A New Type of Rotary Engine: The 'Liquid Piston'

[@3DprintedLife]

Just found this video after attempting my own 3D printed liquid piston engine. This is incredibly impressive that you got it working so well, and with fdm no less! You've inspired me to make a few design changes and I think it's just what I needed to get my engine running. Keep it up man, you're gonna go places!

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you so much! It means a lot hearing that from a much more experienced designer

[@Earth_Elemental]

The dedication. Still on the grind with fatal injury to finger 😤

[@CamdenBowen]

True grind

[@MethelinaPills]

Wow, thats outstanding progress with this engine! BTW, hope your finger goes well, fly safe!

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you! My finger has since healed form the filming of the video :)

[@LiveStockman]

@@CamdenBowen haha good for you bud, i just got into a accident with my harly 2 months ago, Karens...

[@JubaProductionsStudios]

Cool! Excited to see the liquid rotary advance to production one day!

[@Oscar-sm7fo]

I thought the liquid piston engine has 3 combustion per rotation. Maybe make the next one withe 3 air inlets? For a smoother rotation.

[@CamdenBowen]

I was going to have 3, and then I didn't have enough fittings so I settled for 2, but then my air compressor wasn't powerful enough to run it on 2 so i just ran it with 1 and it worked quite well. In the future if I come back to this I would love to make it use 3 valves

[@DanaTheLateBloomingFruitLoop]

Really cool! I'm excited for future updates.

[@CamdenBowen]

Thanks bro!

[@kurzey8532]

Great video man, very interesting engine!

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you!

[@zacharymerrill8359]

This is awesome! I’m getting my Aquila 3D printer tomorrow can’t wait to try out some of your models! Also I like your channel a lot! I’d love to see some more in depth videos of your trial and error that would be cool to see

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you, good luck with your printer! If that is what you would like to see then in later videos I will make sure to be more comprehensive, also I forgot to release the files for the engine I will have to later on

[@zacharymerrill8359]

@@CamdenBowen hell yes man your content creation skills are great! Your videos are awesome can’t wait to see some more

[@CamdenBowen]

@@zacharymerrill8359 Thank you so much! It means a lot to hear this!

[@Victor-br5hc]

Amazing work man

[@CamdenBowen]

Thanks man!

[@wolfaviator01]

Bro the funiculi funicula music got me rollin on the floor dying of laughter i dont know why cool video though!

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you dude! I thought it would make it more entertaining, I want to find ways to make videos humorous but still portray the video subject

[@ghast6838]

U could've put acrylic cover to see whats going on inside it and We would love that, anyways...it's awesome!!!

[@CamdenBowen]

Thanks! Definitely a missed opportunity but I didn't have any lying around during that time but I will surely do something like that in the future!

[@zeanyt2372]

Great job.

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you bro! 👍

[@jguth6]

Use unshuelded bearings. They have much lower rolling resistance and spin much more freely the rubber seals cause alot of friction. If you really need shields go for the metal shields

[@CamdenBowen]

I have already removed the shields from the bearings and washed them in wd-40 to remove any greases, It allowed the engine to spin very freely

[@jguth6]

@@CamdenBowen thanks for the reply! cool to know you already did that, i was impressed with how freely it spun

[@GarrettRC5thscaler]

Nice stitches

[@CamdenBowen]

Thanks lmao

[@rollionfire]

Wow, very impressive! Really well done. I wanted to do something similar, but I have problems finding the right geometric shape of the rotor and housing. Did you use a specific mathematic formula do draw the contures? I would be really thankfull if you could help me!

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you! The shape of the rotor is called an Epitrochoid, the value of the R variable is 2 which will draw out the shape of the rotor, by changing it to 3 you can draw out the shape of the housing. Tools like Desmos can help you use the formula and determine the formula or help you manually draw them out

[@Br1ckInTh3W4LL]

Here's a parametric model for generating these shapes. www.thingiverse.com/thing:8067

[@kurzey8532]

how did you get the geometry of the engine? I've been looking into designing my own, and bashing my head against the wall for about 3 days trying to figure it out

[@Ben-rm9jx]

I know this video is pretty old, but, I'm designing one at a larger scale and using commercially available pinion gears. I have the general shape, however I need a consistent clearance with the rotor and housing. Did you use a different equation than the one on Wikipedia? How did you go about designing it? Thank you.

[@maxilp9577]

hey, would it be possible that you upload the model on thinigverse?

[@openlink9958]

nice! question: where did you find the dimensions to make it work? I tried to replicate it but I couldn't figure out the ratio between each part in order to design it... edit: I mean the ratio/dimensions between the piston and the trisided combustion chamber (or whatever is called)

[@CamdenBowen]

The rotor is called an epitrochoid, if the radius of the outer circle is 2 then the rotor will be drawn with 2 "lobes". If you change the value to 3 it will draw the housing shape. Hope that helps!

