Heat Engine

I designed each part in SolidWorks, some to spec as described in drawings that were given to our course, and others from scratch with machining in mind. At the end of the course, I got a perfect score on Solidwork's Associate Mechanical Design exam.

Through building this engine, I learned how to use the Lathe, Mills, CNC, Bandsaw, sanders, and more tools in the Precision Machine Shop.

I performed a tolerance stack-up analysis to calculate the maximum diameter for the piston's displacer rod (DR). I used the given machine drawings and tolerances to figure out a "worst case scenario." Based on this calculation, I machined my displacer rod to size (and it fit).

Designed a balance weight (in brass) to move the center of mass to the center of the flywheel sub-assembly. At first, I made a complex Pacman shape, but I realized it would be much simpler to machine if I made it a rectangle with a cut hole in the center. Both designs achieved a balanced engine.