Piston - Designed in Autodesk Inventor

Designed in Autodesk Inventor

Figure 1. Piston and connecting rod

I decided to share this assembly of a piston with connection rod now, as this is a part of my bigger project.

A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. 

In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from expanding gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft via a piston rod and/or connecting rod. 

In a pump, the function is reversed and force is transferred from the crankshaft to the piston for the purpose of compressing or ejecting the fluid in the cylinder.

Interesting article - How Stuff Works

Does CAD make better cars than human designs?

Figure 1. Car model 

Did you ever spend hours as a kid sketching pictures of cars, devising design variations and more streamlined looks? Or carving derby cars from blocks of wood? Pencil and paper have gone the way of the dinosaur since then: Modern automotive designers and engineers have a powerful tool Computer Aided Design (CAD) at their disposal to help bring their ideas to life and facilitate the process of imagining, designing and refining them. CAD software is also used in packaging, shipbuilding, aerospace design, industrial and architectural design, film animation and many other applications.

Robot RP6 - Line following - Faculty project (video)

Faculty project

Figure 1. RP6 mobile robot

This is a project I worked as part of a team, in the third year of study, in the Mechatronics department, project where we used knowledge of programming, sensors and control, and gained first experience with programming robots.

In this case, robot is RP6 - experimental mobile robot. 

Mobile robot definition:

''A mobile robot is an automatic machine that is capable of movement in any given environment.''

Sunglasses - Designed in Autodesk Inventor

Designed in Autodesk Inventor

Figure 1. Sunglasses - 3D model 

This is one my free time projects, a 3D model of  sunglasses.

Mechatronics - Basics Part I

Mechatronics is a design process that includes a combination of Mechanical engineering, Electrical engineering, Control engineering and Computer engineering.

A mechatronics engineer unites the principles of mechanics, electronics, and computing to generate a simpler, more economical and reliable system. The term "mechatronics" was coined by Tetsuro Mori, the senior engineer of the Japanese company Yaskawa in 1969. An industrial robot is a prime example of a mechatronics system; it includes aspects of electronics, mechanics, and computing to do its day-to-day jobs.

Sheet metal constructions - Designed in Autodesk Inventor

Designed in Autodesk Inventor

Figure 1. Sheet metal construction

Sheet metal is simply metal formed into thin and flat pieces. It is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking and can be cut and bent into a variety of different shapes.

There are many different metals that can be made into sheet metal (aluminium,brass, copper, steel, tin, nickel and titanium).

Rim 20'' - Designed in Autodesk Inventor

Designed in Autodesk Inventor

Figure 1. Rim - 3D model

This was mine ''just for fun'' project, 3D model of a 20'' rim. I came up with an idea to make a model of a rim, after the project I published in the first post - Torsion axle with wheels. 

Back then I didn't have enough time to adress myself with rim details, but now I enjoyed modeling this rim :) 

Fun facts about engineers

        Coming out of Retirement !!!

There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired. Several years later the company contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were having with one of their multi-million dollar machines. They had tried everything and everyone else to get the machine to work but to no avail.

Torsion axle with wheels - Designed in Autodesk Inventor

Designed in Autodesk Inventor

Figure 1. Torsion axle

A torsion axle is a form of combined  axle and suspension unit where the deflection of  the   suspension is     provided by   the torsion, or twisting of  the axle  bar within  a steel sleeve that is lined  with rubber compounds to provide rotational resistance. 

The dynamics of the torsion axle are founded in the traditional use of torsion bar suspension. In systems featuring torsion bar suspension, vertical movement of the wheel causes the actual bar itself to twist rather than rotate in a resistive sleeve.