Adventures In Deleting Camshafts | The Theory

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  • čas přidán 14. 01. 2022
  • We're starting from scratch... So much, in fact, that I'm not even calling it Freevalve. It's a whole different thing. Maybe better. Maybe worse. Let's find out.
    And as always, My social media:
    Instagram: / wesleykagan
    Patreon: / wesleykagan
    Website: www.wesleykagan.com
    For promotional inquiries: wesley.kagan@gmail.com
  • Auta a dopravní prostředky

Komentáře • 637

  • @WesleyKagan
    @WesleyKagan  Před 2 lety +256

    This is going to be a long project... But I'll keep you updated as it goes along! in the mean time, I have some fun projects going up in the next few weeks! Thanks to everyone for the support, You all are amazing.

    • @nefariousyawn
      @nefariousyawn Před 2 lety +1

      Forgive me if it was already mentioned and I missed it, but does adjusting the gear ratio between the stepper and the valve fix your speed problem?

    • @sethlinerode1047
      @sethlinerode1047 Před 2 lety

      Hey I just saw came across your channel and I have built a mechanical build I did but I abandoned it because of the tunning problem I don't know how to program things just mechanical things I am in Ohio I would love to see what you thought

    • @gavnivag7436
      @gavnivag7436 Před 2 lety +4

      Use a odrive for the stepper replacement uses brushless dc motors and encoders. They are faster and higher torque but still takes step and direction commands.

    • @Quindictive
      @Quindictive Před 2 lety

      @@nefariousyawn I was wondering the same thing. It would increase the torque requirement, and also give less "resolution" in valve position.

    • @MisFakapek
      @MisFakapek Před 2 lety +1

      Wesley but doesnt that make the actual design like 4x more complex and mechanically "vulnerable" than normal camshaft?
      One of the goals for freevalve was much more granular and flexible valve control. You could modulate rpms from low to really high.
      Any rotary electric drive would make it pretty rpm limited, so I would ask simple question: why not hydraulics?
      They are much more controllable than pneumatics and you can control them with common solenoids.
      True, you need high pressure system which introduce all of those nasty problems ... but ... they offer so much flexibility.

  • @nottherealjk
    @nottherealjk Před 2 lety +114

    "Enough of me talking, let me talk some more..."
    I'm dying. You're like a just as smart and just as dry SuperFastMatt. I heartily approve.

    • @a_Fax_Machine
      @a_Fax_Machine Před 2 lety +7

      I really hope they collaborate on something some day. They have such a similar style, irreverent delivery, and scary levels of intellect

    • @tkreitler
      @tkreitler Před 2 lety +2

      Two of my favorite channels. I would like for Wesley to design the valves for SuperFastMatt's new land speed car or maybe the S600.

  • @haroldthe_big_h117
    @haroldthe_big_h117 Před 2 lety +183

    Nice work, I have done a bunch of thinking about doing this myself. A couple comments: I think your math is a bit off, in that the 20 ms you calculate is how long it takes for 2 crankshaft revolutions. The valve is going to have to open in a small fraction of that time, and get closed again also. I calculate 6000 RPM = 100 revs/sec = 36,000 crankshaft degrees per second. If you allow 90 crankshaft degrees for the valve to open, you only have 2.5 ms for the valve to open, not 20 ms. This makes your job a lot more difficult.
    You can make steppers go a lot faster by applying much higher voltage. The stepper torque is related to current, not voltage. The heat generated inside the stepper is also related to current, not voltage. You just need a lot more voltage to make the current through the inductance rise a lot faster. 200 volts or more is not out of line here. The stepper driver needs to regulate the current to the stepper winding. This is normal practice for any high-speed stepper application.
    But in my opinion, you are fighting a losing battle with mass. You have to accelerate and decelerate all the mass of the stepper rotor, gears, ball-screw, and valve etc every revolution of the engine. I believe the "best" (most likely to succeed) approach would be to use a voice-coil type actuator. Stationary permanent magnets, moving voice-coil connected to the valve. There is a reason that speakers are made this way. Large industrial vibration testing machines also work this way. I have an actuator from a _very_ old hard drive built like this: it has a 3" diameter voice coil, with a 30-lb magnet assembly. (This hard drive had two 17" platters...) You will still need a high driving voltage to overcome the inductance of the voice coil, but at least you will not have so much mass to throw around.
    Nice work, good luck!

    • @turtleface166
      @turtleface166 Před 2 lety +36

      +1 for voice coil actuators. I worked on a medical product at work that used one in a precision motion application that was able to control the position of the coil down to the micron range while going through a set trajectory over and over and over at say 100Hz or so. The hardware was very straightforward - just a simple 24V full bridge driver. The control was the hard part, as always, but it was sick to see it work. Watching the actual position VS. The trajectory at those small time scales was cool! Fun project.

    • @DiscoFang
      @DiscoFang Před 2 lety +21

      +2 on voice coils. Lets see a couple of mono block audio amplifiers strapped to the harbor freight motor.

    • @martindinner3621
      @martindinner3621 Před 2 lety +15

      So effectively a precision solenoid?
      Hmm, perhaps a fast solenoid/ voice coil with a stepper controlled depth/opening distance control?

    • @matthiasmartin1975
      @matthiasmartin1975 Před 2 lety +6

      I concur. Those types of actuators get very expensive very fast though - see recent EEVBlog episode.

