Hi gang - I am a retired mech. engineer with a affinity for downhill skiing. I was getting bored working on stuff around the house so I decided I needed a new project to keep from going bonkers. Why not build a snowcat? I embarked on this project and have reached a point where my machine (called Snowzer) is actually able to move about. If you want to see some of the build history, you can check it out here: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-senior-design-project-swamp.html#post5112906
Here's a recent image of it:
The problem I am having is the steering brakes are very weak - it takes a lot of effort to get it to turn. I believe it may be part of my current design as I do not use vacuum boosters to help. Here is a photo of the brake system. The red calipers are the service brakes and the blue ones are for steering. You can see the steering master cylinders at the top of the image. Maybe I should use hydraulic boosters? Any suggestions on how to improve the brakes would be most appreciated. Thanks!
Here's a recent image of it:
The problem I am having is the steering brakes are very weak - it takes a lot of effort to get it to turn. I believe it may be part of my current design as I do not use vacuum boosters to help. Here is a photo of the brake system. The red calipers are the service brakes and the blue ones are for steering. You can see the steering master cylinders at the top of the image. Maybe I should use hydraulic boosters? Any suggestions on how to improve the brakes would be most appreciated. Thanks!