Making the World's Smallest Beam Stirling Engine

In this video, Mike machines a tiny Stirling engine on a miniature lathe - to our knowledge, this is the smallest beam Stirling engine that has been published to date.

FTC disclaimer: This video was sponsored by Brilliant.

About Chronova Engineering Ltd:
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[chronovaengineering]

If you fancy building one of these for yourself, the drawings/build instructions are available on our Patreon page:

[colinfurze]

When you see a finger come into shot you relize how small it is. Great work, going to check out some more of your videos now.

[andysutton]

Hi, I am a 77 year old Agricultural Engineer. During my childhood and early career a number of these engines were employed to pump coal gas for lighting. These were about 6" or so in height. There was one used in a cowshed to drive a vacuum pump. This one was some 4ft tall and ran very well. Electricity only came to the area of Gloucestershire I grew up in around 1955, farms and outlying houses still relied on generators for electrical supply. There were many different engines and sizes of plant still in use into my late teens. Thank you for producing this marvel of engineering. Andy

[billywhizz]

Every now and then, Google's random offerings bring up an absolute gem. What a fascinating build process, beautifully put together and narrated. Many thanks for sharing this with us!

[willobendorf]

Am a recently retired mechanical engineer with only the most basic machining skills (theoretically can operate a Bridgeport and a lathe, but everything had to be pretty basic and crude), so I have always had a profound respect for skilled machinists. Have been fascinated by Stirling Engines since I took Thermodynamics in college, and have assembled a couple from kits (a little beam engine and one that operates on top of a coffee cup). Have only designed two investment-cast parts in my career but have always loved that process as well. To see all of this in one video, with this level of precision and miniaturization, and the tremendous knowledge of machining and materials required - as well as the forethought and patience!...I just loved watching this! Please continue with this type of video!

[ridermak]

I’m a retired machinist of the old school persuasion and I’ve pretty much seen it all, but I didn’t stop smiling through this whole video.
🤜🤛

[spuds]

This looks SO good... like the metal was meant to be this way and you just encouraged it's shape to come to center stage.

[aam]

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Clickspring really needs to watch his back! You are a seriously good machinist and it’s obvious you put a huge amount of effort into the videos as well.

[JohnSostrom]

Beautiful work. My grandfather, on my dad's side, was a self taught machines and Gun Smith. He made two sterling engines, of which my youngest sister got one and my cousin on mom's side. The two lathes he built as well as the one commercial lathe he rebuilt.

For a man that had to drop out of school to work in the coal mines after his dad died in a mining accident, he made a point of reading every engineering book and other texts to the point where he had an equivalent of two engineering degrees. He was my hero and life model for me. I miss him tremendously.

[eli_steiner]

man it's crazy that you got it to run so smoothly! Having built two stirling engines myself, I know how sensitive they are to friction, especially the small ones. Amazing video

[kennethschroeder]

Wonderful work! I have taught Thermodynamics at the college level for 30 years and would have loved to have shown this video in class. We had a small, working Stirling engine model but nothing on this miniature scale. Thanks for this effort.

[mizjennifer]

This is so incredibly peaceful to watch. It is a concert for the eyes to witness such mastery at work. I found myself comparing it to trimming clay, but so perfect and beautiful.

[CaptainPeterRMiller]

The fact that this extraordinary and minute machine has been built and it functions as it should is remarkable. I am even MORE impressed by the quality of the final video production. To achieve the visual clarity of the recording, it is remarkable. His use of microphotography to show his work is exquisite. I know that shooting these operations is exceedingly trying and difficult. Chronova Engineering has produced a remarkable document. Thank you.

[abglogas]

Unbelievable! Just awesome! I've been a machinist for 25 years and this is the most impressive thing I've ever seen. So glad I stumbled upon your page.

[Da_Thing_Should_Not_Be]

I've seen many of these engines made over the years. But never in my life did I expect to see this made on such an absolute miniscule scale. I am gobsmacked. Not just at the fact that it actually runs. But at the fine detail of each component. Well done sir. VERY well done indeed.

[ThnkCmdyFeelTrgdy]

It is truly a joy to watch an artist at work. Seeing how you embrace modern techniques of using 3D printed elements to generate the mold for a cssting and then how your machinist skills cleaned up and brought forth the finished flywheel was my favorite part of the video. Seeing red painted cast spokes with machined surfaces always stoke my love of the steam era. (Equally green on brass) Such exquisite form that is also functional shows a true master craftsman.

[inyourfacetoday]

You are a true artist and a master of the lathe...

[larrybud]

It's always so amazing how "rough" even detailed milling is when you zoom in close enough!

[justs-]

I personally enjoyed watching that VERY MUCH!! NOTHING LIKE WATCHING PRECISION WORK BEING DONE!!❤

[martintatak]

The camera makes it look big, but once you have something to compare the sizes your mind is blown by the smallness. Amazing job!