At the Albion Works, Scotstoun, Glasgow.
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How the Company's Low-tension Magneto Windings are Tested ; Notes on the New Albion Carburetter.
While on a recent tour in Scotland, an Editorial representative of this journal called at the Albion works at Seotstoun, near Glasgow, and was there received by T. Blackwood Murray, one of the joint managing directors of the Albion Motor Car Co., Ltd., by whom he was piloted through the company's excellently-organized and well-designed factory, from which, during recent years, so many highly-successful commercial motor vehicles have been despatched to all parts of the world.
Amongst the many departments of the works, that which is devoted to time production and testing of this maker's well-known magnetos is particularly interesting. It contains many intricate and scientific devices, the object of which is the complete and thorough testing of each part of the magneto. The Albion Inatension magneto, as many of our readers are aware, consists of a stationary armature, round which the permanent field magnets are rotated ; the latter are mounted on a frame which is secured to the crankshaft, and, therefore, the magnet-) is run at the same speed as the engine. The back magnet is carefully magnetized, by the aid of a special form of generator, and is subsequently "equalized " and tested for the correct degree of saturation by means of an ingenious device, the details of which we are requested, by Mr. Murray, not to publish, In the accompanying illustration of the armaturetesting machine, it may be noticed that permanent magnets are not fitted, but that the apparatus is provided with electro-magnets; this is because a much stronger field may be created with the latter form of magnet, and the armature winding may thus be submitted to a " test " current. The armatures are overloaded to about ten times A machine for testing armature the average working conditions on the engine. In this manner, the insulation of the armature is " proved " very severely. The large cam-shaped disc, which is mounted on the same spindle as the electro-magnet frame, acts as circuit-breaker and performs the same functions as the ordinary make-and-break plugs in the cylinder heads. A
flexible " brush '' or " wiper " is in contact with the periphery of this rotating disc, except at the point of " break "—the timing of the " break " coincides with the moment of " maximum flux " in the armature winding, and the result of the " break " in the external circuit causes the passing of a flame," varying from 3 in. to :5 in. in length from the '• brush " to the periphery of the disc. The illustration, which is reproduced from a, snap-shot taken while the machine was running at high speed, clearly shows the " flame."
For use with a two-cylinder engine, there is only one break per revolution, but, when fitted to an engine with four cylinders, the disc would have in its periphery a second break, at a point diametrically opposite to the first one. The magneto is mounted at the forward end of the engine, the field magnets being, as stated, on crankshaft; the armature is bolted to the crankcase.
The Albion Co. has recently introduced an improved form of carburettor; its use enables any engine to which the device is fitted to give a greater degree of efficiency, over a much wider range of speeds, than is possible with any ordinary form of automatic carburetter. In most carburetters of the automatic type, the mixture of air and petrol vapour is controlled, more or less effectively, by means of an auxiliary valve. So long as the speed of the engine, and, consequently, the suction speed
of the gases, are great enough to ensure that the auxiliary valve shall remain in operation, a carburetter of this type will continue to work in a fairly satisfactory manlier: but, as soon as the air and gas velocities fall below their normals, the automatic action ceases, owing to the fact that the resistance offered by the jet and gas passages becomes greater than that offered by the air passages: the result is an insufficient supply of combustible gas.
In the new Albion carburetter, the improvement consists of an addition to what may be termed the static " air-and-gas-throttling device, and this addition takes the form of an air-throttling valve, which is controlled by the speed of the engine; its duty is the control of the amount of air which is admitted into the main throttle-valve chamber. By means of this extra valve, a definite and adjustable quantity of air is admitted to the mixing chamber, irrespective of the suction speed of the gases. This extra valve is directly connected to the engine governor, which, by the way, is that practical device known as the Murray governor, whilst the gas throttlevalve is actuated, by the governor, through an arrangement of `' floating " levers.
A diagrammatic arrangement of the new form of carburetter was given, amongst the "Patents Completed," in our issue of three weeks ago (No. 14,198, dated 4th 1908), and we now reproduce two photographs which show the device as fitted to the engine of a two-ton Albion van chassis. The engines on Albion commercial vehicle. have long been noted for their quiet running, and the facility with which they may be driven at slow speeds; the improvements now effected will give an even wider range of engine speed, with a greater degree of quietness at slow speeds, together with a higher rate of efficiency of fuel consumption.