Amboise12
Amboise12

The Paddle Wheel

A great number of machines presented in Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks are animated by hydraulic power: hydraulic saws, wringers, forge bellows, air conditioners, etc.

Leonardo da Vinci sought a way of optimizing the shape of the paddles and gears to improve the output of mills. One of the major problems of these technical systems is the fragility of the gear teeth. It was therefore necessary to reduce friction by using less fragile teeth in rollers or to put iron on parts subjected to too much stress.