The cross-section has gotten me a little closer to understanding, but I think I'm going to need the notes as well - still trying to wrap my head around how you have done the intake and exhaust!
This is how the inlet / exhaust is commutated by the collector ring and distributor axle :-
The annulus grooves in the distributor axle
The “blind” zones (there is another on the opposite side) between grooves transits past the inlet exhaust ports when the cylinder is vertical – commutating the inlet to exhaust and vice versa at the transition.
Note: In the main cross section drawing the axles is shown out of position by 90° to illustrate the porting rather than physical orientation – FYI to avoid confusion.
Thanks, that helps. And ... I feel foolish for asking, but this is a steam engine, right? I had been trying to puzzle it out as an IC engine, which may have been where I was having a wee bit of trouble.
Regardless of IC or steam, your engineering and execution are both superb - a wonderfully creative design. I can hardly wait to see the video!
Question: I see the bearings at the lower left and right on which the flywheel sits. I *think* I am also seeing (in the video and in one of the diagrams above) a pair of bearings on either side of the flywheel at the bottom center, angled to match the rim of the flywheel -- I'm thinking this is what keeps the flywheel securely in place, not able to lift off of the other bearings. Is that right?
Correct - the wheel sits in a cradle of 2 pairs of ball bearings (@±45° from wheel centre) - a further 2 ball bearings hold it down (in the middle of the "cradle") and keep it central by running against the 45° chamfers. These are mounted on eccentric adjusters which allow you to set the clearance (to near zero) and if required adjust the position of the wheel sideways as well - if your centrality/alignment isn't spot on.
This is the "cradle":-
And this the adjustable bearing:-
This introduces a technical inaccuracy as the bearing also needs to be conical so that the surface speeds match - (see revised cross section in earlier post with optional conical tyre) - but ignoring this means there is some crosswise slippage - but it doesn't seem to create any problems and it keeps things simple (or at least simpler).
Prior post contains the provisional AutoCad *.dwg drawing and the MsWord *.docx build notes in a *.zip compressed file.
Download and unzip for more info.
I will place all the plans in the uploads section in AutoCad *.dwg, *.dxf & *.pdf over the weekend.
Regards, Ken
O.K. I've uploaded all the files into the downloads section and posted a new thread in finished projects.
Any further questions post them there.
Regards, Ken