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).
Cause of hand starter gear breakages on 'Eagle' engines and proposals for strengthening the components.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 34\2\ Scan025 | |
| Date | 3rd June 1916 | |
| COPY. Oy4/W3616. To By from Cy. c. to EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} c. to Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} for EH. - 6/6/16 June 3rd, 1916. Re Hand Starter Gear Breakages on "Eagle" Engines. Are we right in supposing that the failure of this gear has been in every case due to the distortion of the worm-wheel and bending of the worm-wheel shaft. I ask this because in EP{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer}'s report on the Kingsnorth breakage, and the breakage on the demonstration engine he refers to the part as the "worm shaft". but the static test of the gear makes no mention of any failure except that of the worm wheel and shaft. Assuming that this is so have we any case in which the new hollow worm wheel shaft adopted for the wireless alternator drive has failed, either in actual use or on test. With reference to the static test where the gear stood 1200 lbs inches on the starting handle, was this gear fitted with the large hollow worm wheel shaft, and in case this was fitted has it been strengthened up as suggested by Mr Elliott in a memo shortly after his first design was sent. Have all failures including the failure under the static test taken place when using the small worm wheel shaft. Will you please make a static test with the revised worm wheel shaft, and give us the results. To further strengthen the gear the most desirable procedure seems to be to make the shaft which includes the sun wheel of the epicyclic in a high grade steel such as nickel chrome of chrome vanadium. I notice that the original small shaft was made in C.H.N.S. but I do not know what material was used for the larger shafts. A2A2 | ||