THE “NO MOTION” MACHINE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 438, 21 August 1928, Page 6

THE “NO MOTION” MACHINE

TESTING STUDEBAKERS Accuracy, and still greater accuracy, is demanded of motor-car manufacturers nowadays by a motor-wise buying public. And, to ensure this, new precision machines are being commissioned to assist the engineers in their search for live and vital facts concerning their products. Studebaker and Erskine engines are subjected to exacting tests by the newest and most approved scientific instruments. The latest innovation is the “Stroborama,” aptly dubbed the “no motion” machine. This is a unique instrument of European design; something after the style of the slow-motion movie camera. Its principal element is a tube of Neon gas, which gives a flash of instantaneous light discharged by electricity at the exact moment demanded by the operator. The flash occurs so swiftly that its speed can be synchronised with any moving object up to 3,000 revolutions a minute! Watching the “Revs.” So it is that Studebaker engineers are able to observe what happens to valve springs when a motor is turning over at 3,000 revolutions; to observe the characteristics of certain types of braking; the flexion of connecting rods and crankshafts, and motion in the bearings, the flow of lubricating oils, and dozens of other important engine movements. To witness these while the engine is in action is impossible without the use of this remarkable machine. It is yet another indication of the extent to which research now enters the field of modern motor-car construction, and of the infinite care exercised to make the “Safety first” slogan possessed of a definite meaning.

No less than 168 motor-cycle riders are registered with the New Zealand Auto Cycle Union. During the year 1927-28 the benevolent fund of the A.C.U. dispensed £126 Is lOd for hospital and medical expenses and £lO6 for compensation to riders.

Despite recommendations to displace horses with motor- cycles, 100 additional horses are being purchased for the Chicago traffic police. It has been shown that the mounted squad is more efficient than the motor-cycle corps in traffic movement.