NITROX SHOCK ABSORBERS NICELY EXPLAINED !!

The rear shock absorbers on current Bajaj Pulsar series bikes are also popularly known as NITROX shock absorbers. These types of shock absorbers are actually called as ‘Gas Filled Shock Absorbers’. The visual differentiation between a conventional shock absorber and a gas filled shock absorber is a small canister (box) which is attached on one side of it. This canister holds a small amount of Nitrogen gas in it. Hence these hydraulic shock absorbers or dampers are called as gas filled shock absorbers. So what is the reason to use a gas filled hydraulic dampers instead of using a conventional one? we'll find out the answer here.

The 'Royal Enfield - Bullet Electra' was the first bike in India to have this feature. 

A typical shock absorber or an hydraulic damper contains oil with two tubes sliding inside one another and also has a piston inside. It also has a valves inside. The oil inside the damper moves along the valves as the piston moves up and down to absorb the shocks. These dampers have a tendency for the oil to form foam (form bubbles) under heavy use and riding conditions. The foaming is usually caused by air bubbles inside oil during suspension action. This is similar to shaking a can of oil. After shaking the oil inside the can gets foamed. Similarly the same case happens to a hydraulic damper also. This  foaming temporarily reduces the damping ability of the unit.

In order to solve this, a secondary cylinder is connected to the shock absorber which acts as a reservoir for the oil and pressurized gas (nitrogen). The pressurized nitrogen gas inside the canister prevents foaming of hydraulic oil inside the damper due to heavy usage or damping action. Due to this, the performance of the suspension remains constant.

This nitrogen gas also helps in absorbing the road undulations and provides a smooth ride for both the rider and the pillion. The new Bajaj Pulsar 200NS uses a Nitrox piggy-back type canister gas filled suspension.

CHECK OUT WHY DIESEL ENGINES ARE NOT USED IN BIKES

Why diesel engine is not used in bikes?

We use bike many times a day. Usually, the motorbike runs on petrol. The price of petrol is higher than diesel in many countries. Sometimes we think, why bike does not run on diesel. Actually, we used to have diesel engines for two-wheelers. Royal Enfield Taurus used to come with a diesel engine. This is shown in the figure below:-

The main reasons for not using diesel engines in two-wheelers are as follows:

1. Diesel engine has a compression ratio 24:1, which is higher than petrol engine compression ratio of 11:1. Diesel engine must be bigger and of heavy metal in order to handle this high compression ratio. That's why the diesel engine is heavier than petrol engine and not suitable for small vehicle like motorcycle.

2. Due to high compression ratio, diesel engine produces more vibration and noise as compared to the petrol engine. It is not possible for a light vehicle to handle this high vibration and noise.That's why diesel engines are not used in motorcycle.

3. Due to high compression ratio and heavy engine, initial price of the diesel engine is more than the petrol engine. And this initial price difference is about 50,000 rupees, which is not suitable for small vehicle.

4. Diesel engine produces approximately 13% more carbon-di-oxide per gallon as compared to the petrol engine. So it makes greater pollution than petrol engine and it is not good to use for environment.

5. Diesel engine works on high pressure, so wear and tear is high in diesel engines. To reduce this wear and tear oil change are frequently required at every 5,000 kilometer instead of 10,000 kilometer in the case of petrol engine.

6. Diesel engine produces more torque but low rpm than petrol engine. So in bikes where we need high speed, it is not suitable.

7. Diesel has high energy per gallon as  compare with the petrol. When diesel burns, it produces a large amount of heat which can destroy walls of the cylinder and other parts of the engine. So to reduce this heat, we need a greater surface area and proper cooling system. In order to achieve this greater surface area, the engines are made slightly bigger.

8. Diesel engine uses turbocharger or supercharger to pump more air into the cylinder, which increases its price and size. 

9. In diesel engines, injector technology is used to inject fuel into the combustion chamber, which is more expensive than spark plug technology of petrol engine.

10. Diesel engine is very big as compared with the petrol engine and it uses high power starting motor to crank the engine, which is not suitable for motorcycles.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NC AND CNC MACHINE EXPLAINED !!

In today’s world every manufacturing industries wants high accuracy products in less time. And this complexity of high accuracy in minimum time can be achieved by use of NC and CNC machine. Here we will discuss about the basic differences between them.

Difference Between NC and CNC machine

The various difference between NC and CNC machine  in tabular form are as follows:

S.no	NC Machine	CNC Machine
1.	Here NC stands for Numerical Control	CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control.
2.	It is defined as the machine which is controlled by the set of instructions in the form of numbers, letters and symbols. The set of instructions is called as program.	It is defined as the machine which is used to control the motions of the workpiece and tool with the help of prepared program in computer. The program is written in alphanumeric data.
3.	In NC machine the programs are fed into the punch cards.	In CNC machine the programs are fed directly into the computer by a small key board similar to our traditional keyboard.
4.	Modification in the program is difficult.	Modification in the program is very easy.
5.	High skilled operator is required.	Less skilled operator is required.
6.	Cost of the machine is less.	Cost of the CNC machine is high.
7.	Maintenance cost is less	Maintenance cost is high.
8.	The programs in the NC machine cannot be stored.	In CNC machines, the programs can be stored in the computer and can be used again and again.
9.	It offers less flexibility and computational capability.	It offers additional flexibility and computational capability.
10.	The accuracy is less as compared with the CNC.	It has high accuracy.
11.	It requires more time for the execution of the job.	It takes very less time in the execution of the job.
12.	It is not possible to run it continuously.	It can be run continuously for 24 hours of a day.

Comparison Between NC and CNC Machine

The comparison of NC and CNC machine are:

• NC stands for Numerical Control whereas CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control.
• In NC Machine the programs are fed into the punch cards. But in CNC machine the programs are fed directly into the computer with the help of a small keyboard similar to our traditional keyboard.
• In NC machine if and error occurs in the program than its debugging and modification is not easy. In CNC machine the debugging and modification is very easy.
• High skilled operator is required to operate the NC machine whereas to operate a CNC machine, a semiskilled operator may work.
• The cost of the NC machine is less as compared with the computer control machines.
• The maintenance cost of NC is less whereas it is costly in the case of CNC machine.
• No programs can be stored in the NC machine. In CNC machine, numbers of programs can be stored and can be used again and again for the production.
• The accuracy of the NC is less as compared with the CNC.
• In NC machine the execution of the job takes more time but the CNC machine executes the job without taking much time.
• NC cannot be run continuously for 24 hours but CNC machine can be run for 24 hours continuously.