ImperialEngine

Base with Acrylic Inlay
Base with Acrylic Inlay
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Sturdy Aluminum Shaft
Sturdy Aluminum Shaft

As a vertical engine, this system required a strong shaft that could withstand extreme vibrations.

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Flywheel with Imperial Acrylic Inlay
Flywheel with Imperial Acrylic Inlay
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Side View of Head
Side View of Head
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Side Angle Zoom In
Side Angle Zoom In
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Iso View of Backside
Iso View of Backside
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ImperialEngine
ImperialEngine

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ImperialEngine
ImperialEngine

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             ImperialEngine is a vertical, gamma-style Stirling Engine designed and fabricated as part of MEAM 201: Machine Design. At the end of the course this guy won a spot on the Wall of Champions with a speed of 1318 RPM!

                As a StarWars fan, I saw this project as an opportunity to make a tribute and tell a story.  The bedplate of the engine was modeled to look like a building on Coruscant, while the flywheel has the sign of the Imperial Army logo therefore telling the story of when the Galactic Empire takes over Coruscant. Maybe I took the metaphor a bit too far... or not far enough!

              This was my first project experimenting with a sandblaster. And if you learn anything about me fro this project it should be my love of StarWars and that I tend to use a new skill excessively once I have learned it! So, every single component in this engine (minus the enclosed piston) is sandblasted… even the fasteners and pressed acrylic pieces. Another cool features is that when ImperialEngine begins to pick up speed the top of the body shakes violently until it passes a resonance point and stabolizes - what a cool unplanned effect!