Model Engine Maker

Engines => Your Own Design => Topic started by: dnalot on May 08, 2014, 04:10:53 AM

Title: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: dnalot on May 08, 2014, 04:10:53 AM

I'm new to this site so I thought I would post my most recent "completed project" as an introduction and to contribute something to this site. Now I'm short on education and spelling eludes me so please excuse any miss-spells or wrong words. If you want to poke holes in my design, execution or shop practice go for it. It’s a learning experience.
 
I have admired the look of so called "bottle styled" steam engines for some time. So I decided to design something that was within my shops extensive capabilities and my limited experience. This is my second engine build so I had a little idea where I was going. The castings were made last summer (2013) and I built the engine during the winter.

Specifications
Steam Engine double acting
Bore 1.75" (4.45cm)
Stroke 2" (5.0cm)
Height 15" (38.03cm)
Flywheel Dia. 6" (15.2cm)
Aluminum Construction, Anodized

I used Rhino to develop the shape of the bottle, base and flywheel. Patterns were cut from pine on my homemade CNC router. I built the router 15 years ago and it is still the most important tool in my shop. I love it. I only made a half pattern and used it twice to make the full cavity mold.

My homemade furnace can melt 8 Lbs of aluminum in 20 Min from a cold start, runs on propane and is very efficient. I'm still learning how to cast and this project is my first try at using a core. It took several tries to overcome a problem with gasses from the core forming a bubble in the neck of the bottle. Third time was the charm. Casting is such a humbling process, so many failures. And rewarding.
 
Here are some photos of the bottle that I cast. I will post more on this engine as soon as I get the information organized.

[youtube1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv-FsHuod1U[/youtube1]

Mark T   
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: DavidF on May 08, 2014, 04:24:38 AM
Very nice, what cam program are you useing?
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: dnalot on May 08, 2014, 05:00:31 AM
Quote
Very nice, what cam program are you useing?

Hi

An older version of Visual mill V5 professional

Mark T
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: Jonfb64 on May 08, 2014, 08:10:39 AM
Very nice work.  :whoohoo:
Something else to aspire to!

Jon
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: smfr on May 08, 2014, 08:12:21 AM
Now I know how you made it! Very nice  :ThumbsUp:

Simon
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: steamer on May 08, 2014, 10:03:34 AM
Very nice work!.... :ThumbsUp:

Dave
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: b.lindsey on May 08, 2014, 11:47:06 AM
Very impressive work. I had commented in one of your earlier posts as to how elegant that bottle engine looks too and it runs just as well. Nicely done on all counts!!

Bill
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: Coopertje on May 08, 2014, 11:48:47 AM
Looks really good, already wondered how you managed to machine that shape! Hope to be able to cast myself in the future too, seems like a real addition of possibilities.

Hope to see more of your work here.

Jeroen
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: Don1966 on May 08, 2014, 01:50:03 PM
Nicely done Mark, you should be proud of your accomplishment. I like............. :praise2:

Don
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: ShopShoe on May 08, 2014, 02:33:26 PM
dnalot,

Nice job on the engine: Design and Execution.

I have to say that you have done well with your writeup as well. I used to work with a lot of people with advanced degrees who couldn't seem to get their thoughts expressed  so that any two readers got the same message. Nor could they write a simple sentence or explain a process in logical progression. You have done all that needs to be done: Short and Sweet and to the point.

Keep up the good work and keep posting. I think we're an understanding bunch and we can always ask questions.

--ShopShoe
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: philjoe5 on May 08, 2014, 03:21:30 PM
Very nice looking and running engine.  Your photo documentation and explanations are excellent.

Quote
Now I'm short on education and spelling eludes me

What Shopshoe said.  I've seen horrible spelling and grammar from "highly educated" folks.  Higher education is often overrated.  Thanks for sharing your work with us.  I'm a fan of the bottle engine too :ThumbsUp:

Cheers,
Phil
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: dnalot on May 08, 2014, 03:23:06 PM
Thanks for the comments guys.

