Capstans are mechanical pulleys with a vertical axle.

On classic sail ships, theyre used to apply tension to ropes in order to hoist and hold sails in place. Early timber capstans had a basic ratchet with which to hold the force applied by the sailors, who levered the rope around the capstan by inserting metal bars through the top and hauling it around in a clockwise direction. Come the Industrial Revolution (circa 1750-1850) the greater forces at play meant capstans made completely of iron were forged with gears in the head, which were designed to lift anchors and other heavy objects when turned anticlockwise. Capstans still exist today, but theyre usually driven by a motor or hydraulics especially in larger vessels where the elbow grease of several sailors can be replaced several times over at minimal cost. A winch is a form of nautical capstan that is used on smaller sailing boats and this is still generally powered by hand.

Capstan (nautical)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2009)

A portion of a model depicting a manual capstan in use. The sailors would coordinate the rhythm of their movements by singing a particular type of sea shanty as they walked around the capstan. The tensioned portion of the rope here would hoist a foresail and could also be used to lift a heavy spar into position on the mast or to transfer cargo to or from a dock or lighter (barge). A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.

Contents

1 History o 1.1 Early form

1.2 Later form 1.3 Modern form 2 Similar machines 3 Use on land 4 Notes 5 References

o o

History
The word, connected with the Old French capestan or cabestan(t), from Old Provenal cabestan, from capestre "pulley cord," from Latin capistrum, -a halter, from capere, to take hold of, seems to have come into English (14th century) from Portuguese or Spanish shipmen at the time of the Crusades.[1] Both device and word are considered Spanish inventions.[2]

Early form

A capstan on a sailing ship. The upper portion operates the anchor windlass below in the Forecastle

On the main deck below the capstan shown above is the anchor windlass In its earliest form, the capstan consisted of a timber mounted vertically through a vessel's structure which was free to rotate. Levers, known as bars, were inserted through holes at the top of the timber and used to turn the capstan. A rope wrapped several turns around the drum was

thus hauled upon. A rudimentary ratchet was provided to hold the tension. The ropes were always wound in a clockwise direction (seen from above).

Later form
Capstans evolved to consist of a wooden drum or barrel mounted on an iron axle. Two barrels on a common axle were used frequently to allow men on two decks to apply force to the bars. Later capstans were made entirely of iron, with gearing in the head providing a mechanical advantage when the bars were pushed counterclockwise. One form of capstan was connected by a shaft and gears to an anchor windlass on the deck below.

Modern form
Modern capstans are powered electrically, hydraulically, pneumatically, or via an internal combustion engine. Typically, a gearbox is used which trades reduced speed, relative to the prime mover, for increased torque.

Similar machines
In yachting terminology, a winch functions on the same principle as a capstan. However, in industrial applications, the term "winch" generally implies a machine which stores the rope on a drum.

Use on land
See also: Locomotive winch Hydraulically-powered capstans were sometimes used in railway goods yards for shunting, or shifting railcars short distances. One example was Broad Street goods station in London. The yard was on a deck above some warehouses, and the deck was not strong enough to carry a locomotive, so ropes and capstans were used instead.

Notes
1. ^ Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain): Penny cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volume 27. C. Knight, 1843, page 444 2. ^ "The sailor's 'capstan' is of Spanish invention and christening (cabestran, ropewinder)". Lummis F. Charles (1909). Flowers of our Loast Romance. BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009, page 202. ISBN 1115547461

Winch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Winch (disambiguation).

Modern self-tailing winch on a sailing boat. Here, the line winched is a jib or spinnaker sheet which runs from the sail (upper left, not shown) to a block (lower right,not shown) and from there to the lower part of the winch. The handle is detachable to facilitate handling of the line. A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank. In larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and elevators. The spool can also be called the winch drum. More elaborate designs have gear assemblies and can be powered by electric, hydraulic, pneumatic or internal combustion drives. Some may include a solenoid brake and/or a mechanical brake or ratchet and pawl device that prevents it from unwinding unless the pawl is retracted.

Contents

1 Applications 2 Tirfors 3 Types of winches o 3.1 Snubbing winch o 3.2 Wakeskate winch o 3.3 Glider winch o 3.4 Air Winch 4 History 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Applications

Anchor winch of the polar research vessel Polarstern. The rope is usually stored on the winch, but a similar machine that does not store the rope is called a capstan. When trimming a line on a sailboat, the crew member turns the winch handle with one hand, while tailing (pulling on the loose tail end) with the other to maintain tension on the turns. Some winches have a "stripper" or cleat to maintain tension. These are known as "selftailing" winches.[1] Winches are frequently used as elements of backstage mechanics to move scenery in large theatrical productions. They are often embedded in the stage floor and used to move large set pieces on and off. Winches have recently been fabricated specifically for water and snow sports (e.g. wakeboarding, wakeskating, snowboarding, etc.). This new generation of winches is designed to pull riders swiftly across a body of water or snow, simulating a riding experience that is normally supplied by a boat, wave runner, or snow mobile.

