Finally Upgrading my 3D Printed VTEC Engine, Then DYNO Testing it

As per viewer request, I decided to start working on my VTEC engine once again. I worked to make the engine's VTEC kick in automatically similarly to how it would on a typical Honda engine.
BTW, This video features me yapping a whole lot sorry
FILES: drive.google.c...

[@CamdenBowen]

I forgot to upload the files until just now hehe, they're in the description

[@FeatsButtos]

cool

[@Twk_186]

How does someone like you not have 500,000+ viewers by now? I've been watching your videos and it's nothing short of quality. Keep it up dude. Youll go far ❤

[@boyyob5799]

N gin

[@scrapmechanicgamer3155]

I have an idea about the 3d printed gasoline engine I think the problem with the carb setup is that there is not enough air volume to suck up and atomize the fuel so I have 2 Ideas 1) use butane or propane as a fuel use the existing carb and plum butane into it and use some sort of valve driven by the cam shaft to open and close the butane tank as too much butane won't ignite 2) if you don't want to use butane as it's a gasoline engine try placing the fuel tank above the carb's fuel inlet and use some sort of valve similar to the one in butane setup ( I recommend that u increase the diameter of the intake valve as I think it's the main bottle neck) I hope this helps waiting for part 5 of 3d printed ice

[@scrapmechanicgamer3155]

Also I recommend that you get rid of the venturi setup and use direct injection into the intake and use a valve of timing of fuel

[@nickldominator]

One thing you could do to have a stronger crank could be pressing a metal rod/pin through the center. Could also use a long screw to achieve similar effect.

[@russcole5685]

And adding counter weights

[@ericlotze7724]

Forged Carbon Fiber?

[@bakedPython]

I was thinking some sort of high temperature rated fiberglass filament. Not sure if you need a different head to print that though

[@cjsawinski]

@@bakedPythonI’ve printed a few different carbon materials… it would be great IMO for stiffness and strength, but would need some good lube or post process. Also not sure how it would handle heat…

[@karyjas1]

Man, its fun to see a series of progress on a project like this. And as you can see by the numbers, it is fun not just for me. If youre enjoying this, please continue

[@RayquazaKing04]

now run high octane through it

[@mrcurtgaming]

shi 93 octane that would sound amazing

[@Lucas_sGarage]

A nitrogen tank

[@GumerTheGum]

Nitromethane

[@elvtars8813]

Too little. He should rut it with nitroglycerin

[@braziliansheetbox2497]

Or E85

[@skinnyjeanis7177]

You could possibly print counterweights on the crankshaft to make it not want to flex as much from the piston moving, as well as drilling a screw through the print to give it extra rigidity.

[@Roy-al-Paign]

Thats what I was thinking. Something like a harmonic balancer. I also like your idea of putting a type of simple screw or dowel in the crank.

[@zaves6115]

Agreed

[@kevindelima5713]

Real crankshafts have this, don't know how much plastic would make a difference because it's so light anyway so counterweights wouldn't do much unless they were huge. But, may be the only thing for longevity.

[@bigbird3091]

A lighter con rod and piston would reduce the force on the crankshaft. Also, the closer the crankshaft bearings are to the con rod, the less bending moment the piston force will have on the crankshaft.

[@Lucius.Hercules]

I just wanna say it's impressive and amazing seeing the difference in confidence you have on camera. In the earlier videos, I felt you were a bit tentative but now you're just hitting us with a slightly more manic but more genuine self. I love it! I've always wanted to make videos but get hung up on camera presence and the type of content people want to watch and this is a big inspiration / motivator, that if I could reliably upload stuff I would hopefully become more watchable! Thanks Cam this is a sick project and congrats on more than 10K subs! I'm sure it'll soon be more like 20K+

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you so much! Speaking to a camera is a surprisingly difficult skill since you need to speak to an inanimate object as if it were a person. It sounds easy, but what makes it so hard is that the camera shows no reaction to what you say, making it feel awkward always. Glad you can appreciate the effort!

[@MyHandleIsGood]

I'm excited to see where this goes in the future. Possibly more cylinders? Perhaps putting the E (Electronic) into VTEC? Maybe even continuously variable valve timing/lift?

[@jachymvacek3464]

E - exhaust

[@everythingeverett3021]

I stumbled upon this channel a couple months ago because anyone who can make any sort of engine is super neat. Congrets!

[@tombuster]

I love the cassette dyno! Also, that diaphragm solution is very clever!

