02/15/2011

Applications of Winches

Besides industrial applications (e.g. in cranes), winches are used for towing cars, boats, orgliders. There are several winches on almost every boat or ship where they are used to pull anchoror mooring lines, halyards, and sheets.

The two most common types of winches are planetary and worm gear. A planetary winch usually is designed for light duty use, and have a fairly fast line speed. These are usually seen on the front of pick up trucks, Jeeps, etc. A worm gear winch usually has a rather slow line pull, but is designed to have a slow and steady pull that will hold the load that is being pulled. These types of winches are usually seen on car hauling trailers, and larger work trucks.

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 "self-tailing" winches.

Winches are frequently used as elements of backstage mechanics to move scenery in large theatrical productions. Winches 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.

 

Feb 15, 2011 4:49:00 PM | Automobile, Automotive, Machinery

17 Comments

Hydraulic

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Posted by: Hydraulic | 02/16/2011 at 04:37 PM

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