5/14/2013

What is a Machine???
The Six Simple Machines
• A machine is anything that helps us do work.
• It assists people to do work with less apparent effort or Inclined Plane Screw Wedge
greater speed or more conveniently than would otherwise be
possible.

Lever Pulley Wheel and Axle

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What is a Simple Machine? Mechanical Advantage

• It is how much larger is the Output Force compared to
• A simple machine has few Input force
or no moving parts. • The higher the MA, the less force you need to use to get the
• Simple machines make job done
work easier. • The amount of Work you do doesn’t change, ONLY the
amount of Force you need to use to get the job done

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Simple Machine Mechanical Advantage

• There are six types of simple machines.
Mechanical Advantage
• Use the following MA Equation:
1. Inclined plane
Mechanical advantage = Output force or Fout
2. Wedge
Input force or Fin
3. Screw
4. Lever MA = Fout
5. Wheel and Axle Fin
6. Pulley • Calculate this problem:
To open a can of soup you apply a force of 50N on the can
opener. The can opener applies a force of 750N on the can of
soup. What is the mechanical advantage of the can opener?
MA = Fout = 750N = 15
Fin 50N

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Machine Efficiency Inclined Plane

• Efficiency is comparing the amount of work you do • The Egyptians used simple machines to build the
compared to the amount of work the machine does pyramids. One method was to build a very long incline
out of dirt that rose upward to the top of the pyramid very
• When a machine is efficient, you don’t have to do as much
gently. The blocks of stone were placed on large logs
work
(another type of simple machine - the wheel and axle) and
• Efficiency is measured in %
pushed slowly up the long, gentle inclined plane to the
top of the pyramid.
• Efficiency = Work out eff = Uout
Work in Uin

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Machine Efficiency Inclined Planes

• Example:
You do 100J of work pulling a nail out with a hammer. If • An inclined plane is a flat
the hammer does 70J of work, what is the hammer’s surface that is higher on
efficiency? one end
• eff = Uout = 70J = 70%
• Inclined planes make the
Uin 100J
work of moving things
easier

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Inclined Plane Work input and output

• Work input is the amount of work done on a machine.
–Input force x input distance

• Work output is the amount of work done by a machine.

–Output force x output distance

Din
Wout = Win
15 m
Dout
Fout x Dout = Fin x Din 3m

10N x 3m = 2N x 15m Fout 10 N

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Screw Lever
• A lever is any rigid rod or plank that pivots, or rotates,
about a point.
• The point about which the lever pivots is called a fulcrum.
• Input Force – is the force being applied by you
• Output Force- is the work that the machine does

•The mechanical advantage of an screw can be

calculated by dividing the circumference by the pitch of
the screw.
•Pitch equals 1/ number of turns per inch.

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Wedges Lever – Mechanical Advantage

• Two inclined planes • The mechanical advantage of a lever is the ratio of the length
joined back to back. of the lever on the applied force side of the fulcrum to the
length of the lever on the resistance force side of the fulcrum.
• Wedges are used to split
things.

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Wedge – Mechanical Advantage Levers-First Class

• The mechanical advantage of a wedge can be found by
dividing the length of either slope (S) by the thickness (T) of • In a first class lever the
the big end. fulcrum is in the middle
S and the load and effort is
T M.A= S/T on either side
• Think of a see-saw
• As an example, assume that the length of the slope is 10
inches and the thickness is 4 inches. The mechanical
advantage is equal to 10/4 or 2 1/2. As with the inclined
plane, the mechanical advantage gained by using a wedge
requires a corresponding increase in distance.

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Levers-First Class Levers-Third Class

–Common examples of first-class levers include crowbars, • In a third class lever the
scissors, pliers, tin snips and seesaws. fulcrum is again at the
end, but the effort is in the
middle
• Think of a pair of tweezers

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Levers-Second Class Third Class Lever

• Examples of third-class
• In a second class lever the
levers include tweezers,
fulcrum is at the end, with
arm hammers, and shovels.
the load in the middle
• Think of a wheelbarrow

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Second Class Lever

• Examples of second-
class levers include nut
crackers, wheel barrows,
doors, and bottle
openers.

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Pulleys Wheel and Axel

• Pulley are wheels and axles
with a groove around the
• The axle is stuck rigidly
outside
to a large wheel. Fan
• A pulley needs a rope, chain blades are attached to the
or belt around the groove to wheel. When the axel
make it do work turns, the fan blades spin.

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Diagrams of Pulleys Wheel and Axel

• The mechanical advantage of a wheel and axle is the ratio of
Fixed pulley:
the radius of the wheel to the radius of the axle.
A fixed pulley changes
the direction of a force;
however, it does not 1 5
create a mechanical
advantage. • In the wheel and axle illustrated above, the radius of the
wheel is five times larger than the radius of the axle.
Movable Pulley: The mechanical Therefore, the mechanical advantage is 5:1 or 5.
advantage of a moveable • The wheel and axle can also increase speed by applying the
pulley is equal to the input force to the axle rather than a wheel. This increase is
number of ropes that computed like mechanical advantage. This combination
support the moveable would increase the speed 5 times.
pulley.
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Combined Pulley Gears-Wheel and Axel

• Two toothed wheels fit together either directly or through a
• The effort needed to lift the chain or belt so one wheel will turn the other. Some gears
load is less than half the may have a screw or a toothed shaft in place of one of the
weight of the load. wheels. A gear may also be a combination of toothed wheels
that produces a certain speed.
• The main disadvantage is it
travels a very long distance.

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Gears-Wheel and Axel

• Each gear in a series

reverses the direction of
rotation of the previous
gear. The smaller gear will
always turn faster than the
larger gear.

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Simple Machine Theory

• A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the
direction or magnitude of a force.

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