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you!

[@OrionAerospace]

Awesome video- your delivery of the lines is entertaining making a great combo of comedy and education

[@andresmonagas7662]

Even thou it is not too much power, the VTEC manage to increase it by over 20%. That's really good!

[@Sphyxx]

Let's goo! 21k subs, this is my first video seeing from you and first impressions amazing production quality with great angles, clear and comprehensible speech.

[@anacronisticcurmudgeonry525]

This series has been awesome throughout. As a former auto tech, variable valve timing is one of those "damn, that's brilliant" things when you learn how it works.

[@bigbuffalophill]

Bad ass. I've been subbed for 2 years. It's super cool seeing your Channel grow.

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you for the support!

[@xmysef4920]

I like the video Camden! Just curious though, did you ever try making the piston airtight? I’m gonna guess you did so my question is more, how did it go?

[@Kippo6969]

You gona make airtight lve or why ur asking

[@xmysef4920]

@@Kippo6969 lol what?

[@CamdenBowen]

I wouldn't say airtight, but pretty close. I left about a ~0.1mm tolerance between the piston and walls and just added grease to make up the difference

[@mr.2minutes161]

@@CamdenBowen isn't the grease gonna act like a semi glue? i remember making something and high viscosity grease make it harder to turn, or stroke, (i dont remember what i make) so i used watery oil instead,. not sure how you do sealing with more watery oil though

[@xmysef4920]

@@mr.2minutes161 Yeah I kinda thought about that too

[@ogstarboy]

So he basically reinvented the 2 stroke power valves? Absolute legend ‼️

[@cjsawinski]

Some of the coolest, most useful, and educational 3d stuff I’ve seen

[@jeffofbread]

Found you just a couple of days ago, stuck around. Love the content and hope to see you keep growing. Good luck, and keep up the great content. Bless the algorithm :)

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you!

[@ProfessionalToffee]

This is some really impressive stuff, looking forward to seeing where this channel goes in the future.

[@KoKoKen]

damn you upped the production quality for this one, talk about being prepared for success. glad you blew up with that one video, the rest of your catalog was great. keep it up!

[@CamdenBowen]

Thank you! Part of it I think can be attributed to me being able to find my "style" after trying over the course of my videos

[@rebaouihichame9898]

After watching this video, I find it fascinating how I've gained an understanding of various concepts such as horsepower, torque, and the mechanics behind the dyno. Although I can't pinpoint the exact reason why

[@aweblasome3715]

im glad you are getting the recognition you deserve, these videos are unique and fun to watch.

[@brodeybartlett1641]

I just found your first video today and was sad that I had to wait for a part two but no you have perfect timing. Love the videos man keep it up

[@CamdenBowen]

Thanks bro!

[@ericlotze7724]

5:11 Experts are now saying Air Engines should use EGR to reduce Dangerous Dihydrogen monoxide emissions, so I’m glad you’re staying ahead of the game.

[@Alan_Hans__]

3D printed titanium solves the crankshaft fatigue problem ;) Subbed after watching this. The previous video of yours I watched a few months ago hadn't convinced me but the algorythm knew I'd like this 1.

[@LimabeanStudios]

Has anyone else noticed we have seen an absurd jump of quality engineering related youtube channels? Feels like every other day I get recommended a video of some guy doing crazy things with a 3d printer and well edited videos with few subs lol

[@yeetskeet691]

Algorithm recommended this video to me, and it's absolutely great! It's as if integza and code bullet had a baby! Love your humor and video style. Keep it up brother 🤙

[@FabiioAlmeiida]

50 seconds in and i subscribed... there is a "this channel will be big" kind of vibe comming through! :D

[@fluffhusky5131]

So this is pretty awesome, but again, it would actually be a good idea to actually add counter weights on the crank shaft to help reduce vibration

[@crazycat7760]

Something that could greatly increase the power, and reliability is desmodromic valves. I think part of why it was losing power was because of spring fatigue and valve float, both of which would be fixed by desmodromic valves, another is by giving the engine Aluminum Can Cylinder Liners. Instead of two abrasive Prints working down the outer layers of each other, friction could be reduced by the aluminum from the walls of a soda can.

[@AaroKo]

or cutting pieces of metal pipe and inserting it inside of the block like sleeves are done, then adding O-ring or multiple O-rings to the piston (and little lubrication ofc) :)

[@crazycat7760]

@@AaroKo Yah, I think Reducing friction and adding seals in the block, and increasing control over the valves are the main way to gain power as of now

[@AaroKo]

@@crazycat7760 yes indeed :)

[@hoodbaxter]

when I opened my KZbin subscriptions and saw you, I instantly had to see your new video.

