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Hopefully the attached pic will help...
As the rod is turned, the angle between the arms will increase. The universal joint itself should remain in the centre as the arms separate.
So, if the rod is being turned at a constant rate, then the end of each arm should also be driven at a constant rate. And because the rods are at 90 degrees to the ends of the arms, then the ends of the arms are always driven (at a constant rate) relative to each arm's tangent. That's why I thought it might work.
The angle I referred to earlier was the angle that the universal joint makes between the 2 halves of the threaded rod. At first the 2 halves of the rod would be relatively straight, but as the arms separate, the angle between the rods would gradually reduce from 180 towards 90 degrees.
Middy: Does your analysis require .... calculus?! Are there any high-schoolers around here? I really don't want to dig out the old text books....
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