This kit includes a crank and slider to show the relative forces during crank motion. It also includes four popular cam shapes to show their different characteristics. Another set of parts in the kit shows the characteristics of a mechanical toggle.

Students fit the crank and slider with weights and a spring balance to see the change in linear and rotational forces (moments) as the crank turns. They also use the slider with different followers on a set of four popular shape cams – heart, pear, spiral, and round. This gives several cam and follower combinations to help students understand the different characteristics of each cam and why engineers choose between them for different applications.

The last set of parts in the kit has a simple linkage that allows students to see the characteristics of a toggle mechanism. Its shows the relative forces and angular conditions of the toggle in its initial state and how they affect the point at which it locks or ‘snaps’ into a horizontal state.

This versatile kit is part of a series that allows many experiments using different arrangements of their parts. Students, teachers, or lecturers fit the parts of the kit to the Work Panel (ES1) (supplied separately) to study or show an engineering science topic.

The kit introduces students to key engineering terms such as a ‘flat follower’, a ‘roller follower’, and ‘toggle action’. TecQuipment supplies a CD-ROM with the Work Panel (ES1). It includes all the worksheets, guidance notes, and lecturer notes (with answers) needed for typical experiments with each kit. The selection of parts in the kits and the choice of fixing points on the Work Panel means that teachers or lecturers may extend the experiments to an even greater range.