Beam Engine Game Download ((FREE))
Laveta Nachman
Boulton & Watt rotative engine. Employed at the Soho works of Boulton & Watt, this engine is known as the 'Lap' engine as it drove a number of metal polishing (or 'lapping') machines. It is the oldest surviving Watt beam engine to have survived almost complete and unaltered, and was the first to be fitted with the centrifugal governor. By 1800, when Boulton and Watt's partnership ended, 451 engines had been built of which 268 were rotative. By the end of 19th century, the steam engine had become the main source of power for industry and transport.
James Watt was a scientific instrument maker, who became interested in the steam" when repairing a model of a Newcomen engine for Glasgow University in 1765. He realised that heat was wasted by condensing the steam inside the cylinder, the substantial mass of which had to be heated and cooled for every double stroke of the engine.
Watt's cure for the fault he diagnosed was to add a separate chamber in which a vacuum was maintained, and to open this to the cylinder when the steam was to be condensed. The steam passed into this 'separate condenser and was cooled, while the cylinder remained hot. Specific fuel consumption was reduced to less than one third that of a Newcomen type engine.
Watt's partner, Matthew Boulton, wished to apply the steam engine to driving mill machinery and Watt designed a rotative engine for this purpose, of which this exhibit is an early example used in Boulton and Watt's own works. It differs from the pumping engine not only in provision for rotary motion, but also in being double acting, (the
piston gives power strokes in both directions of movement).The need to push the end of the beam upwards as well as pulling it downwards led to the substitution of a rigid linkage for the chains of the Newcomen engine, and Watt invented his 'parallel motion' to guide the joint between the piston rod and the short connecting link, in a straight line. The geared arrangement which takes the place of the conventional crank is known as the 'sun and planet' gear, and was devised to avoid infringing an existing patent. It has the curious
The atmospheric engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712. It was the first machine to be powered by steam and was largely used to pump water out of mines. Hundreds of these engines were made and used all over Britain and Europe in the 1700s. They became known simply as the Newcomen Engine and helped pave the way for the Industrial revolution.
Before the 1700s, there were very few machines and most work was powered by hand. The energy of horses and oxen was harnessed to pull ploughs, wagons, and mills. Water was also used as an important source where possible. But work was relatively slow and could usually only be carried out in daylight or at certain locations. The Newcomen engine was the first commercially viable machine to be fuelled by steam. It was designed to pump water out of coal mines, which enabled miners to go deeper and tap into further seams of coal, tin and other minerals.
By 1725 the Newcomen engine was a common site in mines across Britain. Its design went largely unchanged until the 1770s when John Smeaton made a number of improvements. Around the same time, while working at Glasgow University, James Watt was asked to repair a model Newcomen steam engine. Realising the engine was inefficient, he developed a revolutionary new design that would help a steam engine run faster and use less fuel.
With his business partners Matthew Boulton and William Murdoch, Watt went on to further refine his revolutionary design, so that steam engines could not only efficiently pump water, but drive machinery in paper, cotton, flour and iron mills, textile factories, distilleries, canals, waterworks and even drive steam locomotives. These extraordinary developments transformed the British landscape and the lives of its people, and became known as the Industrial revolution.
I am taking some of my stuff to an exhibition at the Royal Geelong Show in a week. The beam engine working on steam always gets some interest. And the Trevithick dredger engine has not featured at this event before, so that can go. I am currently working on the vertical boiler. The Southworth Duplex pump which is attached to the boiler, was working on air, but it refused on steam, so another tear down is due. If I can get it going that will be the third entry. If not, well, there is always next year. Fortunately Keith Appleton recently produced some videos on the Southworths, one of which had a similar problem, so I think that I know where my problem is.
My Bolton 12 Beam engine is being exhibited at The Geelong Show in the next few days, along with other model engines from The Geelong Society of Experimental and Model Engineers (GSMEE), and many other full size antique engines.
I am particularly excited by this event, because it is an opportunity to run my beam engine for the first time on live steam. Plus it is a really great event generally, (see blog from this time in 2014).
