Dr alex moulton autobiography in five short
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Flexitor is easier to attach to a chassis and its shell is a single piece.
In the 1950s, Moulton developed the cone suspension unit that was used in Minis from 1959 until 2000 — a truncated cone (frusto-conical) rubber spring and shock absorber, consisting of a cup-shaped body of rubber bonded between steel plates and attached to a metal arm ending in a ball joint.
1920 - 2012
Sources
Dan Farrell, Dr Alex Moulton CBE — A Man of Conviction, Moulton Bicycle Company, 1 March 2013, www.institution-engineering-designers.org.uk
Dan Farrell, Riding on Rubber: the story of Bradford on Avon's world-renowned rubber industry, Ex Libris Press in association with Bradford on Avon Museum, 2017
Dan Farrell, Obituary — Toby the Cat, Moulton Bicycle Company, 2013
Tony Hadland, The F-Frame Moultons, Lit Verlag, Berlin, 2014 (first published 1981)
Tony Hadland, The Spaceframe Moultons, Lit Verlag, Berlin, 2009 (first published 1994)
A.E.
Through his company, Moulton Developments, he developed the innovative Hydrolastic and Hydragas suspension systems. Their factory is near The Hall.
Alex Moulton
Moulton was educated at Marlborough College and King's College, Cambridge. The result was the Moulton Bicycle, with its distinctive small diameter wheels, lightweight frame and rubber spring suspension.
The combination of conical rubber springs and small wheels was one of the many innovative developments that allowed Issigonis to achieve the Mini's small overall size. It's an improvement on the generally-used Torsilastic tubular rubber spring [pioneered by Alvin S. Krotz (1893-1970) in the USA].
Engineering Timelines: Dr Alex Moulton
Alex Moulton: A biographical summary
Born 9th April 1920, Rother Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, UK
Died 9th December 2012, Bath, UK
Buried Christ Church, Bradford-upon-Avon, UK
EraModern
Mechanical engineer Dr Alexander Eric 'Alex' Moulton is the man behind the revolutionary small-wheeled lightweight Moulton Bicycle, models of which are still in production, more than 50 years after the initial development work.
He worked for the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Alex helped the company focus on rubber suspension systems for road vehicles.
Inventing New Suspension Systems
In the mid-1950s, Moulton created an experimental rubber suspension. It was called The Hall, Bradford-on-Avon. Together, they designed a special fluid and rubber suspension.
Cars manufactured by the British Motor Corporation (later British Leyland) featured Hydrolastic suspension. This was later refined into the hydrolastic and hydragas suspension systems used on later British Leyland cars such as the Austin Maxi, Austin Allegro, Leyland Princess and Rover Metro, and most recently on the MGF.
Moulton also designed the Moulton Bicycle, again using rubber suspension and small wheels.
He was the great-grandson of the rubber pioneer Stephen Moulton, the founder of the family business George Spencer Moulton & Co. Ltd., in which he worked after World War II, specialising in rubber suspension systems for vehicles. Some examples include the Austin Maxi and the Rover Metro.
The Moulton Bicycle
Alex Moulton also designed a unique bicycle.
It used hydraulic fluid damping and linked a vehicle's wheels into one system, greatly reducing vehicle pitching. A specialist in the design of suspension systems, he is responsible for the smooth ride associated with a large range of cars built by the British Motor Corporation (later British Leyland), starting with the ever-popular Mini, first released in 1959.
Moulton is described by architect Norman Foster (b.1935, knighted 1990, Baron Foster of Thames Bank 1999) as a "remarkable man" and "brilliant engineer".
He attended King's College there.
What Did Alex Moulton Do?
During World War II, Alex Moulton worked on designing engines. He never married, and he was able to pursue ideas to his own timetable. He interrogated every component of the traditional bike, establishing the essential requirements. 1955-62
Suspension system for the Mini, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, UK ....
The Moulton Bicycle Company (formed 2008) continues to operate from Bradford-on-Avon. Later, he studied at the University of Cambridge.