Flatrod

The flatrod system (German: Kunstgestänge, Stangenkunst, Stangenwerk or Stangenleitung; Swedish: Konstgång or Stånggång) was an invention of the mining industry that enabled the mechanical movement generated by a water wheel (German: Kunstrad) to be transferred over short distances. It was invented in the 16th century and by the 18th century was being used to transmit power up to four kilometres. Flatrod systems were widely used in the Harz and Ore Mountains of Germany as well as in Cornwall, England and Bergslagen in Sweden.

A replica of a flatrod system may be seen in Bad Kösen in Germany on the River Saale and there is a replica water wheel, used to drive flatrods, in Clausthal-Zellerfeld in the Upper Harz, formerly the biggest mining region in Europe.

The flatrod system dates to the period before the invention of the steam engine and electricity. Using flatrods it was possible to operate man engines and pumping systems, even though the water wheel in question had a rotary, not a reciprocal, motion. So that the rods could be made to move in a reciprocal fashion, a change of direction had to be achieved by means of specially shaped components. The components of the system that were mounted in the mining shaft were called shaft rods (Schachtgestänge) or pump rods (Hubgestänge). Systems mounted in drift mines were called drift rods (Streckengestänge).

The flatrods (Feldgestänge) themselves were used to transfer power over greater distances between the main engine and the pump rods. Iron collars (Kunstringe) were fitted onto the wheel axles, connecting pipes (Ansetzröhren) and metal sleeves (Ansteckkielen) as well as certain parts of the wooden flatrods. The actual rods (Kunststangen) were long squared timbers that transmitted the power horizontally or at an incline. They had articulated iron joints (Kunstschlösser or Stangenschlösser) that were designed such that they could be interleaved into one another and secured with bolts or screws.

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Wikipedia