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).
The challenges in obtaining silent helical gears for a quiet, easy-change third gear.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 6\2\ 02-page181 | |
| Date | 7th May 1931 | |
| To Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} From Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to SY. c. to Hy.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer} c. to RHC.{R. H. Coverley - Production Engineer} HELICAL GEARS. X.523. X.2061. All our immediate proposals for a quiet easy change third, are depending on us being able to obtain silent helical gears. From the results we have obtained so far we have not been very successful in this respect. The helical gears, for instance on 27-EX. car, although RHC.{R. H. Coverley - Production Engineer} has checked up the machining of the box and is satisfied with the bedding and silence of these gears, on the rig, when they are fitted to the car they are too noisy for us ever to be satisfied with them. They are more noisy than the Humber, when running light. The gears which were in the Chrysler gearbox and were very quiet on the car have been tried out of the box on a rig and they would not be passed for silence on the rig. What we are leading up to is that we believe it will be necessary for us to carry out a series of tests of how the design of the box effects gear noise, also the material, because cars we quote as having silent gears have also cast iron gearboxes. The helical gear is now being used on so many cheap cars with success that we have got to look for a reason for the difficulties we have. We do not believe for one minute people like Humber grind helical gears. We are sure it would not be difficult to get to know from Humber particulars of their car gears and what troubles they have. We consider this matter sufficiently important that it might be worth while having a talk over it, and to get out a suggested programme of what the experiments should be put in hand to overcome this trouble. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||