One of the major projects in my CAD and fabrication course (MCEN 1025) was to manufacture a working wobbler engine that could run at 15 psi for at least 1 minute.

For some background, a wobbler engine is a simple steam engine which is also known as an oscillating cylinder steam engine. Our version was composed of 16 different components, 6 of which were fabricated using various methodologies. The parts fabricated include:

  1. Base Plate

  2. Valve Plate

  3. Cylinder

  4. Piston

  5. Crankdisk

  6. Flywheel

Figure (1) on the right showcases a completed assembly model of what I was tasked to make.

Figure 1: Complete Wobbler Engine Model

Before manufacturing, we were required to create a working SolidWorks assembly of the wobbler engine using reference drawings. This step demonstrated our ability to accurately draft and interpret engineering drawings into a 3D model.

Below is a list of the drawings I created for the wobbler engine.

1025WE1 Base Plate – MB.PNG
1025WE2 Valve Plate – MB.PNG
1025WE3 Cylinder – MB.PNG
1025WE4 Piston – MB.PNG
1025WE5 Crankdisk – MB.PNG
1025WE6 Flywheel - MB.PNG
Wobbla1.PNG
WobblaBoi.PNG

Each component was modeled individually from these drawings and then assembled to create the final wobbler engine assembly, as shown in the images to the left. An animation demonstrating its functionality can also be viewed in the slide deck.

After completing the assembly, I created assembly drawings, including an exploded view of all components, as seen below.

1025WE0 WobblerEngine Top Level - MB.PNG
1025WE0 WobblerEngineExploded - MB.PNG

After completing the drawings and parts in SolidWorks, we formed teams of four to fabricate the wobbler engine using mills, lathes, laser cutting, and, in our case, 3D printing. The final result of our wobbler engine is showcased in the two videos below.

Through this project, I learned to effectively model wobbler engine components in SolidWorks and create the associated engineering drawings. I also applied various manufacturing methods, including additive (3D printing) and subtractive (mills, lathes, laser cutting) techniques.

Overall, the wobbler engine was successful, running at 15 psi for over one minute.