Today, my drains clogged up and I had to call the rotorooter guy. He had a machine similar to the Ridgid K-7500:
[IMG]http://di1-2.shoppingshadow.com/images/pi/30/5b/06/69920816-260x260-0-0_Ridgid+Ridgid+60052+K+7500+Drum+Machine+with+3+4+x.jpg[/IMG]
You can see at the end is a little gray thing with a handle on it. That's the cable autofeeder, so as the drum turns the coiled wire, that gray thing engages and helps push it down into the drain. I can see how it would push it down - perhaps it has like a ball bearing in it that just rests between the crevices on the coils and as the wire spins, it'll push along. But it's not that simple, I saw the man go in reverse with it too! There's even a neutral setting and it's all variable - not just forward, reverse, and nothing. It can also feed faster than the cable is turning (like up to 20ft/min), so what I said with the ball bearing is certainly not how it works. A quick google search says JUST the assembly is upwards of $350USD - it's certainly not "just" a ball bearing. It's not connected to the motor either, nor does it have a motor in itself.
Any physics whizzes out there know how it works? It's been bugging me ever since the guy left...
Thanks
[url]http://www.ereplacementparts.com/ridgid-k7500-drum-machine-parts-c-7929_15296_15297.html[/url]
here's an exploded view of the whole system. I'm not good with these types of diagrams so I'd have to handle one myself to figure out how it works, but this should show you roughly what it does
Thanks, super useful:
[IMG]http://www.ereplacementparts.com/images/ridgid/K-7500_WW_7.gif[/IMG]
If you wanted to know, basically what happens is the two little wheels labeled #14 contact the cable that's rotating in the middle. As the knob (assembly consisting of parts #7, 8, 11) is turned, it twists those wheels so it pushes the cable along. Imagine front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive car on a rolling road. Attach the car so that it does not move sideways nor forwards/backwards. Turn the steering wheel and it'll push the rolling road cylinder thing away to the side.
So clever! :eng101:
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