On my first engine I made the crankshaft from assembled parts. It worked but there was little satisfaction in doing it that way. So on this engine I turned my crankshaft from a piece of bar stock. There were some exciting moments but in the end it turned out nicely I think. I martenized the exposed parts to help with corrosion and I nickel plated the counter weights for the same reason. It’s a very tight fit inside the bottle and the crankshaft assembly fits in there very snugly.
 
The flywheel was cast from aluminum and a nickel plated steel tire was added to give it some weight.

I started the head by casting a part but it was crappy to try and hold on to for machining so instead I machined the head from a 3" square block of aluminum. I sleeved the cylinder with bronze and I inlayed a bronze plate in the steam chest to provide better wear surfaces. Once all the interior work was completed I used the mill to rough out the exterior shape and used a spindle sander to make it all nice and smooth.

Now on most all of the bottle engines I looked at the valve rod assembly had a guide of some sort mounted to the bottles neck area. I chose to design a guide that attached to the steam chest to make it easier and I think more graceful looking. I went with a very close fit on the valve rod to avoid having to use stuffing and it worked rather well. The manifold for the steam inlet and exhaust was made from brass and nickel plated.
 
 I fussed with several piston designs but the one that worked best is the one shown, with two o-rings. The o-ring tended to roll over when I used thin ones so I went with some rather plump rings.  Took some fussing to get the fit right but once that was done the engine turned over very smoothly.

I hate paint. To give my aluminum parts the look I wanted I polished and then gave them a short dip in a caustic solution to give them a satin finish. Then they went into the anodizing bucket. The flywheel took a second bath in some black die before they all went into a bucket of sealer.
A little assembly time and the next thing I know I'm looking around for a new project.

Mark T
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: tvoght on May 08, 2014, 03:41:48 PM
Gad, what beautiful work!

I noticed that you take special care with finishes (and hate paint like many of us). You imply that you do your own anodizing. Do you do the nickel plating too?

Not to criticize but to make clear, did you Parkerize the crank (Martenizing seems to be something that dry cleaners do).

I'd certainly like to hear more about these finishing processes.

--Tim
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: Dan Rowe on May 08, 2014, 03:44:33 PM
Mark,
Nice castings and engine. Are the bearing blocks in the photo with the crank shown upside down so the hole is a bolt hole not an oil hole?

Dan
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: dnalot on May 08, 2014, 04:00:39 PM
Quote
I noticed that you take special care with finishes (and hate paint like many of us). You imply that you do your own anodizing. Do you do the nickel plating too?

Not to criticize but to make clear, did you Parkerize the crank (Martenizing seems to be something that dry cleaners do).

Sorry about that, yes Parkerized I have a terrible problem with word substitution. And yes I am doing my own plating. See http://www.caswellplating.com/ (http://www.caswellplating.com/) I have set up for nickel plating, and copper plating both flash and bright acid and I plan to add bronze plating soon. Great fun and its amazing what you can make a cheap piece of steel look like. I also have a number of pickling solutions to age metals.

Mark T
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: dnalot on May 08, 2014, 04:04:08 PM
Quote
Nice castings and engine. Are the bearing blocks in the photo with the crank shown upside down so the hole is a bolt hole not an oil hole?

No they are upright and that is an oil hole, the mounting holes are in the bottom of the block. Did most all of the inside work through the bottom of the bottle, very tight.

Mark T
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: gary.a.ayres on December 11, 2018, 11:13:02 PM
Very elegant engine. Love it.
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: Ye-Ole Steam Dude on December 12, 2018, 12:09:07 AM
Hello Mark,

Your work looks unreal it is so pretty and a very smooth running engine.

Have a great day,
Thomas
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: Zephyrin on December 12, 2018, 08:44:34 AM

great thread, from casting up to finish, everything looks first class work, amazing.

how come you can stop the engine so rapidly as air is shut off ?
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: bent on December 12, 2018, 04:07:44 PM
Gotta agree, the finish on your parts is very nice! 
Title: Re: Bottle Engine completted
Post by: gbritnell on December 12, 2018, 06:03:34 PM
What a great job, start to finish. Thanks for sharing.
gbritnell
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