Concept Stage
Picture: Early cross-section of the first single-cylinder engine design in its infancy.
Picture (right): An early CAD modle of the 3D printed design.
Picture (left): The basic concept behind our servo flow controller.
Picture: First drawing for how all of the sub-systems would be linked together.
Picture: The basic timing structure for a single-cylinder engine. Expressed in terms of angle and the state of airflow through the cylinder.
Early Stages
Picture: Early photo of the engine frame fresh off of the water jet.
Video: Testing the engine mechanics. Running the solenoids open-loop relying on the Arduino for timing. Making sure the mechanical components run smoothly.
Video: Testing the ULN 2003 solenoid driver, an early version of the servo flow controller, and the engine controller with serial communication between the engine controller and engine.
Video: The water jet working away at cutting out the frame of the engine. On the right, you can see open areas from where some of the midsections of the frame have been removed.
Prototype Stage
Video: Forward valve timing is working, flow controller can throttle the engine via inputs from the flow controller (open loop)
Video: Another view of the engine running open loop. This is not the top speed we were able to achieve.
Video: The engine mounted to its baseboard with off of the wiring cleaned up. This video was focussing on the testing of the newly added multitone whistle.
Picture: Testing the lifting and braking capacity of the engine.
Picture: RPM measurement from encoder and engine software verified by tachometer (each tick is 10RPM, and the needle is at around 10.5 ticks)
Video: The engine running all out with 40 PSI supplied. 170 RMP on the readout.
Picture: Getting the wiring and plumbing organized.
Picture: Under the hood of the solenoid driver case. Small fan and porting to help keep things cool. A bundle of zip ties as the cable management work continues.
Picture: Testing the updated homing procedure. The flow controller and engine no longer require manual input to home. Making the operation of the plant safer.