Engine Mounting and Coupling
Engine Mounting and Coupling
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Mounting and coupling a single-cylinder diesel engine to a GE Dynamometer for senior project
Mounting and coupling a single-cylinder diesel engine to a GE Dynamometer for senior project
For my senior project, my team and I partnered with a piston manufacturer and technology company to create a dimpled piston design that we could manufacture and test. Part of the project was to precisely and repeatedly align our engine with a dynamometer to do our testing. There was an existing dynamometer in our school's engine lab that we had at our disposal that we coupled our engine to. The project required designing and manufacturing engine mounts, as well as tools to couple and decouple the engine from the dyno easily and repeatedly with high precision.
For my senior project, my team and I partnered with a piston manufacturer and technology company to create a dimpled piston design that we could manufacture and test. Part of the project was to precisely and repeatedly align our engine with a dynamometer to do our testing. There was an existing dynamometer in our school's engine lab that we had at our disposal that we coupled our engine to. The project required designing and manufacturing engine mounts, as well as tools to couple and decouple the engine from the dyno easily and repeatedly with high precision.
To mount the engine to the table, I designed mounts in SolidWorks that would mount to existing holes on the engine brackets and also to a steel plate that we used to help us locate the engine. Because we needed to decouple and tear down the engine, and to ensure that the position of the engine from test to test was a constant variable, I used a slot and hole locating technique with dowel pins to get an exact location every time. We machined the mounts out of aluminum on a manual mill, and once attached to the engine mounting brackets, was not removed until testing ended.
To mount the engine to the table, I designed mounts in SolidWorks that would mount to existing holes on the engine brackets and also to a steel plate that we used to help us locate the engine. Because we needed to decouple and tear down the engine, and to ensure that the position of the engine from test to test was a constant variable, I used a slot and hole locating technique with dowel pins to get an exact location every time. We machined the mounts out of aluminum on a manual mill, and once attached to the engine mounting brackets, was not removed until testing ended.
To align the two shafts, the first step was to get the table to the right height and level. This was difficult because the table in the lab rested on four adjustable threaded legs. Once the table was at the correct height, we used machinist levels on three corners of the table and incrementally adjusted each corner until a 3D printed sleeve could slide between the two shafts with little interference.
To align the two shafts, the first step was to get the table to the right height and level. This was difficult because the table in the lab rested on four adjustable threaded legs. Once the table was at the correct height, we used machinist levels on three corners of the table and incrementally adjusted each corner until a 3D printed sleeve could slide between the two shafts with little interference.
In order to get the most accurate test results, the Martin Coupling used needed the engine shaft and dynamometer shaft to be no more than about .020" off parallel and .15° off angularly. The solution was to 3D print a sleeve with the outer diameter of each shaft on a side of the sleeve. We printed multiple sleeves with varying diameters to get a nearly perfect fit on each shaft. When the engine was properly lined up, the sleeve would slide back and forth between the two shafts will relative ease. A dial indicator was then used to test the runout of the sleeve in multiple locations which guaranteed the fit.
In order to get the most accurate test results, the Martin Coupling used needed the engine shaft and dynamometer shaft to be no more than about .020" off parallel and .15° off angularly. The solution was to 3D print a sleeve with the outer diameter of each shaft on a side of the sleeve. We printed multiple sleeves with varying diameters to get a nearly perfect fit on each shaft. When the engine was properly lined up, the sleeve would slide back and forth between the two shafts will relative ease. A dial indicator was then used to test the runout of the sleeve in multiple locations which guaranteed the fit.
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