This is a series of screen animations that show the operating principles of some of the more interesting mechanical engineering inventions of the Twentieth Century. Two are available for order now:
An examination of the radial piston aircraft engine, centered on the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 of World War II and the postwar years. Click here for details and sample shots.
An examination of the US Government Pistol, caliber .45, M1911. Click here for details and sample shots.
The next project will look at steam locomotives, those magical machines that can still transform grown men into little boys. It will illustrate the entire steam propulsion cycle, from firebox to smokestack, and especially the hypnotic motion of the valve gear.
Further down the line will be the Bristol Sleeve Valves, a series of radial piston engines that valved the intake and exhaust by means of a cylinder sleeve that reciprocated and rotated at the same time. Fairly described as a giant, roaring Swiss watch...