With that mining-engineering background, it is not too surprising that Bendigo has an enthusiastic and active metalworking, engineering, modelling club, and every two years they host an exhibition, which I attended for the first time last weekend. And what a terrific event it was. Well worth the 3 hours each way drive.
I bought a 130mm diameter lump of aluminium rod, 460mm long, weighing 16kg, off ebay. It was described as excellent machining material, so I put it to the test. I need a driving wheel for the beam engine.
The driving wheel fits between the flywheel and the governor column.
At the show grounds, Geelong is fortunate to have a well established antique engine display, featuring many steam powered stationary engines, traction engines, steam trucks, tractors, etc etc., many which live there permanently, such as a ships triple expansion steam engine, and many which are brought in just for the show.
I uncovered the beam engine last weekend, and thought about painting some of the machined parts. I quite like the look of the machined metal and the rough cast surfaces, but some bits really look as if they should have some colour.
I still have not got the hang of this blogging stuff.
I tried to post 3 photos together, but wordpress accepted only the last photo posted.
So here is the first one in the series.
This is the casting of the beam engine column.
As you can see, it is roughly the shape desired. It was quite heavy, and had a very tough external skin which required carbide tooling to break through.
In order to make the video without the compressor noise, I turned off the compressor and ran the beam engine off the tank full of air. It did not take long to run out of air pressure, as you will see in the video.
The castings and plans were supplied by E&J Winter, Sydney, which is now owned and managed by Kelly Mayberry. He has a well established web site with catalogue, prices etc, and he is very interested and helpful with queries during the machining of the castings.
I believe that the castings come from various small foundries around Sydney.
The plans for the 2 engines which I have made so far were drawn up many decades ago, and are rather frustratingly in imperial measurements. So the first task when I receive a new set of plans is to convert all of the measurements into metric units. Then I have the plans laminated, because they get a lot of handling in the dirty greasy conditions of the workshop. Another item on the plans agenda is to make photocopies of the intricate details on the plans, and magnify them x2. I find this is a great help for my rather dodgy eyes.
A close up shot of the parallel motion apparatus which I made for the beam engine. Designed and patented by the famous James Watt in the 18th century. A complex apparatus which is fascinating to watch in action. Its function is to keep the piston rod precisely centrally in line with the cylinder, despite the circular motion of the beam end.
The up and down motion of the piston in the cylinder is transmitted by the beam to the piston in the water pump. The steam cylinder piston goes down under the pressure of steam and differences in atmospheric pressure created by the partial vacuum beneath the piston. The beam, powered by the cylinder piston, pulls up the water pump piston. At the end of the downward stroke, the steam pressure is released and the steam cylinder piston returns to its original position because it is dragged back up the cylinder by the weight of the pump rods at the other end of the beam.
The Kew Bridge Steam Museum in London has the largest working Cornish Steam Engine in the World. It was actually built for the site to pump water to West London and started work on the 30th May 1846. It was only taken out of service in 1944 - a working life of just less than a century. The massive engine was constructed for the Grand Junction Water Works company and is able to pump 472 gallons in just a single stroke. The beam, which is made from cast iron, weighs a staggering 35 tons. The engine was transported from Cornwall to London by ship, before being loaded onto a barge for the journey up the Thames River.
There are smaller beam engines such as one from Boulton and Watt that can be seen at the Kew Museum. The engine was built around the time of Watt's death in 1819 and it was moved to the site in 1839-40. James Watt's inventions meant that the steam engine became much more economical to use and thus he helped to set in motion the Industrial Revolution.
With support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Portsmouth City Council is hosting four events in September and October. Visitors can dive into engineering and science with Fun Science Studios, explore the wild side and habitats of the site, meet the Victorians who built the engine house, and enjoy a Hallow-steam spectacular!
Councillor Steve Pitt, Leader of Portsmouth City Council with responsibility for culture and leisure, said: Eastney Beam Engine House is a fascinating feat of Victorian engineering and provides a real window into the technology of the time and life in Victorian Portsmouth.
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