And comparing different gearbox designs and potential improvements.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\T\March1929-December1929\ Scan015 | |
| Date | 5th March 1929 | |
| SQ. FROM R. {Sir Henry Royce} (At Le Canadel(Henry Royce's French residence)) R3/M5.3.29. REC'D AT WW. 9.3.29. C. to Mr. Fuller. " Mr. Beaver. " Mr. Olley. " HS. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} SS. {S. Smith} & 20HP. X 7310 X 2061 GEAR-BOXES. X5310 X 523 We have a very good indeed gearbox for 3rd. speed and general silence. It is the most practical and reliable, simplest and lightest scheme we know. It lacks perfection in silence compared with the direct, and perhaps in principle it is also less silent than one or two others using internal or all helical gears. It also lacks perfection in ease of change. I do not think that the slight additional silence that might be obtained by either the internal or all helical gears is worth what it would cost in lowering the above mentioned virtues. I would rather spend the money and energy in another direction. I have more carefully examined the internal geared 3rd speed scheme on Graham Paige (Ahlm Pearson), and as I understand it (I have no drawings with me) there is no reason why this gear is easier or more silent to change. (I agree it is a more silent type of gear, and from my attempt at a design on these lines is fortunate in many respects.) I have no objection to a trial being made providing nothing better is suggested. The feature of changing without declutching is an operation rather easier to learn than ordinary double clutching, really surprisingly easy, and I conclude has nothing to do with the type of gear; the virtue in the specimen mentioned by Mr. Olley is more likely due to small multiple plate clutch.) The type "Synchro Mesh" I do not remember seeing, except some hazy notion of dog clutch which will only go in when synchronised, and then will fall in by spring pressure. If this is it then it is a very old scheme, but never tried by us. Personally I am most concerned in an easy change with passable silence. Nothing I have seen or tried has been really good for this purpose. Regarding Mr. Olley's suggestion of our using the Stutz gate, at the moment I would prefer our more usual scheme, but I have not examined how it affects complication. We ourselves are trying 2 schemes, more or less our old ideas brought uptodate both for ease of change even by the veriest novice, and one of them includes increased silence in 3rd. They are in the hands of Derby I believe, but may still be at WW., held up for other urgent work. It is probable that they will not be as good as the best produced by the whole world, but are worth a trial. In the meantime I shall be pleased to see if there is anything new to me in the 2 American schemes mentioned by CY. Perhaps he will send drawings to DA. {Bernard Day - Chassis Design} and DA {Bernard Day - Chassis Design} /HDY. {William Hardy} will make copies and reports for me. I hope to be home in a few weeks now. Our SS. {S. Smith} has now done 14,000 miles, and is very pleasing. It has improved with running. In several ways it has exceeded expectation. The 3 points of imperfection we hope will be improved on the next specimen - see other memos. R. {Sir Henry Royce} | ||
From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).