[@garbageman3992]

I believe there are some free open source dyno apps for windows online, I haven't checked but I saw somebody use one a while back and it is way easier as it does all the math for you, all you need is the rotating assembly weight and the rpm. I would also recommend getting the valvetrain fixed up before moving onto new motors, I had a lot of valvetrain issues on one of mine as its tuned to make power at around 6.5k rpm right now but you would be surprised how much extra power properly closing valves makes. it also shouldn't be too hard with your motor as its massive and you can easily fit some small springs into the timing system or something. anyways awesome video as usual and its awesome to see your sub count rising so quickly!

[@Randomuser5k]

I love finding channels right when there about to get big

[@jacobcrowley8207]

Regarding the clicky crackles in the audio, iZotope RX can remove those. I don't know what's causing it since it doesn't sound like you're overdriving or clipping anything. Maybe there's something that's compressing/limiting the audio levels to level it out and then normalize it back to max level, but every now and then one sample of the signal gets chopped. It doesn't snap crackle pop when you aren't speaking as far as I noticed, so it's probably not a loose wire, it's gotta be related to the input signal level. Your engine braps really good. Obviously a gas engine braps differently from the small explosions combined with the exhaust flow, but I have no ideas on how to get something like that explosion impulse, unless you were to just add a little mechanical snapping sound to it somewhere in the exhaust just for acoustics. Like putting a playing card on a bike's wheel spokes.

[@pantagana8955]

glad you blowing up i realy like your content and i woud like to see more of it specialy cuz your ideas are not that boring like other peoples

[@Impossible_Fishy]

When that 3d printed vtec kicks in

[@2MinecraftIdiots]

The sound it makes is so cool!

[@davidelavedev]

Can't wait to see your progress on this engine or on new ones.

[@nikopol7993]

Great video, great presentation style and great editing; look forwards to your next video.

[@zacharymerrill8359]

Dude I love 3d printed air engine I've probably watched all of em on KZbin I'm glad you're doing some now these are so entertaining to me. Also I just found your channel

[@HappySlappyFace]

I watched 3 of your vids before going to sleep, and you just uploading this one, i guess I'm sleeping 5:30AM

[@Brett3am]

Awesome project. I think bearings or at least homemade bearing surfaces would be well within fair game to consider this still a 3d printed VTEC Engine. Very cool!!

[@PhilTgaming11]

After I saw the first one, I was excited for the next. Nice video!

[@nobodynoone2500]

Nice af. You deserve all the attention.

[@elvtars8813]

I'm a certified 3d printing autist. I have put well over 10000 hours on various 3d printers and have years if cad experience relating to 3d printing. I have 3 recommendations for the engine: Filet and thicken the crankshaft Use oriented infill or increase your parameters settings to achieve 100% infill It seems thet you have some voids in your print, you should increase the extrusion rate

[@tophatvideosinc.5858]

If you're worried about user repeatability then finding solutions using materials and methods anyone could copy could help. You could absolutely do things using metal. Ive learned from watching youtuber/rc and aviation hobbyist that you can get all sizes of brass pipe and easily cut it with a hobby razor by rolling it. You could use these brass pipes as sleeving and bushings for the crank and cylinder walls and other wear locations to reduce friction and heat, as well as increase longevity. Plus, its cheap and anyone with an internet connection can acquire the right brass.

[@ali-faizyab]

Your content is just of my type. I like it.

[@xzp]

i love your channel and i cant wait to see you reach your potential!

[@CharlesVanNoland]

Oh, nevermind, your exhaust pressure idea sounds way better than my governor idea for trigger the VTEX

[@waylontmccann]

Hey Camden, great name btw. I just wanted to say I am very much enjoying your videos, keep up the great work! 👍

[@CamdenBowen]

Hey, thank you!

[@Cretaal]

I left this on an older video but it's worth mentioning here. Make your parts as a positive with funnels, minimal infill, and make a mould with plaster. Melt the plastic out and fill it with aluminum. Now you're 3D printing with metal.

[@ame7165]

I've made some parts that have to move within another, and a simple thing that makes a huuuuge difference is ensuring the grain is either perpendicular or parallel, but if parallel, only in the direction of motion. having the grain/layers parallel against the direction of motion is friction hell

[@keeganplayz1875]

What you should do for the bottom end and piston is add a liquid lubrication system. An oil pump and filter to get the engine running smoother!

