Pneumatic Steam Engine
Precision fabrication project.
December 2016
This was my final project for my Product Realization: Design and Making course. I had found an old model of a steam engine, and adapted it to run on compressed air. This required very tight tolerances between the piston and cylinder, and in the end the gap between them was less than 0.002”.
The finished and polished Pneumatic Steam Engine.
At left, the polished brass value housing, and at right, the freshly-machined rotary valve.
Video of the Pneumatic Steam Engine running using shop air (turn on the sound, it's very satisfying!).