For my SolidWorks course (MCEN 1025), I was given an assignment to recreate a real-life model of an object in SolidWorks with accurate dimensions. The goal of this project was to showcase what we had learned throughout the semester in SolidWorks.

For my project, I chose to model a miniature Stirling engine and used calipers to capture the dimensions of each component.

For some background, a Stirling engine is a type of heat engine that converts heat energy into mechanical energy. It works by alternately heating and cooling a gas, which causes changes in its pressure that drive a piston. Unlike traditional internal combustion engines, the Stirling engine uses external heat sources, which means it can run on a variety of heat sources, including a coffee mug filled with hot liquid.

Two images of the Stirling engine I used can be seen in Figure (1).

Once measurements were obtained, I began modeling each component before creating a final assembly that was fully mated. This can be seen in the next section below.

Figure 1: Real Minatare Stirling Engine

Front View
Side View
Isometric View
Exploded View

As a result of this project, I learned how to be more resourceful when figuring out how to create certain aspects of my model and effectively apply my coursework to an individual project. Some components were harder to create than others such as the flywheel which had more difficult geometries to model accurately. Additionally, I also learned how to mate multiple components such that the SolidWorks model would rotate exactly like the real thing.