Why 540?

   / Why 540?
  • Thread Starter
#22  
Thanks for the link, Lang! My thirst for knowledge has been satisfied!
 
   / Why 540? #23  
Picking a McCormick sickle speed seems odd. Sickle mower patents go back to the early 1800s. In the 1970s we worked on a design with springs at the ends. Stopping the sickle stored energy in the spring that was released to send it back where the other spring stored energy on that end. When our patent attorney looked into patenting this brilliant idea he found it had been patented before the civil war. The need for speed is that the sickle mower is a very poor cutting mechanism yet the vibration helps clean the mower or most common now combine cutterbar. The tale does make sense because you need to start somewhere. At one time I had a collection of dozens of sickle bar patents it would be interesting to review now but I trashed them when I retired.
 
   / Why 540? #24  
This is probably accurate since I seem to recall the first Tractor with a PTO shaft was an IHC product.
No, I don稚 have a source or link to that dim memory nugget.

The most efficient and economical method of transmitting power from an agricultural tractor to an agricultural implement is through a power take-off (pto) driveline. The agricultural tractor to implement driveline presents a challenge to the engineer because the universal joint angles vary continuously in three planes and telescope continuously in length, which requires a knowledgeable selection of components to attain a reasonable uniform transfer of motion. Most agricultural drivelines are designed for standard tractor pto shaft sizes and speeds. Other drivelines are used internally in the agricultural implements. International Harvester introduced the first practical pto on a farm tractor in 1918. The 540 rpm pto shaft, master shield, and drawbar relationship standard was developed by Equipment Manufacturers Institute (EMI) and American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) in 1926. In 1958 a standard for a 1000 rpm tractor pto shaft was published. In 1966 a pto shaft standard was published for higher horsepower tractors. The ASAE S203 (1994) or SAE J1170 (1993) standards give the details of the tractor pto shaft dimensions which have the following basic data:

ASABE Technical Library :: Abstract
 
   / Why 540? #25  
The sickle speed reason sounds a bit erroneous as there is usually some gearing between the PTO and the sickle. The crank throw distance on the sickle drive would also control the surface speed of the sickle.

Edit: Horse drawn sickle mowers would have even more speed variation as the horses didn't have PTO. :)
 
   / Why 540? #26  
I couldn't find any real "proof" that the PTO speed was chosen to match the McCormick sickle. The only source I see is a forum where it is mentioned briefly.

I did find this book on the creation of International Harvester Company and the products they were working on. This includes the PTO that was developed by Edward Johnston. This thread grabbed my attention but not enough to buy the entire book. You can preview the book up to page 27 for free -

International Harvester Tractors - Randy Leffingwell - Google Books
 
   / Why 540? #29  
Why not 500 or 632 or whatever?

There must be some mechanical basis for standardizing on 540 rpm for PTO speed.

Let's light it up, tractor gurus!


Why do hot dogs come in packages of 10 when hot dog buns come in packages of 8?
 
   / Why 540? #30  
Why do hot dogs come in packages of 10 when hot dog buns come in packages of 8?

Actually many now are coming in packages of 8. At least the last ones we bought were.
 
   / Why 540? #31  
The extra is for me to eat hot off the grill. And I give one to my dog so he won't tell my wife.
 
   / Why 540? #32  
Don’t know why people eat hot dogs when they can purchase a respectable roast of beef or pork for the same or less per pound .
I assume most people know what is in hot dogs ?
 
Last edited:
   / Why 540? #33  
Don’t know why people eat hot dogs when they can purchase a reapeaxtabke roast of beef or pork for the same or less per pound .
I assume most people know what is in hot dogs ?
Weiner dogs
 
   / Why 540? #34  
No dogs in the south, we use every part of the pig. EVERY PART!
The 3 things that you don't insult to a southern man, his wife, his truck or his dog. Not necessarily in that order.
 
   / Why 540? #35  
Don’t know why people eat hot dogs when they can purchase a reapeaxtabke roast of beef or pork for the same or less per pound .
I assume most people know what is in hot dogs ?
reapeaxtabke?. I've never heard of that, what language is it, I can't find a translation anywhere!..
 
   / Why 540? #36  
reapeaxtabke?. I've never heard of that, what language is it, I can't find a translation anywhere!..

Seems to be some odd spelling that shows up on his site that is different from what is sent . Don’t know if it is just one model of iPhone that does it or what ?
 
   / Why 540? #37  
It the shaft is too fast, then you might need a gearbox on the implement to slow it back down. Theres the odd 540 but then the nice even 1000. I once saw this awesome snowblower at a show, Videos showed it was truly amazing! What they didn't seem to think was worth mentioning, is that it ran at 1000 rpm!
 
   / Why 540? #38  
Seems to be some odd spelling that shows up on his site that is different from what is sent . Don稚 know if it is just one model of iPhone that does it or what ?

Its a SMART PHONE, it knows more about what you want to say than you do....

Actually it is the fault of DUMB spell check and people not proof reading before hitting send button... Its the dumbing down of "merica"...

Dale
 
   / Why 540? #39  
Its a SMART PHONE, it knows more about what you want to say than you do....

Actually it is the fault of DUMB spell check and people not proof reading before hitting send button... Its the dumbing down of "merica"...

Dale

Honest to goodness I have seen gibberish with odd characters appear on this site AND the spelling was correct on the phone .
A different category of error than the usual lack of double checking.
 
   / Why 540? #40  
Honest to goodness I have seen gibberish with odd characters appear on this site AND the spelling was correct on the phone .
A different category of error than the usual lack of double checking.

There has been discussion of that here and I have been a victim in some of my own posts. Recent conclusions point to members (myself included) using IOS devices and visiting this site on a browser and not the app.
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

XCMG CV83PD (A53317)
XCMG CV83PD (A53317)
1992 DFI PULL SPREADER (A57192)
1992 DFI PULL...
PowerBoss Admiral Plus 38C Ride-On Floor Scrubber/Sweeper (A59228)
PowerBoss Admiral...
MASSAGE CHAIR (A58214)
MASSAGE CHAIR (A58214)
iDrive TDS-2010H ProJack M2 Electric Trailer Dolly (A59228)
iDrive TDS-2010H...
Club Car Carryall 500 Utility Cart (A59228)
Club Car Carryall...
 
Top