Hi all, so I am planning out my next build, I was thinking of building a radial, something similar to a coomber engine but with multiple single acting cylinders.
Heres an overall view:
And a detail of the valving on the frame:
And a detail of the valving on the cylinders:
Its basically a single action wobbler engine that keeps on going around.
General operation is that the teal cylinder block spins inside the stationary grey ring. The blue axle is offset from the centre of the grey ring so that the piston are extended at the top of rotation and compressed at the bottom. There are two curved valve slots on the frame, allowing it to intake steam on one side and exhaust on the other, each cylinder has a matching hole. The pistons are fitted with rollers on the end to reduce the sliding friction.
I figure that even if I am a bit more conservative on my valve slots I can get at least two cylinders powered at all times while the rest are coasting or exhausting.
About the only problems I can see are making the ring fairly accurate, and ensuring the pistons stay tight to the ring. I am thinking of either using a spring to force them outward, or a second wheel rotating on the outside of the rim roller coaster bogie style.
Kinda new at this sort of thing though so I thought I would see if anyone had thoughts or can see any problems with this design. Also, couldn't really find anything similar (other than the coomber) searching through the archives, is there a different name for this sort of engine?
Heres an overall view:
And a detail of the valving on the frame:
And a detail of the valving on the cylinders:
Its basically a single action wobbler engine that keeps on going around.
General operation is that the teal cylinder block spins inside the stationary grey ring. The blue axle is offset from the centre of the grey ring so that the piston are extended at the top of rotation and compressed at the bottom. There are two curved valve slots on the frame, allowing it to intake steam on one side and exhaust on the other, each cylinder has a matching hole. The pistons are fitted with rollers on the end to reduce the sliding friction.
I figure that even if I am a bit more conservative on my valve slots I can get at least two cylinders powered at all times while the rest are coasting or exhausting.
About the only problems I can see are making the ring fairly accurate, and ensuring the pistons stay tight to the ring. I am thinking of either using a spring to force them outward, or a second wheel rotating on the outside of the rim roller coaster bogie style.
Kinda new at this sort of thing though so I thought I would see if anyone had thoughts or can see any problems with this design. Also, couldn't really find anything similar (other than the coomber) searching through the archives, is there a different name for this sort of engine?
