{{Short description, Invention Thumkuhlenthal

The flatrod system (german: italic=yes, Kunstgestänge, Stangenkunst, Stangenwerk, or ''Stangenleitung''; sv, italic=yes, Konstgång or ''Stånggång'') was an invention of the

mining industry Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

that enabled the

mechanical movement A mechanical watch is a watch that uses a clockwork mechanism to measure the passage of time, as opposed to quartz watches which function using the vibration modes of a piezoelectric quartz tuning fork, or radio watches, which are quartz watches ...

generated by a

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...

(German: ''Kunstrad'') to be transferred over short distances.''Bergmännisches Wörterbuch.'' Bey Johann Christoph Stößel, Chemnitz 1778 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 The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

and Ore Mountains of Germany as well as in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Bergslagen Bergslagen is a historical, cultural, and linguistic region located north of Lake Mälaren in northern Svealand, Sweden, traditionally known as a mining district. In Bergslagen, the mining and metallurgic industries have been important since th ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. A replica of a flatrod system may be seen in

Bad Kösen Bad Kösen () is a spa town on the Saale river in the small wine-growing region of Saale-Unstrut, Germany. It is a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt. Bad Kösen has a population of around 5,300. Since 1 Januar ...

in Germany on the River

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, ...

and there is a replica water wheel, used to drive flatrods, in

Clausthal-Zellerfeld Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000. The City is the location of the Clausthal University of Technology. The health resort ...

in the

Upper Harz The Upper Harz (german: Oberharz, ) refers to the northwestern and higher part of the Harz mountain range in Germany. The exact boundaries of this geographical region may be defined differently depending on the context. In its traditional sense, th ...

, formerly the biggest mining region in Europe.

Fundamentals

The flatrod system dates to the period before the invention of the

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

and

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

. Using flatrods it was possible to operate

man engine A man engine is a mechanism of reciprocating ladders and stationary platforms installed in mines to assist the miners' journeys to and from the working levels. It was invented in Germany in the 19th century and was a prominent feature of tin an ...

s 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.Franz Adolf Fürer: ''Salzbergbau und Salinenkunde.'' Druck und Verlag von Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn, Braunschweig 1900 The components of the system that were mounted in the

mining shaft Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic vi ...

were called shaft rods (''Schachtgestänge'') or pump rods (''Hubgestänge''). Systems mounted in

drift mines Drift mining is either the mining of an ore deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. A drift mine is an underground mine in which the entry or access is above ...

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.

Lifting rods

The lifting rod system ran vertically up the mineshaft, either to transfer power to the individual sets of shaft pumps (when they were known as pump rods) or, in the case of

s, to operate the man engine rods. In some cases the lifting rod system performed both duties. It consisted of roughly 19 to 20 centimetre thick squared spruce timbers. The poles were dovetailed at the ends and sides and were fixed to one another with correspondingly mortised wooden joints (''Holzlaschen''). These joints were tightly bound to the ends of the lifting rods with iron collars. In addition the iron collars were prevented from slipping by bolts inserted through them. At set distances there were also hooks on the sides that were used to hang the piston rods (''Kolbenstangen''). So that the horizontal movement of the flat rods could be turned into a vertical movement, a rotating cross-shaped lever (''Kunstkreuz'') was fitted to the lifting rods. Connexion to the cross lever was achieved using a crank (''Kunstschloss''). To balance the load it was usual to have two lifting rods.

Flatrods

The purpose of the flatrods was to transfer the power of the motive engine over greater distances to the pump rods in the shaft. This was necessary if the motive engine could not be mounted above or immediately next to the mine shaft. A flatrod system had the disadvantage that there were additional

efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...

losses due to the greater masses that had to be moved. The reciprocal motion in the joints (''Schlösser'') of the interconnected flatrods lead to lifting losses of from 25 to 50 percent.Joh. Jos. Prechtl (ed.): ''Technologische Encyklopädie oder alphabetisches Handbuch der Technologie, der technischen Chemie und des Maschinenwesens.'' Fünfter Band, Verlag der J. G. Gotta'schen Buchhandlung, Stuttgart, 1834 In addition the construction of flatrods required additional timber. This was very maintenance-intensive due to the effects of weathering and it needed additional staff to inspect and maintain the flatrods. The flatrods consisted of several wooden rods, fitted with iron hinges. At the ends of the rods, on either side, were so-called ''Kunstschlösser''. These were cut to fit in such a way that one rod could be mortised into another. This was necessary so that the flatrods could not slide apart as a result of to-and-fro or up-and-down motion. There were two types of flatrod: flatrods with rollers and flatrods with oscillating cranks (''Schwingen''). The former were laid on rollers. The rollers consisted of round timbers about eight to ten inches thick, that were firmly set into the ground on their underside and fixed in place with braces. In order to minimise friction, the rod was fitted with a drag rail (''Schleppschiene'') in the area of the individual rollers that was made of beechwood and long enough to for the entire stroke length.

References

External links

Das Huttaler Wasserregal
Description of the water region in the Harz. GeoMuseum TU Clausthal Mining techniques Propulsion Articles containing video clips Water management in mining