EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERING

This section will contain all the items that fall into the catagory of experimental or theoretical engineering (and won't fit into any of the other catagories...). Articles on CNC machinery, engineering software and the like fit nicely in here.

As a first modest offering here is an Excel Spreadsheet for use with the Versatile Dividing Head to calculate the hole divisions to use, and the micro-drum adjustments to make if none of the hole plates has a suitable ring of holes to give the required number of divisions. It might work with other dividing heads that use 60t worm wheels (otherwise you've got some program re-writing to do - not too difficult though!) The micro-drum adjustment I think will be specific to the Versatile Dividing Head as I haven't seen this system used elsewhere. It's an Excel 5 spreadsheet, and to use it simply type in the number of divisions required in the indicated cell (red) and hit calc.

I offer no warranties whatsoever with this spreadsheet so use it at your own risk - there are a few quirks with Excel and the program doesn't always display like it's supposed to - but as far as I know it correctly identifies the right settings.

Division Calculator for calculating the hole circle and micro-drum settings on the versatile dividing head.

ENGINEERING/WORKSHOP DATA

Spring characterisitics Excel 5 spreadsheet calculates stress and deflection of leaf spring.
Drill Chart Excel 5 formatted printout for drill sizes, metric converstion and tapping info.
Thread Substitution Chart - British/American/Metric substitution chart (text file).
Set-over screwcutting chart - Infeed cutting depths for top-slide set-over angles (text file).
Metric and BA threads from normal changeswheels - Gear chains to provide these threads on imperial lathes (text file).
Standard tapers data - Morse taper and Jacobs taper data (text file).
Involute gear data - Formulae and definitions (text file).

More threading data - This is an external link to the Livingsteam web pages

Table of SWG data - Also an external link to Livingsteam

LIVE STEAM/MODELLING INFORMATION

Valve gear simulation software Shareware program by Dr A. K Wallace in Australia. This is a link.
Dockstader valve gear files V.3 1995 More valvegear modelling software. 920K (expands to 3Mb).
Table of locomotive Scale Weights - for various scales/gauges, plus recommended minimum curve radii (text file).
Scale conversion chart - AF nut & bolt sizes for 5" gauge locos (excel 5 file).
Scale conversion chart - Rivet head sizes for 5" gauge locos (excel 5 file).
Scale size conversion chart - 5" gauge locos 1.0625"/foot (excel 5 file).
Scale size conversion chart - 3.5" gauge locos 0.75"/foot (excel 5 file).
Scale Loco speeds - calculates RPM of axle for scale locos at given speeds (excel 5 file).

MISCELLANEOUS DATA FILES

Garden Railway Index - Magazine index In ZIP format. Thanks to Keith Bucklitch.

EXTERNAL LINKS

http://www.geocities.com/mklotz.geo Marv Klotz's Utilities home shop, mathematical and utility software. A collection of home shop, mathematical and miscellaneous utility freeware.