Machine element or hardware refers to an elementary component of a machine. These elements consist of three basic types:
- structural components such as frame members, bearings, axles, splines, fasteners, seals, and lubricants,
- mechanisms that control movement in various ways such as gear trains, belt or chain drives, linkages, cam and follower systems, including brakes and clutches, and
- control components such as buttons, switches, indicators, sensors, actuators and computer controllers.[1]
While generally not considered to be a machine element, the shape, texture and color of covers are an important part of a machine that provide a styling and operational interface between the mechanical components of a machine and its users.
Machine elements are basic mechanical parts and features used as the building blocks of most machines.[2] Most are standardized to common sizes, but customs are also common for specialized applications.[3]
Machine elements may be features of a part (such as screw threads or integral plain bearings) or they may be discrete parts in and of themselves such as wheels, axles, pulleys, rolling-element bearings, or gears. All of the simple machines may be described as machine elements, and many machine elements incorporate concepts of one or more simple machines. For example, a leadscrew incorporates a screw thread, which is an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder.
Many mechanical design, invention, and engineering tasks involve a knowledge of various machine elements and an intelligent and creative combining of these elements into a component or assembly that fills a need (serves an application).
Structural elements
editMechanical elements
editTypes
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ Robert L. Norton, Machine Design, (4th Edition), Prentice-Hall, 2010
- ^ Matthews, Clifford; American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2005), ASME engineer's data book (2nd ed.), ASME Press, p. 249, ISBN 978-0-7918-0229-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bhandari, V. B. (2007), Design of machine elements (2nd ed.), Tata McGraw-Hill, p. 10, ISBN 978-0-07-061141-2.
- ^ a b c Klebanov, Boris M.; Barlam, David; Nystrom, Frederic E. (2008), Machine elements: life and design, CRC Press, ISBN 978-0-8493-9563-5.
- ^ Niemann, Gustav; Hirt, Manfred: Maschinenelemente Springer, Berlin 1975, 1983. ISBN 0-387-06809-0.
- ^ a b Sharma, C. S.; Purohit, Kamlesh (2004), Design of machine elements, PHI Learning, p. vii–ix, ISBN 978-81-203-1955-4.
External links
edit- Media related to Machine elements at Wikimedia Commons