Has anyone heard of the Thompson Coupling?
Is this something we might benefitfrom?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgQgm3GwaFs

Pretty nifty video.

As a Barth application, the only thing I can think of is it could be incorporated into the tilt steering mechanism.

It looks like they have taken the double cardan one step further. However, I don't see much commercial success for it, since it looks like it requires better metallurgy and precision than presently exist in China.

My ancient FWD Citroen "Traction Avant," manufactured from 1934 through 1955, had double Cardan CV joints in the outer end of the FWD shafts.

Not as elegant, & no doubt heavier than the Thompson coupling, but less complicated, & it didn't require nearly the precision machine work the Thompson joint appears to.

I'll not try to describe it, suffice it to say only one small part of the assembly required micrometric precision in manufacture or assembly; the rest was quite straightforward.

I find it interesting that the presenter use an Rzeppa joint for his comparison rather than a double cardan joint.

I am sure the Thompson coupling is better than the double cardan, but I guess the Rzeppa comparison was a little more dramatic.

Segundo, back when I was working in the steel business, we started to buy high speed steel and tool steel in China to sell through our distribution system. BUT, we had to send metallurgists into their plants, set up the proper processes and qc controls, and then monitor carefully. Some of their mills were very good, some not. We did the same thing with the Russians. Of course, last May, my old company declared bankruptcy, too. Serves them right! Damn outsourcing!
Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Jim and Tere:
Segundo, back when I was working in the steel business, we started to buy high speed steel and tool steel in China to sell through our distribution system. BUT, we had to send metallurgists into their plants, set up the proper processes and qc controls, and then monitor carefully. Jim

Just this week I was speaking with an engineer whose company had to send their own steel to China to have a product made satisfactorily. There were still problemss. Turned out, the Chinese were keeping the good steel and using lower quality Chinese steel in the product. The company had to keep a monitor in place to be sure the correct (US) steel was used in the product.

Another acquaintance works for a company that bid on a job in China that specified US, Japanese or German steel. Go figure.