[@openlink9958]

@@CamdenBowen thanks!

[@openlink9958]

@@CamdenBowen actually could you post a short explaining it 😅

[@CamdenBowen]

@@openlink9958 I may do another video in the future about a better liquid piston design and I will defiantly make sure to explain it then if it helps!

[@Eian_Anderson]

Hey man. Loving your vids. I'm gonna be coming out with a 3d printed engine video in the next couple months. Trying to make a really efficient piston design so that I can use an rc car motor to spin a compressor to supply the air. Obviously that shits unlikely, but the engine should at least work. Hope you tune in 😳 If I come up with a good supercharger design doh would be glad to share it with you. Trying to make and rc car is the dream.

[@CamdenBowen]

That sounds very cool, would definitely like to see that!

[@stevenboelke6661]

When you took a stab at it, did you accidentally hit your finger? Jk. Nice work. Maybe you should check out craig laylock's engine. I've only see him put out 3D models, but no physical models.

[@CamdenBowen]

haha thanks bro! that sounds neat

[@wanderson_loyola]

Congratulations! Great! Could you tell me where I can get the project? And for a college assignment. Thank you.

[@minercraftal]

Looks nice! Better if it’s transparent XD great job

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you! One day I will use something like acrylic and make a transparent cover

[@Eian_Anderson]

Hey I have a question for you, on your 3 cylinder, how did you get an overhead valve to work. I've been using a ball valve design that's more similar to the one by Tom Stanton. Curious how you did that. (Obviously the seal wasn't perfect but I'm curious how you got a decent seal at all. Did you just wing it cause that's what I've been doing)

[@CamdenBowen]

I used a ball valve system as well. If I was to use an O-ring around the ball it would of improved the seal as well as used a better way to seal the manifold together. The pushrod that the rocker arm drives pushes the ball open and then closes because of air pressure backing it

[@Eian_Anderson]

@@CamdenBowenoh, i thought it was a traditional poppet valve (the ones in cars) but yeah i guess that works as well. Looks way cooler than the oring ball valve designs too tho.

[@CamdenBowen]

@@Eian_Anderson I've experimented with poppet valves but they do not seal as well as a ball valve I found

[@Eian_Anderson]

@@CamdenBowen Yeah, and this convo just gave me a jimmy neutron brain blast level idea for a more aesthetically pleasing oring valve that would allow fo a v-configuration because i no longer need to rely on a crankshaft/camshaft combo like i was doing before. Thanks for walking me through it lmao. Ill let you know. Oh yeah its big brain time. Also i got a fun tip. Dont know what ball valve your using, but trying to make smaller engines, ive found that ball bearings work way better because they are smoother and heavier so they make a better seal.

[@CamdenBowen]

@@Eian_Anderson I've just been using airsoft BB's as their the largest and uniformly round objects I have, that's good to know though!

[@laytonpratt]

This is awesome!!! 👏

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you!

[@Schwick-wc7uo]

All my eyes see is the friction between the inner gear and the housing gear. What's the modern engineering equivalent that's printable and a fraction of wear. Floating Ellipticals? Is that a thing?

[@DrDarkMatter]

I can see the future! He building a working liquid piston and then putting it in a car!

[@poodlescone9700]

I wonder if this design can be done in two halves and the piston be shaped into a round oblong to improve sealing.

[@Steven-lg7iy]

Is there any way you could hook this engine up to actually harness the energy to power other things or a battery? That thing could be used in an emergency situation even if you could just get a charge on your phone.

[@CamdenBowen]

Very possibly it could, I was thinking of doing that in a future video

[@nicholasdettman7679]

good job brother

[@CamdenBowen]

Thanks bro

[@alpogant1071]

It is very exciting. Can you work this engine by burning fuel (hydrogen or carbon based fuels)?

[@CamdenBowen]

Not this one specifically, the plastic would melt. The design of this design isn't suitable for the aspirations needed to run on fuels however it can easily be converted to do so

[@alpogant1071]

@@CamdenBowen Yes this one melt but if you have Ceramic 3D printer you can make this motor using ceramic and it won't melt.

[@CamdenBowen]

@@alpogant1071 true, in the neat future I would like to experiment with making a combustion engine

[@durschfalltv7505]

@@CamdenBowen try polycast with that you can easily make Metal parts. Polycast prints Like Pla. Then you Just need to make a ceramic mold by burning Out the polycast and then you can Cast.

[@CamdenBowen]

@@durschfalltv7505 I will certainly look into that!

