Thrust lever "feel" enhancement

[Mach7]

Hello All,

This post is mostly to demonstrate the flexibility of having an in house 3D printer...

As you know I am using OEM equipment, so when it came to the 146 thrust lever quadrant I had to think outside of the box with respect to thrust lever friction.

Once you remove the quadrant you eliminate the "build in" stiffness which is provided for through teleflex cables, push pull rods, and a friction device before the input is delivered to an electronic actuator which in turns drives the fuel control unit. (The reason for non Pilot adjustment is so that the TMS actuators do not back drive the thrust levers while they are fine tuning the FCU).

In the past I was able, (with limited success), to provide a basic form of friction by interfering with the up and down movement of the push pull rods from each thrust lever.

In order to enhance this, I designed and manufactured spacers that attach to a bold on one end and are held in position at the front through a separate printed piece that has a slot so the 'tongue' of the spacer and slide in and freely move approx .2 of a mm either side of centre to allow for some "give". Essentially allowing the thrust lever itself to provide the restriction of movement.

I bought some 2mm self stick felt pads that I attached on either side of the thrust lever(s) to provide for friction and stability.

It actually works pretty good!

I have included some before and after pics..

enjoy!

[Trevor Hale]

Its a great idea really, to be honest what I did was install "Velcro" atound my throttle handles so they would ride the edge of the TQ Metal.  So far so good, but I like your solution much better.
Got something to print over the holidays now LOL.
Trev

[RayS]

I used to use Velcro and sticky furniture leg pads, but then I discovered cork.

Cork allows finer resistance control while also providing a crisp, "break-friction" feel which gives you greater control for "bumping" levers. There's zero slop with cork.

It's been my experience you really have to tighten down hard to get a good feel with felt or felt-based devices. With cork you don't need to crank on the device nearly as much to get the same amount of resistance.

[jackpilot]

My IMHO:
Clutches
they allow custom friction and, once set, they never budge.