TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter involves a research and development hardware project for a very complicated mechanism. It is presented so the reader will have an appreciation for what can be accomplished by persistently role-playing over and over again as the basic concepts of FAST are applied. The end result of this analysis was the replacement of 16 parts by a single part.
This timing device was selected initially as a project for Sperry Univac's value engineering department because our defense division was awarded the contract to develop a timer for the Briteye Flare for the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. A breadboard unit using push buttons for setting the time (as shown in Figure 9.1) had already been constructed by our facility. I was told that the linkage that allowed it to function was taken from a design used by the Navy on torpedoes during World War II. It was concluded that the breadboard unit was too complicated and had too many parts because every time setting required its own push button. Therefore, the design was changed to a round dial whereby the time could be set at any time duration between a minimum and maximum time span. However, the release mechanism remained the same.
The clock escapement mechanism is secured within the round cavity of the housing, as shown at the bottom of Figure 9.2. Note that there is an arming lever over a plunger in the...
