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).
Customer complaints with existing shock dampers and the advantages of the new Armstrong damper.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 152\2\ scan0002 | |
| Date | 6th July 1937 | |
| To E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} from Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Les.{Ivan A. Leslie} c. to Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} c. to Rs.{Sir Henry Royce's Secretary} c. to By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} c. to RHC.{R. H. Coverley - Production Engineer} 1293 ARMSTRONG SHOCK DAMPER. Since January there have been the following customers' complaints from shock dampers on all R.R. and Bentley cars. Failure of governor control system 139 Knocks........................... 90 Loose on frame................... 22 Leaks............................ 14 The new Armstrong damper has the following fundamental advantages over our present shock damper. (1) No reversal of load on any internal part. This causes inaccurately produced dampers to be less likely to knock and reduces gland leaks. (2) Larger angular movement enables shorter damper levers and thus less load on all damper parts and the damper attachment. The total angular movement is 90°. (3) A smaller damper which is more convenient in shape for the majority of designs. Each damper saves 4 lbs. (4) There is no line contact on any load operating mechanism. This avoids the flaking and wear which takes place on our piston pads. (5) Each damper saves £2. 7. 6. (6) Rubber bush type gland. (7) The Armstrong damper can easily be converted into an Auto-lock damper. Tests on JJ-Ex. have shewn that auto-lock dampers with a rod control to the rear dampers only, are likely to give the customer greater satisfaction than our governor system. Replacing our governor system by rod control to the rear dampers will save approximately £5. per chassis. continued | ||