Hi guys! First of let me say if this topic has been covered I apologies. Im a CAD student at ITT Tech and for my cap stone project I will be doing a rotary engine. I have been researching the rotary engine for a couple of months and trying to get a full understanding. The project will include all parts in an autocad based software, it will present motion of the engine, and will mark points in the motor that are most common for damage. I will be doing this project in the inventor software mose likely.

My question for you guys is where would I find dimensions. My first plan was to but a 13B motor and go from there but decided to see if someone here had insight on this matter. If I can't find dimensions or if I don't have a motor I will simple do like my turbo project and make dimensions as I go. Will most likely take time this way but I have six months.

 

A good picture of how the rotary dimensions are determined is in Mark Warner's excellent book called "Street Rotary". You can probably find it at a local bookstore.

BTW: I work in Inventor. While I've never drawn up a rotary in it, it shouldn't be that bad. Getting the constraints right on the motion will be the hardest part.

 

Yeah i just did a robot project in inventor. I like the software but the contraints can be a bother. I don't think it would be to bad though. I just wish inventor and regular autocad was compatible, that would make my life my easier! Thanks for the info! I will be keeping an eye out for that book. Just curious? What kind of work you do in inventor?

 

I do mechanical design engineering and drafting for 450hp- 2200 hp (with the potential for 3000 hp) reciprocating piston mud pumps for oil drilling. Do you have the FEA option on your version? It's a small piece of ANSYS and is pretty neat to use. Of course we also have the full ANSYS program to test assemblies with as well. The FEA in Inventor only allows you to test one piece at a time and only in 1 direction at a time.

I go back and forth between AutoCAD and Inventor all the time. It depends what I'm trying to do. If I want to lay something out quickly, I'll use AutoCAD. If I'm designing or testing something I'll use Inventor. We are transitioning over to Pro-Engineer which is a nightmare to learn but is a very powerful program.

 

I dont think we have the FEA option. Our copy of inventor is a student copy. I had no clue you could test assemblies in Inventor! I know you can do it in Pro-e though. I plan on taking a Pro-E class when I graduate. Also want to look in catia! I have heard great things about that software.