Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 09:16:13 -0700
Reply-To: David Marshall <vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Marshall <vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG>
Subject: Ford's new silicone goo... interesting stuff for our Syncro!
In-Reply-To: <bmnr6e+96pm@eGroups.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I saw this show on the Canadian Discover Channel that was demonstrating
Ford's new Silicone gel. First I thought they were going to say that they
'invented' the VC but no, this was indeed something new or at least
something that I have never seen before.
It was a black silicone based pourable 'liquid' with the viscosity of motor
oil. When a magnetic field was applied to it, it instantly turned into a
solid do to that fact there was a special sort of iron filings in it. Their
design idea for it was an electronic clutch.
My thinking on this is that it would be a great substance to put into a
viscous coupler. That would give us the best of both 'stock Syncro' and
'decoupler Syncro' worlds without changing a lot of stuff.
What I envision is having this stuff in the VC and have an electro magnet
surrounding the VC to make it lock up when we wanted it to. On the input
and output of the VC you would install an hall sender type device that will
give off speed signal every 90 or 180 degrees. A control unit would be user
adjustable for how aggressive the locking would be as you could set it up to
be programmed for "If A and B are out of sync for Y revolutions then lock
for Z amount of time" or you could have a manual over ride to lock it or
keep it unlocked.
This type of control unit could be built out of very simple logic control
ICs. I can see making the control knob one that you pull out to turn on the
control unit and make it programmable by turning it you adjust the
sensitivity similar to a volume control. Turn the sensitivity all the way
up and it is locked 100% turn it down and it will lock after X difference is
detected on the input / out put of the VC - the only variable missing from
this is time but I am sure there is an intuitive way of doing this too.
The whole concept seems pretty simple and I think it would be quite doable
if we could get our hands on this prototype goo that Ford has.
David Marshall
Fast Forward Automotive Inc.
4356 Quesnel-Hixon Road
Quesnel BC Canada V2J 6Z3
http://www.fastforward.ca mailto:sales@fastforward.ca
Phone: (250) 992 7775 FAX: (250) 992 1160
- Vanagon Accessories and Engine Conversions
- Vanagon, Transporter and Iltis Sales and Importation
- European Lighting for most Volkswagen models
Due to the large volume of email we receive, PLEASE include previous
emails when responding. This will allow us to read the complete dialogue
in one message and will result in quicker and more accurate responses.