[@wobble_bobble]

You should make a boxer 4, this might help to balance crankshaft forces a bit. Or make something weird with a wobble plate instead of crankshaft like e-rex😅

[@hayden3928]

Brilliant idea using the back preassure! 0.00629hp is about 4.7 watts, which isn't too bad for a 3d printed engine. Your biggest problem for making lots of power is speed. I found this one channel, cant remember the name, but when I get to it I'll link it. Anyway, he made a modified version of Tom Stanton's diaphram air engine, and made 12 watts at 9000 rpm. If you can get your engine to rev to even 3000rpm, I imagine youll make a LOT more power.

[@CamdenBowen]

I think what would have worked better for me too is having the flywheel directly connected to the crankshaft and skipping the coupler. It added helped with shaft misalignment but also sapped power

[@mattyoung2880]

A twin cam head would be sweet to see !!

[@Cjrapisura11]

The Garfield in the whiteboard💀💀

[@Akhin-zx]

Dang I didn’t expect your channel to blow up this much but I think you deserve it Also, will there be any more videos on the 3D printed combustion engine project?

[@CamdenBowen]

There might be :)

[@MVGEN36]

try and add counterweights to the crankshaft, that might fix the problem with the crankshaft bending

[@arctic_angel7408]

i love the explanation and the math behind it. also clicking noise every now and then in the videos audio?

[@Skypexz1]

Camden Bowen, this is my favourite video on your channel, I hope you make a bigger VTEC engine with 4 cylinders! Please 🙏

[@CamdenBowen]

@@Skypexz1 I'm planning to coming back to this idea later on after the video I'm working on. I realized that making everything from metal takes so much longer and I don't like when it takes me 3 months to post lol

[@Skypexz1]

That’s okay!👍🏻

[@RoboBuildsBMS]

(*PLEASE READ*) A small suggestion to make to exhaust sound cooler squeeze the middle and it will sound like a F1 car (poke small holes at the end with a thumbtack for better airflow and quality)

[@Madmax-kn9wj]

@CamdenBowen You should reengineer it so that you can put oil in the engine. It won't heat up as fast as should lubricate everything. Might fix your crankshaft problem

[@BartJBols]

Giving the crankshaft a counterweight that counterweights both the unbalance of the crankshaft and piston will also reduce the crankshaft flex.

[@Sierra-579]

nice to see these things implemented, keep up the good work. : )

[@arya_amg]

I wish you could make an opposed cylinder version (that would increase efficiency a LOT Or a boxer one that would remove the fatigue issue you have with smaller crank shaft

[@Shannon-Smith]

Damn dude, I want to follow you in doing this! See if I can make it like you have.

[@zachmartinez2295]

You could put the pressure valve on a separate line coming out of the copper tubing instead of having all the exhaust go through the valve to reduce power loss from excessive backpressure

[@Gearz-365]

Awesome engine work as usual!

[@CamdenBowen]

Thanks!

[@bakedPython]

We have finally found biggus disccus! We must tell him about the centurion!

[@amanyouel_e24]

I feel like the valve activating the VTEC is limiting the power. Since it requires back pressure to activate the valve, the engine is basically fighting against that, which means its losing power. Try measuring without the self-activating vtec through the exhaust and activating the vtec manually to see if there's a power increase.

[@izartech]

Try printing the friction parts with POM, wich is self lubricant. Also, make it hollow and super glue a solid PLA shaft inside the hollow POM main shaft tree for rigidity.

[@dw600]

You could use a piece of pvc as a cylinder sleeve insert ,for a smooth bore

[@willbill808]

Hey, you’re getting 20% power gain with your VTEC!

[@legoenginemechanic101]

Nice job! I want to make it in Lego now!

[@TheRook12325]

I don't know if you know this or not but if you increase perimeters rather than infill it will be stronger. Nice vid.

[@treschlet]

Actually, PETG is not universally stronger than PLA. PLA is actually extremely stiff, but a bit less "tough." It's a little brittle, but for a crankshaft, where you're not taking impacts, the stiffness of basic PLA is going to be better. Actual crankshafts (and camshafts even more so) are hardened for this reason. Dropping a crank or a camshaft can be catastrophic because they're very hardened, and thus brittle. But in the rotational engine loads, that's ideal.

