creative troubles

[Slug Toy]

hmmm, my geometry is melting down right now. its actually pretty hard transferring angles and lengths over to sketch up and have it work right. ive only just started using it though, so i dont know if theres a function to create defined angles and sides......

right now it looks like the W shape pump wins overall though. i just have to get a model of it done to show you guys what im thinking. im off to a friend's house now though, so its going to have to wait until tomorrow.

[Slug Toy]

ok, after many hours of trial and error, ive got it for the most part.

so this is the W pump i was talking about. well, its actually the cylinder block of the pump. it took me so long just to get that figured out i decided to give up while i was ahead and before i screwed everything up.

the way i see it, its the most efficient design. it has the least number of moving parts possible while still having the smallest size possible.

so now all you need to do is imagine the valve system that i decided upon, and put it on this picture here, and you have a pretty much finished pump. ive just got to think about how the crankshaft, conrods, and pistons will look. it will probably be fairly basic though... no need to overthink anything.

thats it for now. its all ive got. im going to see if i can fix up the case design now. its a good design, but its not great now that ive had a chance to look at it for a while.

[GT40_GearHead]

hhhmm.... i love it, you did a great job
I was thinking the other day about the crankshaft, what are you gonna use for constructing it ???

[Slug Toy]

i saw you were online and was expecting to see a post any minute. i guessed right.

well i think everything will be made of acrylic. this way nothing will be harder/stronger than anything else, and parts will wear evenly. ill probably use a combination of 1/4 inch acrylic sheet and two different size acrylic tubes (1.2 inch inside diameter, and half inch outside diameter). the half inch outside diameter tubing will be for the crankshaft, and so will the 1/4 sheet, and the 1/2 inch inside diameter will be for the conrod.

everything will slowly be updated from the looks of it.... the case will go through some changes, and ill add more detail to the pump model. words just dont work too well for designing purposes. im still not quite sure what direction i want to take the case in... i dont like deloreans, and its looking kind of like one, so that has to change. all i know at the moment is that the redesign needs to accomodate the pump now (the original idea didnt do that).

im going to have to do some more math about flow rates too, because the 70cfm at 30rpm was assuming all six cylinders were being used. im only using one cylinder per loop (one cylinder at 30rpm puts out 11.7cfm), so i need to see if i need to change dimensions or speeds or both (i dont really want to start adding cylinders or else ill end up with some sort of monster). actually, to tell you the truth, i dont even know what kind of flow rate is good for a water pump.

i should mention now that im kind of writing this as i think of it. and speaking of that, if i need to add cylinders, ill switch to a radial design like on old propeller planes. maybe do 12 cylinders, and then ill put the pump unit outside the case on the right hand side so you can watch it go.

now my heads going a mile a minute. i need to figure this out before i drive myself crazy with questions.

[GT40_GearHead]

you're right you should slow down a bit, take a step back and then...... jump in again .
About the cilinders: if you decide you want more and make a redial that will make building a crankshaft much more easy, but i dont personaly like that setup because half of the pistons are inverted, most valves are gravitational so that would be one more pain in the a$$.
I dont see nonthing wrong with the flow, because you dont have a centriugal pump, with a piston pump brunt, i think it will be ok, the only alternative i can find (and found i did 2 year ago) is to buy a v8 bug block
just a joke
<edit> I wanted to ask you this for a while:what time is it at youre place, in here is 10:25 in the morning

[Slug Toy]

well right now its quarter to 1 in the morning over here.

if you decide you want more and make a redial that will make building a crankshaft much more easy

that was what drew me to the hexagonal design... the simplicity of the crankshaft (i have a feeling the crankshaft is going to give me quite a bit of trouble no matter what though). for more than 6 cylinders, the radial approach is the best idea, but im right on the border right now.

most valves are gravitational so that would be one more pain in the a$$

i think ill use some of those rubber valves that you find in air pumps and things like that. they are suction based, so gravity isnt a problem, especially when there is water on both sides of the valve to keep pressure fairly equal.

im right in the middle of checking out some specs on normal centrifugal pumps to see what kind of flow rates are good. after that, bed time. ill get back on here tomorrow after school.

[Slug Toy]

yikes, one last rather startling thing before i call it a night.

i was just checking some of danger dens pumps. they are rated a 1000 liters an hour on their maximum setting. this works out to about 16.7 liters per minute.

i did some math, and assuming one cylinder in my pump does 11.7 cubic feet per minute at 30rpm, that works out to about 316 liters per minute. thats roughly 19 times what is needed.

looks like i CAN do some changes to the size after all.

[GT40_GearHead]

well what can i say....... take a big nap
yeahh thoes valves will work ok i think
ps: the crank is scary, i know

[GT40_GearHead]

i'm out! gotta go to power lifting, body building thingy caled gym
<edit> didn't get to see the last port you made.... damn you're way over the mark, i agree you can make some dimension changes, or you make a total overkill and leave it as it is

[silverdemon]

looking really sweet!!! will keep watching...

and by the way, let me imagine a mile ahead like you did
If you're going for the radial thing, why not make the whole case-design a plane... might look sweet...