Flower Stirling Engine
Course: MEAM 2010
Date: Sept-Dec 2025
MEAM 2010 is a hands-on, project-based course that provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to design, analyze, manufacture and test fully-functional mechanical systems
Overview
Throughout this semester I have been designing and fabricating a fully functional Stirling heat engine. I chose a flower inspired design with the flywheel being a spinning flower, the bedplate incorporating leaf-shaped cutouts, and the base made out of wood to give it an earthy feel. I modeled the entire assembly in SolidWorks to verify part interfaces, created detailed engineering drawings, and then machined each component using the lathe, mill, and CNC operations in Penn's precision machining laboratory. This project taught me the importance of process planning where I learned how to determine machining sequences, select appropriate tools, and design custom fixture to achieve the required tolerances and correct functionality. The engine components were made out of aluminum, steel, and brass, and the bedplate was outsourced to be laser-cut. I am in the process of assembling all of the parts together now, and the engine will be tested by applying heat via a blowtorch. This course deepened my understanding of tolerances, metrology, GD&T, and manufacturability, while providing me with a hands-on experience of taking a mechanical design from concept to a functional product.
