Brian C. Ferguson

WEB PORTFOLIO

This sterling engine was built from scratch using the machine shop facilities at Thayer School of Engineering.  The base was sand-casted at a local foundry where I was able to try out metal forming first hand.  

Project Summary

· Pro/Engineer

· Quality Castings Foundry—Franklin, NH

· Thayer School Machine Shop

Class Project

This project required a lot of machining competence and patience. All the parts were made in the Thayer School machine shop except for the base, which I designed and sand-casted at a local foundry in New Hampshire.

The engine runs on kerosene which heats the air chamber and in turn drives a single piston to turn a fly wheel. Over all it was a great project for learning about thermodynamics and how to use every machine in the machine shop.

Date: Winter 2004

Thayer School Sterling Engine Project

Engineering Programs/Methods Used

Top Left: Pouring liquid aluminum alloy into molds.

Top Right:  Mold board with urethane originals.

Bottom Right: Negative images in the green sand.

Bottom Left: Cooling parts still on runner trees.

Pictures of the finished sterling engine mounted on my sand-casted locomotive base.