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450robot
09-12-2006, 10:01 PM
well, this little idea for a dampener popped up in my head tonight, so i figured i would make up a 3d of it, and see what some of the more knowledgable engineering crowd around here thought

now, this is not a fact based idea, its just something laying around in my mind, so no flaming it, or... well you know, i shouldnt have to say it

here it is, its basically its a 3 stage dampener (shock, or whatever application possible)

3 stage being air/spring/fluid dampening

the air will fill the first chamber closest to the top of the dampener, and below it, a spring seperated by sealed collars. the last chamber, which is under the spring chamber holds the compressable fluid (the fluid chamber extends all the way to the bottom of the main dampener shaft.

stage 1 of the dampening will be the air compressing, depending on how much psi is in the chamber, it would affect your ride height and and the first 3 inches or so of travel, since air is easily compressed

stage 2 of the dampening is taken care of by a coil spring. i dont think i need to explain how this one works. the spring would be progressive, and get stiffer as it compresses more, until it reaches the end of its travel.

and stage 3, once the air and spring are fully compressed (the spring never fully compresses, once the two sealed collars touch, that is the end of it travel), the dampener will almost be at its full travel range, leaving only bottoming out to deal with. since specific oils are hardly compressable, i chose this action for the last stage. the oil used will have enough give to compress, but not enough to allow the dampener to bottom out.

i have no know how of suspension works or anything, just theories and cad knowledge (until i start studying engineering in college, haha)

so, what are your oppinions, thoughts, ideas, and improvements?

Part color references for easier understanding:
-green: sealed collars
-red: progressive spring
-salmon clear: main body
-chrome blue: main shaft (oil chamber)
-clear black: bottom dust collar
-gunmetal black: top cap (air chamber)

450RGNCC
09-12-2006, 10:48 PM
I'm not flaming, but I thought that liquids were not able to be compressed? Even if there is some oil or something that can be compressed, i do not see how it would compress much more than .0001"?

250R-Dee
09-12-2006, 10:56 PM
Nice drawing but that design will explode since it is designed with completely sealed chambers. You need to incorporate bypass or pressure control valves when using gas(air) or liquid so pressures can be relieved. You can get around this by adding a by-pass/pressure control valve on the piston. The passageways on piston will control gas or fluid pressures.


Bilstein monotube design (http://www.bilstein.co.jp/technology/mono_tube/mono_piston_valve.html)