4.

APPLICATIONS

This magical tool has a lot of applications. Some of them are :

1. By removing sections of a Reuleaux rotor, Harry James Watts, created a drill which cuts
a square hole. You will notice that it does not remove a perfect square, and that small arcs
remain in the corners. There is also the problem of how to guide the drill itself. But that
was not a big problem when we see the revolutionary triangle which was then used for
many further applications.

2. Another application of the Reuleaux rotor is in the design of the rotary engine car. In a
traditional engine the piston reciprocates but in a rotary engine, as the name implies, direct
circular motion is generated. This is done by taking a Reuleaux rotor and from the center drilling
a large hole to create an internal gear. This then rotates on a fixed gear.
By symmetry it is clear that the three vertices of the rotor all move along the same path, and the
gaps left allow the fuel to be injected, compressed, ignited and for the combustion products to
expand and finally be expelled.

3. A pilot hole is either small hole drilled into a material to guide a larger drill to the appropriate
location and ease the job of the larger drill, to allow for the insertion of another hole making tool,
such as a knockout punch that will produce the final size hole, or, in wood or plastic, to locate,
guide, and provide clearance for a self-threading screw to prevent damaging the material or
breaking the screw.

They may be further be used in applications for pilot for large holes and pilot holes for screws.
This is an example of a mortise and tenon joint widely used in wood industry for further
applications.

4. The problem of rounded corners is overcome by using a curve of constant width based upon
the right angled isosceles triangle. If a cam of this shape is housed in a square hole then one point
must follow a square path as the shape is rotated.

Notice the floating chuck which applies a torsional force to the cam yet allows it unrestricted
movement in both the horizontal and vertical directions.
5. Cams, sometimes called box beater cams, were designed using shapes of constant width. The
important feature is that the drive is positive at all stages, and no weight or spring is required at
any part of the stroke.
6. The United Kingdom fifty pence and twenty pence coins have constant width. This helps
reduce the problems associated with them becoming stuck in slot machines. However, some
other countries have coins with an even number of undulations.