Tirfors
Tirfors, also commonly known as griphoists, are winches that use self-gripping jaws instead of spools to move rope or wire through the winch. Powered by moving a handle back and forth, they allow one person to move objects several tons in weight.

Types of winches
Snubbing winch

Example of winch designed for wakeboarding. These winches consist of a small four-cycle gasoline engine, clutch, and spool all housed inside of a steel frame. A rider is towed rapidly toward the winch as the rope winds around the spool. This is a vertical spool with a ratchet mechanism similar to a conventional winch, but with no crank handle or other form of drive.[2] The line is wrapped around the spool and can be tightened and reeled in by pulling the tail line, the winch takes the load once the pull is stopped with little operator tension needed to hold it. They also allow controlled release of the tension by the operator using the friction of the line around the ratcheted spool. They are used on small sailing boats and dinghies to control sheets and other lines, and in larger applications to supplement and relieve tension on the primary winch mechanisms.

Wakeskate winch
Wakeskate winching, which is the popular term today, is a growing hobby for many watersports enthusiasts. It consists of an engine, spool, rope, handle, frame, and some sort of simple transmission. The person being towed walks (or swims) away from the winch and pulls out all of the rope. When the winch is engaged, it pulls the boarder usually between 15 to 25 miles per hour (24 to 40 km/h). Winches are popular for people wanting to board on ponds and lakes, or just don't have a boat. Also, the winch can either be mounted on the trailer hitch of a vehicle, set into the ground by stakes, or tied to a tree. These winches have also been modified for use by skiers and snowboarders in cities.

Glider winch
Gliders are often launched using a winch mounted on a heavy vehicle. This method is widely used at European gliding clubs, as a cheaper alternative to aerotowing. The engine is usually a large Petrol, LPG or diesel, though hydraulic fluid engines and electrical motors are also used. The winch pulls in a 1,000 to 1,600-metre (3,000 to 5,500 ft) cable, made of high-tensile steel wire or a synthetic fibre, attached to the glider. The cable is released at a height of about 400 to 700 metres (1,300 to 2,200 ft) after a short, steep climb.[3]

Air Winch
An air winch, sometimes known as an air hoist or air tugger, is an air-powered version of a winch. It is commonly used for the lifting and the suspension of materials. In the oil and gas,

construction, and maritime industries, air winches are frequently preferred to electric, diesel, and hydraulic winches because of their durability, versatility, and safety.[4][5]

History
The earliest literary reference to a winch can be found in the account of Herodotus of Halicarnassus on the Persian Wars (Histories 7.36), where he describes how wooden winches were used to tighten the cables for a pontoon bridge across the Hellespont in 480 B.C. Winches may have been employed even earlier in Assyria. By the 4th century BC, winch and pulley hoists were regarded by Aristotle as common for architectural use (Mech. 18; 853b10-13).[6] The yacht Reliance, american defender of the 1903 America's Cup, was the first racing boat to be fitted with modern winches below decks, in an era when her competitors relied on pulley systems (block and tackle).

HOW IT WORKS: FLETCHER CAPSTAN TABLE

by Ahmed Abbas Momin The Fletcher Capstan Table is named after designer Fletcher David, its a kind of table which automatically expands from a small size to a larger one. It is a round table capable of doubling its seating capacity and, in process of expanding it remains truly circular. The original idea for a table of this type was designed in the nineteenth century by a man named Robert Jupe, 1835. It was called as Jupes table Youtube Video initially round, and had an ingenious geometry and a similarly ingenious method of making it expand radially, changing from a small size to a table of larger diameter. However, Jupes tables could not store their own expansion leaves, were not truly round in every stage, and were slow and laborious to operate. The Fletcher geometry is similar in concept, but different in terms of expansion leaves. Its minor changes, according to the species of timber used, as the table expands from small to large, and shrinks vice versa.
The top surfaces is made up of six pie shaped planks (figure 1), and an outer skirt in the manner of a drum table . Below this first layer (figure 5) there consist two more layers of planks , the second is made up of six arrow shaped planks (figure 5) and, under that, a large star shaped leaf. Below all of this lies the rotating mechanism and pushing mechanism, constructed with the combination of hard anodised aluminium and stainless steel. Table planks are made from aluminium honeycomb cored composite for absolute integrity and rigidity. The whole assembly is supported on a base of varying design. The table can operate manually by rotation of the entire top, or electrically from a pocket sized remote control transmitting unit. All tables, be they manual or electronic, rotate through 120 degrees as they operate, and electronic tables can easily be converted to manual. The table transforms from a small circular wooden table into a larger diameter by rotating its side while the extra wooden pieces (2nd layer planks) underneath the furniture in its small state and then automatically raises them up and adds them to the whole circular form of the table as you rotate and transform the furniture into a larger piece. Each section is connected to an underlying frame structure, such that when the table top is rotated, the sections move radially outward, increasing the effective size of the table top . Once the

table top has been rotated the left over space is filled by 2nd layer of planks which are pushed up during the process of rotating.