad, 'and slippers carried under vehicles, which slippers are attracted into frictional contact with the metal-bar-surfaced road, form a patented proposal put forward for the control of traffic in connection with road intersections. A gate, operating through electrical connections, magnetizes these strips and so stops vehicles while the cross traffic passes. Opening the gate demagnetizes the road strips and allows the vehicles to proceed. Magnetized Road Strips to Control Traffic Crossings . .
Duties of Oil in an pNGINE oil is generally I.C. Engine Not Coni—lreferred to as a lubricant, fined to Lubricating . but it also performs another
. important duty, that of carrying away heat generated by friction and by the process of combustion. Engine-lubricating systems are designed so that a single fluid (or lubricant) performs both duties. It would appear to be introducing undesirable complication to provide separate systems A90
for the two operations, although, theoretically, such a procedure may be logically desirable. A recently published patent specification, however, does make such a proposal. Lubrication of the taper bearing surface of an Aspin rotary head is provided by a separate system from that which cools the internal surface of the head, so that neither the lubricant nor the coolant shall be contaminated by the other.
INa recent analysis of over 4,000 cases, it was found that 62 per cent. of discharged employees had proved to be unsatisfactory because of social unadaptability and only 58 per cent, for technical incompetence. Despite this, most of the emphasis in the training of engineers is placed upon technical and purely formal education. No individual can get very far in accomplishing any worth-while objectives without the voluntary co-operation of his associates, and the quantity and quality of such co-operation are determined by the " personality factor" more than by anything else.
The Great importance of Sociability Amongst Workers
Efficient Cooling AWORM reduction gear
two sizes , smaller than Axles the standard unit of the same capacity, thus saving space aed 40 per cent, weight, is an American product. A fan on the worm shaft draws air through a chamber which encloses the worm-gear oil-bath casing, and exposes it and the bearings to the cooling effect of the air thus circulated. The most efficient speed of the • gear is given as 1,750 r.p.m.
Silver is Proving Most QILVER is plentiful;, in the Useful in a Variety of I•JU.S.A. nearly 80,000,000 oz. Industries . . . . were used in 1940. Silver, too,
is not really expensive; it costs less than tungsten, molybdenum and beryllium, which designers do ruit hesitate to specify, and engineers to use in their structural materials. Leadsilver as a solder. is cheaper than lead-tin; that is jaecause 21 per cent. of silver does the same job as 25., per cent. of tin. Electroplated silver-lined bear hags are reported to be able successfully to carry heavier loads in engines than when copper-lead is used. Bus-bars for carrying electric current are being made in silver instead of copper, which is required for still more important and specialized duties in fighting the enemy.
New Sealed Ball BearL'EW, if any, ball bearings of ings Permitting LubriI the sealed type are so
cation arranged that fresh lubricant can be added. That, however, is the case with a type produced by the New Departure Division of General Motors. In this model there are four small holes in the outer metal, and by using a gun with a needle-type nozzle, this can be pushed through any hole and through the felt ring, so that . oil or high-quality grease can be inserted. After the needle is withdrawn, the resilient felt closes up, to seal the hole. It is claimed that where bearings operate under adverse conditions, their length of life can thus be greatly increased.