Air Powered Car

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My Other Equipment:

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[ceptimus]

For gearing it's better to avoid simple ratios like 100:25 (4:1) as it means the same gear teeth keep encountering each other. It's better to use relatively prime numbers such as 101:23 and then every gear tooth gets to encounter each tooth on the mating gear which promotes better wear.

[Wintergatan]

Roadster 2020 with spacex package is way behind!

[mikistan]

You can add a flywheel to the engine itself. It's not a plane so a little bit more mass wouldn't be a big problem here.

[mkdzr]

Finally! Someone that understands how to design something with strength!!

[gregorymalchuk]

You need a pressure regulator rather than a simple throttle. You also could use a pressure-balanced inlet valve, formerly used on some steam engines. In order to make it self-starting, you need at least two double-acting cylinders, with the cranks out of phase by 90 degrees, like steam locomotives.

[jaknowwho]

If you treat it like a train, you could simply keep the back wheels on track and just have the one push rod giving the wheels their power from the engine. This idea will probably just get jumbled with the rest, but I love your designs so far. And it's been turning it great! I know you'll get this thing running amazingly!

[MaxImagination]

This Is honestly the best Air powered car I have ever seen! Great job dude!

[chrisfromsouthaus]

Here's an idea. Open the car's tank at sea level, then close it again so it's at sea level pressure. Take it to a higher altitude, then see if you can power it just of the difference in atmospheric pressure.

[GunwantBhambra]

Tom i think if the engine work at 30 psi suppose then fill the bottle as high u like just use the pressure control you already built to maintain it around 30 psi using any micro controller

[haffus]

Ever considered buying a metal lathe, it could revolutionize your strategic approach to all kinds of designs. ;)

[Thewsx]

maybe use belts instead of gears, since that requires less precision.
also, why not add a separate flywheel on a different ratio?

[idostuff]

A racing series with upscaled these as engines would be fun to watch

[USWaterRockets]

The car looked like it was going to work amazing in the first test, I did not anticipate the torque issue. I should have guessed because "air hogs" cars had a metal flywheel,  which must be there to overcome this problem. Is there a reason you didn't just wrap some rubber bands around the wheels for traction? Plenty of people use them for "tires". They are also great for drive belts, which would have been less work and probably more efficient than the gears. You could probably make a CVT using one as the drive band.

[arturos.l.]

It’s weird that it sounds like an engine even though it’s just compressed air

[unusualfabrication]

wait... YOU ARE AN AEROSPACE ENGINEER!??!
congrats... props.... you know

[enginesandmore]

I have build a lot of lpe's (lego pneumatic engines) and I always find that the best power to air consumption is produced by a 2cilinder, maybe you should try buil a second engine and just conect the drive shafts . I have to mension that I dont know if the power/air consumption is going to improve with a 3d printed engine as you heve more air leaks

[danharold]

The air pressure on the input side of a rotary or slide valve will push on the valve and seal it. Look at the valve chest of a steam engine. The valve is push across the intake and exhaust ports by a rod. No guides other than what the rod provides.

[Nameless-jpgp]

tbh that engine sounds like a two stroke 150cc engine. sounds incredibly good even tought it was air powered

[antoinehezard]

I've seen a air powered car design that overcome this problem by having 2 cylinder out of phase (just like a regular car engine), so they drives each other. It was very impressive in term of speed even with low pressure. However that will require some fine tuning with the valves so that they don't work against each other. Nice work btw!

[socialus]

Your content gives me the much needed inspiration to try new things.
Thank you.