Miniaturised cylinder head production by rapid prototyping

Abstract

This work shows the development of the design and manufacturing of a very small engine, namely its head. The engine works under the 4-stroke cycle, therefore having a very complex cylinder head, housing the camshaft, valves and its auxiliaries (seats, guides, springs), spark plug, inlet and exhaust passages and a coolant chamber. The geometries, both inner and outer are highly intricate which makes the production of such a part a very difficult job. In addition, when the engine is very small, as it is the case of this engine, all dimensions are miniaturized therefore making it extremely difficult to design, cast and finish. The cooling chamber, in particular, has a critical inner core removal problem due to reduced accessibility, imposing casting limitations. The cores place also a problem of air and gas removal during metal filling and solidification. Rapid prototyping may be the only solution to build the cores, and may help in the design and manufacturing phases of the casting tools. 3D printing with a plaster based material as a rapid prototyping technique presents itself as a tool to drastically reduce the design-development-casting process effort and time cycle. This technique enables the designer to obtain new moulds for castings on the shortest time possible, following redesign and new casting simulations. This paper illustrates the various tasks involved in the design and development stages leading to the production of a running prototype of the cylinder head for this small engine.