8 CYL, Crankless Michell, Slipper Plate, Model Air Engine

[MrPrairieHawk]

The swash plate hooked up to a hydrailic pump is the principle behind the hydrostatic drive!

[phillippibeard]

This design is similar to the hydraulics that operated the rudders on Victory ships during WW II. I know because I worked on them when I was a crew member aboard a Haskell class attack transport. Of course, our drives were much larger and had lots more pistons.

[MrJetjoe]

the plate in the middle is the crank. nice con concept

[kc03300]

cool

[kirrok]

This is the exact technology used in compressed- air driven wrenches back in WWII.

[arbighookasian]

it is called swash plate has been used in compressors for decades pioneering japanesse

[miahroggio]

I think some hydraulic pumps and motors use a similar type plate.

[Nza420]

delco a6 a/c compressor to name one

[deville69btk]

a heavy lump of iron, have one in my cadillac

[cart123948]

Swash Plate Engine

[Bigfurry1975]

If you've ever watched The Yellow Submarine movie, this looks kinda like the engines in the submarine.

[1cemage]

to call it "crankless" is some what wrong since the disk does the exact same thing as a crank shaft...

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@1cemage

The end result may be turning motion, but there is clearly no crank. Pistons with a co-rod with two swivelling points, as ion normal engines is very inefficient.

[gunwell]

i bet that it will shake its self to bits at 1000 rpm, thats if it will even get there!

[mancub61081]

it will hold up pretty well. some old torpedoes of wwII vintage ran with the same style of engine powering it up to speeds of 40 knots +.

[snubbespelaren]

Nothing new about it Engines like this have been made in the thousands. They work just fine. They don't vibrate.

[paulbreor]

Do they have power./torque

[joetommany]

These 8 cylinder models have plenty of torque, most of the applications for these machines require torque not horsepower. or just look pretty :) sure is a nice specimin

[snubbespelaren]

If it has power, it must have torque too. Horsepower is a function of torque and rpm. No horsepower and gobs of torque just means that it doesn't move at all.

These engines often deliver comparable horsepower to regular piston engines of the same swept volume.

It is often thought that they have superior torque, but this is only because the crankshaft layout reduces rpm - and so multiplies torque to maintain the same horsepower. Same effect can be had with any engine using a reduction gearbox.

[robby844]

so what your saying is that the silver 92 in my truck cant move? it pulls 85K loads at 85 mph on the freeway.70 up cajon pass.pushing 325 hP and 2450 foot pounds.stock the pushed between 185 and 225 HP and 1200-2000 foot pounds.

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@snubbespelaren

They have more power strokes per revolution.  This means they can dispense with gear boxes, which are heavy and sap power.

These engines are also small and have a higher power/eight ratio. They would be good in a genny set powering a series hybrid car like the Chevy Volt.

[Boeserwolf93]

i think ill never get how these work...-.-

[MikeofWyoming]

Next time your in the bathtub, squeeze the bar of soap until it flies out of your hand...The plate is angled away when the power stroke pushes out. The Plate spins away to give into the presure.

[Raytard124]

alot of A/C compressors are like this

[LamenessFTW]

is the plate round or is it technically a cam?

[minitsrule]

i think that its technically a cam

[natman48]

lol i'm guessing that at high revs the unbalanced weight would tear the thing apart

[evildrome]

It looks unbalanced because you can only see one side at a time. Imagine a rod with an identical steel ball at either end and a drive shaft in the middle. Now skew the rod so that its at 30 degrees to the shaft. Its still balanced (the balls are equidistant from the axis), its just that centripental forces will want to pull the rod back to 90 degrees. If the mass isn't a ball but a 1/2 plate of steel, centripental force will not bend it significantly at IC engine speeds.

[JGMagoo]

That's the exact design of all GM rotary air-conditioning compressors since the 1960's. Put rotary energy into them; they're a compressor. Put compressed gas (air) into them and they're an air-motor producing rotary motion. Like ALL motors and compressors, quite IN-efficient in EITHER direction. (Usually LESS than 50%)

[sb6lb3]

most car engine are only 25% efficent

[cyborgtroy]

Well gasoline engines. This is... Friggin... Stirling cycle or something. can't tell.

[Dieselolds]

I find a compressor like that in a 1981 Chrysler....

[TheMisterP]

My Honda's AC Copressor is like that...

[paransan]

Wanner makes a wobble plate pump that is very long lived and smooth. smooth operator...

[IceDragon387]

the only think i could see going wrong with that is that over time that plate would warp from wear and tear and cause the engine to lose power...but thats a great design

[valvetrom]

Yes might get cooler and cooler till ICE

[istvan1966]

Michell (an Australian engineer) invented this engine in 1920. He made >50 very successful prototypes, including several that he installed in cars and demonstrated to Ford and GM. The engine is in perfect dynamic balance at all speeds. It works equally well as a compressor, if you apply torque to the shaft.

[warmfreeze]

is this a sterling engine or an air engine ? O_o ..

[lezbriddon]

Citroen used 'swash plate' designs to pump the suspension up on the hydraulic cars for years. still a good method and less noisy than other piston designs.

[whj58]

Crankless Michell, 8 Cylinder, Slipper Plate, Disc Drive, Model Air Engine, NAMES 2006, The Home Shop Machinist (Village Press), March/April 2007, page 37. Model built by Clif Roemmich. Google search on: crankless engine slipper plate

[ztfizzy]

the whabble drive still makes my head hert.

[Schwan427]

anyone care to explain?

[gordonjcp]

The plate is fixed to the shaft at an angle, so that a point on the rim wobbles up and down as it spins. When you push one of the pistons out, it pushes the plate out of the way to one side as the end of the pushrod rides "down" the slope on the plate.

Tape a CD to a sharpie marker so it's a bit squint on the marker and you'll see it wobble as you turn it. Now hold a pencil parallel to the sharpie and see how it moves as you turn it.

[bassrockin]

uh... kinda sexy

[Drivenout]

Now that is funky

[gnorville]

Very cool.