Cooper's Engine 

Process and Methods Used to Make Engine

Over the course of the semester, the Engine Subsystems Group has worked hard to determine what the best type of engine was to be built. Of all the options before us, we decided to choose among 4 engines:

1. Stirling Engine that was powered by a Heat Gun

2. A Pneumatic Engine whose drafted parts were available to us.

3. A Wobble Twin Cylinder Pneumatic Engine  found on the Internet. 

4. A pneumatic engine designed by ourselves that would incorporate ideas from all three of the above.

Our Engines

Engines: Stirling Engine                                   Pneumatic Engine 1                                                          Current Design of Neumatic Engine

From the above list, we created a list of functional requirements that would have to be met by the engines. They were:

1. The engine would need to be easily built in the time frame of 2 months.

2. The machining of parts was possible with the tools available to us.

3. The engineering design process was easily demonstrable through our work.

4. The engine would function.

5. It would provide enough torque to power small gears and shafts.

6. It showed the internal mechanics of an engine and was easy to understand. 

7. Was efficient in its use of compressed air.

From the above list, it was determined that the best design was to build an engine ourselves that would match all the functional requirements.

We used our knowledge of Solidworks and 3D modeling and designed the engine that is seen in the image below. Now, we are in the process of making the engine from steel and brass, determining which material is best for each part.

Take a look at our preliminary designs in the folder below! This is where we began.