Talk:Whippletree (mechanism)

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Comment[edit]

I know this is mostly a draught-animal page, but it may be of interest to know that the technology is also used in telescope design. Consequently I've added a brief section and some links. However if anyone can suggest a better location for the material then by all means offer it. John Pons (talk) 02:15, 6 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm most interested in engineering applications. Please feel free to add info on its applications in telescopes. —Ben FrantzDale (talk) 02:20, 9 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Why is "artful hung mobiles" marked 'clarify'? The image showing an orange mobile in Mobile (sculpture) is such a device (the "tension" is by gravity. Earlier in the article it says that whippletrees are used in tension or comrpession. An example of compression is with windscreen wipers). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Charlieb000 (talk • contribs) 11:34, 19 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Equalizer[edit]

Equalizer (mechanism) redirects to this page. There is no mention of this term in the article. --Kvng (talk) 17:43, 16 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

From the article: "A whippletree or whiffletree [1] is a mechanism to distribute force evenly through linkages." To distribute a force evenly means in effect to equalize the distribution of the force. Trilobitealive (talk) 01:36, 17 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Granted the intent of the mechanism is to equalize. What I'd like to ask is whether anyone refers to the mechanism an Equalizer. --Kvng (talk) 18:47, 17 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not an expert in this field, maybe Richard New Forest can answer. He's sort of the draught harness guru around here. Montanabw^(talk) 19:41, 17 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

We used draft horses when I was a child, back shortly after WWII. I actually never heard them called whippletrees. Instead the old farmers called them equalizer or trees and some were adjustable with several center holes and a movable ring so you could have a short arm for a stronger horse and a long arm for a weaker horse. I looked up some commercial web sites for photos and what is now being called an equalizer is actually a modification. See [[1]] for one site with photographs.Trilobitealive (talk) 22:16, 17 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Computing contribution[edit]

74.109.5.17 (talk · contribs) contributed the following to the Mechanical analogue computers section. I don't consider it ready for inclusion in the article and so have moved it here for contemplation. --Kvng (talk) 12:50, 23 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

In the Franklin Institute science museum in Philadelphia, there is on exhibit a mechanical Fourier synthesis calculator that includes (at the top) an elaborate whippletree to sum the various scaled sine wave functions that are generated by a bank of precision cams in the lower part of the machine. (At least, it was, as of ca. 2006, on exhibit in the hallway that runs between the atrium and The Giant Heart exhibit and is adjacent to the Franklin National Memorial, near the atrium entrance.)

It looks like the information would need sufficient reference links before posting in the article. A photo would also be nice.Trilobitealive (talk) 02:07, 24 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Heading and Key Terms[edit]

My research of dictionary (US) definitions shows that the word 'whippletree' is a secondary definition and 'whiffletree' is the current primary definition. Should the primary heading and term be switched? Mdrsparky (talk) 21:25, 30 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The Brits got here first per WP Policy, also "whippletree" is actually pretty common in the USA, too. Montanabw^(talk) 01:32, 31 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Article Details[edit]

My background is engineering and we use whiffletrees to distribute a single force to many discrete load points. Would this be an appropriate article to add engineering equations and examples or should it be a separate article - perhaps 'Whiffletree Engineering' and 'Whiffletree Equine/Draft Animal'? Mdrsparky (talk) 21:25, 30 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I think you can add things here, there is a section for the mechanical stuff already. And the draft animal version probably came first, after all... Montanabw^(talk) 01:33, 31 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Why do the animals tend to stay even with each other?[edit]

You are missing a crucial part of this negative feedback loop! WHY do the animals care to try to stay even with each other? Why don't they want/let the other animal get ahead of them? 12.3.203.132 (talk) 23:17, 10 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]