Compressed Air Engine V3

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[ChristnThms]

To extend the amount of time that the engine will run, increase the storage container pressure and include a regulator to step the pressure down to just a little above the pressure where the engine stalls. This will get the storage pressure off of the engine, bleeding just enough air in to keep it running rather than the full pressure rushing through. Then, varying the regulator setting will change the engine speed.

[EduardQualls]

My confidence in you as an engineer was highly reinforced by the appearance of not one, but two cans of WD-40 on your workbench.

[DelK]

I enjoyed the way in which Tom took us through his thought processes as he finalised the design.

[krzysztofmazurkiewicz]

4:38 having the con rod moved to the side will affect the piston as it will be tilting it and in the future probably wear unevenly on the sides. Id keep it in the center and maybe add some structure on the other side to have the second bearing

[lukedavid]

I know I can't be the only one to want him to stick it on an airplane and test it....

[sidneyusc]

Air hogs used to have planes with air engines back in the day

[BrokenLifeCycle]

You should design an exhaust valve assembly. One of the things I notice with two-stroke air engines is that the full stroke of the piston is not used during the power cycle (part escape through the exhaust ports) and not all of the air is easily evacuated from the cylinder, causing the upstroke to have to compress air and lose more work than if the entire up-stroke was left open until the next power cycle.

[polyliker]

Tom: 'This engine is fully 3d printed out of PLA plastic'
Engine: **has screws**
*LIES*

[grantlesueur]

Oh btw as an instrument technician I worked a lot with pneumatics. another improvement you could make is to design your valves in the shape of a cylindrical spool. This is commonly called a poppet valve. This ensures that you have an equal pneumatic force on the posing faces of the valve in the open position (or a rod with a hole in it will achieve a similar affect. The advantage of the spool or poppit valve design is that you can regulate the "open" position throughout the stroke an eliminate differential axial force which will improve performance at low pressures and decrease start resistance. You can also make a double poppet valve is you want to control pressure on either side of a cylinder.

Poppet valvels also seal well.

Check this out for inspiration.

[justindorneanu]

Hey Tom! Great videos, you (and viewers suggesting a multi piston engine) inspired me to take it up a step further, I'm currently designing a 3piston radial engine to 3D print on my printer. I will show you some videos when I've got it working!

[coryshad]

Now you just need a little regulator. That way higher pressure = longer run time and a nice flat power curve.

[simontillson]

Nice one, Tom. Perseverance pays off in the end. Good luck with the next iteration.

[grantlesueur]

Congratulations on 2 counts.

1. The outcome of this design is epic. I cant to see you evolve this into a multi cylinder radial engine - The gatling gun of pneumatic motors. Your going to need more coke bottles.

2. Congratulations on the solar event that the rest of us like to call a sunny day. Apply lots of sun block :-)

[lukeburrow]

"we're not used to the sun in the UK"
lol

[marcgini]

Connect another cylinder this is amazing

[---vwcc]

if you could build your engine, that it gets a push into both directions, you'd get 50% more efficiency with each stroke

[MrRolnicek]

I need to see an endurance test where instead of air you just put dry ice into the bottle.

[hollygolightly]

You must be Scottish. I worked with a lad from Scotland at Fairchild semiconductor and he could fix anything, even if he had never worked on the machinery before. Amazing!

[JamieBainbridge]

You're drawing the new design and I'm thinking nah mate you're bonkers this'll never work. First run it works AND you get the cam timing more or less perfect. Brilliant dude, just amazing. Well done!

[Crazyhero-ziyt]

a little tip for you, use only one bearing, it will work, maybe put a little metal bushing arount the bearing surfaces of the crank