compound machines
Linked simple machines
Compound machines combine two or more simple machines—levers, pulleys, wheels, inclined planes, wedges, screws—to accomplish work that would be difficult or impossible with any single component.
A bicycle uses wheels, levers, and pulleys together; scissors combine two levers with wedges.
The term appears mainly in physics education: We learned about compound machines in science class.
Grooved wheel for rope
- gearToothed wheel or belongings
- leverPivoting bar for lifting
- wheel and axleRotation-based force multiplier
- inclined planeTilted flat surface
screw · wedge · fulcrum · crank · cam · linkage · crankshaft · camshaft
Force output over input
- energy transferPower moving between systems
- outputWhat something generates
- frictionResistance between touching surfaces
- powerEnergy transfer rate
torque · load · work · optimization · performance · yield · capacity · utilization
New device or method
- automationSelf-operating system design
- roboticsAutomaton design field
- advancementForward movement or promotion
- Rube GoldbergUnnecessarily complicated mechanism
clockwork · steam engine · printing press · bicycle · cotton gin · combine harvester · typewriter · windmill
Sequential workstation manufacturing
- factoryIndustrial production facility
- workshopPlace for making or learning
- productionMaking or generating something
- laborersWorkers doing physical tasks
technician · foreman · automation · robotics · fabrication · tooling · quality control · maintenance
State of elaborate complexity
- mechanismsMeans by which things function
- assembliesOrganized group gatherings
- subsystemsComponent parts of complexes
- interconnectionMutual joining of parts
cogs · gears · pulleys · linkages · components · synchronization · coordination · integration
pulley
Grooved wheel for rope
- gearToothed wheel or belongings
- leverPivoting bar for lifting
- wheel and axleRotation-based force multiplier
inclined plane · screw · wedge · fulcrum · crank · cam · linkage · crankshaft · camshaft · bearings
mechanical advantage
Force output over input
- energy transferPower moving between systems
- outputWhat something generates
- frictionResistance between touching surfaces
power · torque · load · work · optimization · performance · yield · capacity · utilization
invention
New device or method
- automationSelf-operating system design
- roboticsAutomaton design field
- advancementForward movement or promotion
Rube Goldberg · clockwork · steam engine · printing press · bicycle · cotton gin · combine harvester · typewriter · windmill · waterwheel
assembly line
Sequential workstation manufacturing
- factoryIndustrial production facility
- workshopPlace for making or learning
- productionMaking or generating something
laborers · technician · foreman · automation · robotics · fabrication · tooling · quality control · maintenance · industrial
intricacy
State of elaborate complexity
- mechanismsMeans by which things function
- assembliesOrganized group gatherings
- subsystemsComponent parts of complexes
interconnection · cogs · gears · pulleys · linkages · components · synchronization · coordination · integration · calibration
compound machinessimple machines
Force-multiplying mechanical principles
lever · pulley · wheel and axle · inclined plane · wedge
compound, compounds, compounded, compounding, machine, machines, machined, machining, machinery