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).
Failure of ball bearings in the 25/30 HP steering and proposed urgent experiments for a fix.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 106\3\ scan0373 | |
| Date | 21th May 1936 | |
| To RHC{R. H. Coverley - Production Engineer}: x 55D HS{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/FJH.{Fred J. Hardy - Chief Dev. Engineer} S/JH. 21. 5. 36. 25/30 H.P. Steering. Owing to the recent failure of the ball bearings of the roller follower on 21-G-IV steering, we wish to try reducing the radius of the race tracks from the present 0.1875 to 0.130. Will you please make 6 inner races to the attached marked up print. We are ordering the corresponding rollers from the Adamant Co. In order to obtain information quickly on the improvement caused by this modification we intend to do some rig tests by using a special cam having two continuous grooves instead of a worm thread so that the cam can be rotated continuously with a load hung on the pendulum lever. For this purpose we shall require a special rockshaft with the pin on which the roller is mounted at 90° to the rockshaft axis. This can be made from a standard forging for the purpose of this experiment. Will you please make one of the shafts. We are obtaining the special cam from the Adamant Co. As this failure has occured on parts which have been standardised on the 25/30, some of which have already left the works, these experiments are very urgent. HS{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/FJH.{Fred J. Hardy - Chief Dev. Engineer} | ||