[@jokekelleey2071]

Where'd you get the sutures in the finger man that's pretty deep

[@CamdenBowen]

Was cutting apart of the 3d print off with Swiss army knife and hit my finger hard enough to go to the bone, the cut was too deep to just glue it shut lol

[@TOjoe1strow]

I don't know you but I am so grateful

[@TOjoe1strow]

do you think this has the tolerancing to be sand casted?

[@CamdenBowen]

Possibly after some sanding and finishing, I would only worry about how well the gears would turn out

[@trialnterror]

Like the stitches

[@CamdenBowen]

My iconic finger stitches

[@helirious]

so, esentially this would be a 2/3th stroke engine? 1/3th?

[@CamdenBowen]

Assuming all 3 chambers are firing yes, because mine only uses 1 I would regard it more as a 2 stroke design as the rotor has to "stroke" twice per "power" stroke

[@helirious]

@@CamdenBowen love this design, thanks for answering!

[@brianb-p6586]

It isn't an internal combustion engine at all. An internal combustion engine based on this geometry - such as Liquid Piston's design - is a four-stroke engine: starting from the point with one end of the rotor fully into a chamber between cycles: the cold end of the rotor pulls out for intake (1st "stroke"), then the hot end of the rotor goes into the chamber for compression (2nd "stroke"), then ignition occurs, then the hot end of the rotor is pushed out of the chamber for power (3rd "stroke"), then the cold end of the rotor goes into a chamber to purge exhaust (4th "stroke"). This air motor of course only has two strokes: either end of the rotor goes in for exhaust, then out for expansion (with compressed air ported in at the beginning of the expansion stroke).

[@mhill123zx]

nice stitches

[@Cam-dn9ed]

Seem to have a real big love for the Wankel, but do you own any RX-7s or RX-8s?

[@CamdenBowen]

No never, I have never actually owned a car personally yet lmao

[@Cam-dn9ed]

@@CamdenBowen Wankels are a good platform if you like fixing cars, but the RX-7 and 8 communities are full of great and knowledgeable people who can give you lots of knowledge on how to make your car sail past the 100k mile mark, given you are willing to put in the wrench time. They cost a lot to run but the feel of driving them and the people you can surround yourself with makes them well worth it

[@jadhavpratik6184]

Incredible🤩

[@HiveMynd]

You should try one out with Compressed CO2 instead of Compressed Air

[@CamdenBowen]

That would be very interesting, like a CO2 drag car that runs a motor instead of thrusts

[@jessicakellow6848]

damn i actually learned something

[@CamdenBowen]

Learn more

[@-lolus-]

great design, i love it . i guees that u cut that finger with that bolt flywheal :(

[@CamdenBowen]

Thanks! I actually had a mishap with a knife trying to assemble the engine during the process lol

[@-lolus-]

@@CamdenBowen off... Still I think u should make other kind of flywheel, maybe insert nuts in 3d primed wheal.

[@CamdenBowen]

That is a good Idea

[@TheMoonShepard]

I wanna see this made into a fully realised engine for car, preferably a Mazda

[@mhill123zx]

cool engine

[@jozefnovak7750]

Super!

[@TheESS1]

CAD files? 🙂

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you for reminding me! I just added them to the description

[@testurenergy]

🔥🔥🔥

[@jokekelleey2071]

Should work as an air compressor get an electric motor to spin it see how it compresses there

[@muhammadraziq8837]

زان لہ د پرے گوتہ خوگ کڑے دہ جی۔

[@jessicakellow6848]

👍👍

[@blacksystem12]

Stitches on finger Ouch!

[@CamdenBowen]

Yea it happens lol

[@blacksystem12]

@@CamdenBowen Maybe one day I can say the same 😅👍

[@christo930]

Your videos would be a LOT better if you spent more time in the video on the construction.

[@mikecorleone6797]

So I’m guessing your screwdriver slipped lol

[@CamdenBowen]

Close, I was using a knife to cut off the support material lol, always cut away from yourself!

[@jessicakellow6848]

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaluigi

[@joemurr2420]

White lithian Greece would help. Just saying . Friction is your enemy.

[@CamdenBowen]

For the purposes of plastic I would use silicone grease as to not ruin the plastic but good idea

[@jessicakellow6848]

haha 69 nice

[@The_Privateer]

So... where's the 'liquid?' And for that matter... since when is a rotor, a piston?

[@CamdenBowen]

The name of the engine is just Liquid piston, you can find more about it on google

[@jessicakellow6848]

fool

[@brianb-p6586]

It's a piston because it forces fluid in and out of a chamber, and is pushed by fluid in the chamber.

[@jessicakellow6848]

this is not harassment

[@jokekelleey2071]

Yeah it looks like you almost cut your finger off

[@jessicakellow6848]

spam

[@muhammadraziq8837]

Please expose ur engine.

[@hanli8163]

牛逼 666我的宝贝

[@jessicakellow6848]

pfft engine more like sucks