[@blazeo9529]

just a suggestion add a way to add some oil to the bottom end of the engine its great for thermal heat dissipation and a great lubricant you can reduce the weight on the crankshaft potentially. also you don't need a pump just enough oil to when the crank or piston is at the very bottom or lowest position so it can use a splash based cooling and lubrication your crank will last significantly longer. also put some oil in the cylinder to slide the piston in this should allow you to fit the piston tighter in the cylinder just a suggestion i could be totally wrong

[@NICOROBINSTAN]

great job as usual zaddy 🎉

[@harrisonlow]

Neat! If I can make a suggestion: replace the electromagnet + pickup with a rotary encoder. Something like the E6B2-CWZ6C is very easy to use with an Arduino (using eg. the "Encoder" library). You'll get resolution down to the level of 0.001 degrees and they can handle pretty decent speeds

[@crestfallensunbro6001]

From the comment on not wanting to get into technology I think he wants to avoid things like Arduinos and buying electronics components, something similar to a brush from a motor and a (small) battery could make a less fuzzy output readable by his recording gear

[@harrisonlow]

@@crestfallensunbro6001 But... why? The setup I describe above is super simple and will get very accurate results - much more accurate than he'd need. Would cost

[@crestfallensunbro6001]

@@harrisonlow its mostly speculation on my part for the wanting to avoid micro processors thing, what gave me that impression was the way he used an audio recorder to log the data (valid but slightly unusual choice) and the comment about avoiding a certain type of technology

[@willcal2738]

you could have a small air port direct compressed air at the crankshaft for a cooling effect

[@My_Gaming_Mind]

The audio is clipping, don't know if you've noticed? 0:46

[@CamdenBowen]

Yeah it's my sound recorder, whenever I dial it in it always begins to clip again later I need to fix it

[@My_Gaming_Mind]

@@CamdenBowen maybe set it high so it doesn't clip and then turn the volume down while editing the video?

[@RafRagg]

Honda needa hire bro!!

[@Syrax117]

i said it in your other post, but maybe use some bearings of sorts. like a normal piston engine for the conrod. and bearings press fit onto the ends of the crank

[@soulkeeper3828]

having seen most of your videos I think you should hone your cylinder tubes, and larger print the piston to hone on the dimension of the honed cylinder tube, and the cylinder head closer to the piston, a car with high-pressure heads gets more performance

[@westonhood3705]

Perhaps this could ultimately be powered by a pressure chamber that generates its pressure via mixing dry ice and water, or perhaps even liquid nitrogen and dry warm water. Then the system could be self powered. Air powered go kart?? 👀

[@eritra4303]

Although I like the Vtec actuation method, the valve in the exhaust would probably negate any power you gain from the Vtec.

[@jackhughes9055]

Awesome video, underrated!!

[@MyMainTV]

Funny ✅ Informative ✅ Subscribed ✅

[@snomega6605]

You should try at least 1 more cylinder to make it naturally balanced also possibly make where you have like 3 different intake cam lobes and have a secondary vtec at even higher rpm?

[@Kozzado]

Great video as always. glad your channel is blowing up, you deserve it

[@CamdenBowen]

Thanks dude!

[@dark-andreiro7042]

Hi ! Great video, I think you should try to make the engine rev more.

[@gladiatornp]

really cool video! Can you publish the stl files so we can print the Engine?

[@SnakeOilDev]

The method I'm using to make the "3d printed part" stronger is embedding a bolt inside that parts. Make a hole in the model and just tread a metal bolt in.

[@Noah-qs3rq]

Heres somethin I thought about the crank. What about using a cut 3/8 allen key with the center ground smooth? You have the hex of the allen to stop the crank from twisting on you and a smooth surface. Now if you really wanted to you could put a bearing on that (yes I know you are wanting this to be all 3d printed) Just some food for thought

[@defenestrated23]

They make hardened pins you know. No need to frankenstein one from a perfectly good allen key.

[@MFM_Gaming]

Inline 4... And I'm waiting for that next video my dude.

[@JTCF]

That dyno took way more effort and money than an arduino and a hall effect sensor would. Well, unless you're really bad at both programming and finding ready solutions online, then it's probably really hard.

[@Mildly_patriotic]

This is insane your awesome

[@powerprime99]

if you want to make a more stable engine, scale the whole thing up by 25% and make the cilinder another 25% larger, less stroke and a balanced flywheel are going to fix your vibration problem for sure