# what's it - finished?



## flyingtractors1 (Mar 16, 2012)

I think that this engine is "finished" - if anything ever really is. We might attempt yet another iteration by replacing the solenoid cylinders with steam / air powered cylinders. It's operation would be very similar with power (pressure) to the cylinders through tubes regulated by valves with the same push rod, etc instead of electrons pushed through wires from batteries and regulated by switches. Or we may just build a new engine :shrug: Ralph


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## flyingtractors1 (Mar 16, 2012)

Sorry no video. I'll try again. Ralph


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## chuck foster (Mar 16, 2012)

very nice little engine electric motor, i don't know what the correct term is but it sure is neat   

thanks for the video 8)

chuck


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## flyingtractors1 (Mar 16, 2012)

Thanks Chuck. I don't know either but referred to it as an engine because it employs pistons moving in a linear mode to circular motion through connecting rods and a crankshaft. It is not a combustian engine (internal nor external), but it is a heat generating device which converts electromagnitism mechanically to work. It may not qualify as a "motor" which typically employs the energy source to cause an armature to rotate rather than to reciprocate. Maybe some of the experts on the forum can lend a hand and render a definition for use of terms. Ralph


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## ShopShoe (Mar 17, 2012)

That's certainly an interesting thing to watch. I like the brass look to it.

Thanks for showing it to us.

--ShopShoe


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## flyingtractors1 (Mar 17, 2012)

Thanks ShopShoe. Would you say it qualifies as an "engine" or a "motor" or something else?  scratch.gif  Ralph


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## ShopShoe (Mar 19, 2012)

Ralph (and others please weigh in),

I think you could say it either way. I would say I like "engine" best as a descriptor for this project. 

When this definition has come up before here and elsewhere, it seems that consensus of opinion is that "engine" can be a complete device, machine, etc. As in "Engine of Destruction," Siege Engine," "Engine that drives the economy," etc. 

Some have made the distinction: "Engine" is a device that generates its power within itself, as it would be Steam Engine, Internal Combustion Engine, etc. (Models running on air would then be included as models of a device that create etc. ...) "Motor" seems to be best as is "Electric Motor." "Electric Engine" seems strange to say, but maybe it's OK. "Motor in my car" is in common use, but "Engine in my Car" sounds OK too" "Air Motor" is also commonly used here in the US, as is "Hydraulic Motor." "Jet Engine" but not "Jet Motor" but I have heard "Rocket Motor " (not the famous Oldsmobile V-8).

The last time this came up it was "How do you define an 'Engine Lathe?' "

That's all I can say.

--ShopShoe


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## krv3000 (Mar 19, 2012)

nice engine


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## lazylathe (Mar 19, 2012)

Another interesting engine Ralph! ;D

You do keep us on our toes guessing as to what you are building!!
A very unique approach to building something very cool!!! :big: :bow:

Andrew


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## flyingtractors1 (Mar 19, 2012)

Wikipedia offers the following definition. Ralph 
Originally an engine was a mechanical device that converted force into motion. Military devices such as catapults, trebuchets and battering rams are referred to as siege engines. The term "gin" as in cotton gin is recognised as a short form of the Old French word engin, in turn from the Latin ingenium, related to ingenious. Most devices used in the industrial revolution were referred to as engines, and this is where the steam engine gained its name.[citation needed]

In modern usage, the term is used to describe devices capable of performing mechanical work, as in the original steam engine. In most cases the work is produced by exerting a torque or linear force, which is used to operate other machinery which can generate electricity, pump water, or compress gas. In the context of propulsion systems, an air-breathing engine is one that uses atmospheric air to oxidise the fuel carried rather than supplying an independent oxidizer, as in a rocket.

In common usage, an engine burns or otherwise consumes fuel, and is differentiated from an electric machine (i.e., electric motor) that derives power without changing the composition of matter.[3] A heat engine may also serve as a prime mover, a component that transforms the flow or changes in pressure of a fluid into mechanical energy.[4] An automobile powered by an internal combustion engine may make use of various motors and pumps, but ultimately all such devices derive their power from the engine.

The term motor was originally used to distinguish the new internal combustion engine-powered vehicles from earlier vehicles powered by steam engines, such as the steam roller and motor roller, but may be used to refer to any engine.[citation needed]

Devices converting heat energy into motion are commonly referred to simply as engines


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## mklotz (Mar 19, 2012)

The words have been used interchangeably in the vernacular for so long that I think it's hopeless to attempt to create exclusive definitions.


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## flyingtractors1 (Mar 19, 2012)

Thanks. Much of the time I don't know where a project is going. It just developes, and often it ends up turning a wheel of some sort. I like to create as I go along - fitting one part to another and then to subsequent parts ending up with something that places the components in relative motion. It's all just for fun and diversion. Ralph


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## flyingtractors1 (Mar 19, 2012)

Yea, wou're probably right Marv. Definition seems to be as much historical AND geographical as mechanical or as influenced by functionality. Anyway, on to my next engine, or whatever it turns out to be. Ralph


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## Kaleb (Mar 26, 2012)

My term for this and similar devices is a solenoid motor. It is a motor rather than an engine in my eyes because it uses electricity to create mechanical power. My definition for an engine dictates that to be an engine, it must get its power directly from a fuel or heat source. The distinction is blurred by the fact that air motors and steam engines work on the same basic principle, just that the working fluid is different. Both work by using the expansion of a pressurised gas to create motion. The gas used is obvious in the names.


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## flyingtractors1 (Mar 26, 2012)

You may be right, but how does your definition account for engine lathe, or siege engine, or search engine, etc?


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