    • @johnmurray9746
      @johnmurray9746 Před 2 lety +7

      Completely agree. I haven't done the calculations, but I find it highly unlikely that he'd be able to accelerate all of that mass fast enough with a reasonably sized stepper to make this design work. A voice coil seems like a much more viable option.

  • @speetnut
    @speetnut Před 2 lety +128

    I predict, after 2 years, Wesley will interate his design into a rotary engine. "No cam shafts" eventually leads to "no Pistons" 😂 excellent content as always.

    • @dylanzrim3635
      @dylanzrim3635 Před 2 lety +12

      You’re on to something, being able to seal off the ports electronically could really improve efficiency, and if it works? Rob dahm would probably be first in line

    • @John-rw9bv
      @John-rw9bv Před 2 lety +4

      The whole point of the rotary is that the piston is the camshaft/valve -_-

    • @Flumphinator
      @Flumphinator Před 2 lety +8

      Wankels don’t have valves. They use the apex seals.

    • @906MediaProductions
      @906MediaProductions Před 2 lety +17

      @@Flumphinator boy do they ever use em.

    • @breakfast7595
      @breakfast7595 Před 2 lety

      @@906MediaProductions Right? I had a buddy who owned an RX and fucked the engine only a few months after rebuilding it, which he did when he bought it. It's a cool engine, but it belongs on a track, or as a weekend vehicle.

  • @Bashman1981
    @Bashman1981 Před 2 lety +286

    Dude, I love what you're doing. Real innovation. However, please... there are times a pair of safety glasses is really a good idea. If you get hurt, all the crazy mad scientist stuff will stop, and we don't want that!

    • @WesleyKagan
      @WesleyKagan  Před 2 lety +79

      I need to get better about it, I agree. luckily everything here was very sturdy.

    • @Maxbeanbag
      @Maxbeanbag Před 2 lety +23

      100% agree Wesley. Put extra time into ensuring the longevity of that epic brain.

    • @isthatasupra9569
      @isthatasupra9569 Před 2 lety +11

      Bro don't worry he had his safety squints on

    • @timplett1
      @timplett1 Před 2 lety +5

      Perhaps purchase a Colin Furze safety tie as well

    • @catwang7775
      @catwang7775 Před 2 lety

      @@timplett1 this comment made my day bro😂😂

  • @802Garage
    @802Garage Před 2 lety +12

    1:38 Is the best. "The bad news is that it doesn't work, but you don't know that yet." Then you laugh and have to cut.
    Different than anything I had thought of and super cool. Seems like it could be made robust and performant to me.
    I've come up with several unique designs, but obviously I'm not putting in the work, you are! Absolutely loving this.

  • @jarredquinlan187
    @jarredquinlan187 Před 2 lety +82

    Loved the whiteboard presentation where the board was changing in the background, but there didn't appear to be cuts...that was clean.

    • @chaseweeks2708
      @chaseweeks2708 Před 2 lety +9

      Each episode his editing and framing skills are getting better in conjunction with the work that he's doing. It's awesome to witness.

    • @timwatterson8060
      @timwatterson8060 Před 2 lety +4

      no cuts just edited in the content(from post or pre footage), look as the square around the content change shades of white.

    • @NavyMitchell
      @NavyMitchell Před 2 lety

      I came here just to comment on this. Really cool cuts.

  • @davidkclayton
    @davidkclayton Před 2 lety +10

    some thoughts :
    make or acquire linear stepper actuators and connect directly to the top of valve stem.
    lose the valve springs.
    do not mimic a cam, the major advantage of what this design is complete control of the I/O flow through the combustion chamber.
    meaning:
    control engine speeds without a throttle (add fuel injection).
    control compression ratio.
    control EGR for lowering combustion chamber temp.
    just to name a few.🤓

    • @rhydlew
      @rhydlew Před 2 lety +1

      For Freevalve the other advantage was independent control of each valve, especially in a 4 valve per cylinder design. One exhaust valve goes through turbo, one doesn't. Allows variable boost control and wastegate electronically. Could also allow 5 stroke Atkinson by reopening an inlet valve for exhale-compress, which allows variable compression ratio

  • @ldubois724
    @ldubois724 Před 2 lety +52

    You should look up linear actuators, in term of acceleration they are probably better than rotary actuators for this kind of application

    • @Eduardo_Espinoza
      @Eduardo_Espinoza Před 2 lety +1

      What did he used in the last one?

    • @ldubois724
      @ldubois724 Před 2 lety

      @@Eduardo_Espinoza He used indirect rotary actuators. It was air actuated in the end but not good enough. That's why in this video he says he switched to direct drive

    • @macoppy6571
      @macoppy6571 Před 2 lety +11

      Linear actuators is what Koenigsegg uses. I believe Hyundai is also experimenting with linear actuators, and is primarily constrained by the cost of production.

    • @scott7024
      @scott7024 Před 2 lety

      @@macoppy6571 arent the pneumatic linear actuators though?

    • @dylanzrim3635
      @dylanzrim3635 Před 2 lety +2

      @@macoppy6571 the article I read said koenigseg used solenoids

  • @andrewpalardy8588
    @andrewpalardy8588 Před 2 lety +10

    I think you need a lot more energy than you realize when fighting against the valve springs, so the electrical power requirements will be very high. It's still a good design, but getting rid of the valve springs will make it work at lower speeds (until the inertia of the valves and components is too high for the motors to accelerate). This is why you tend to see more hydraulic systems in production (things like MultiAir)

  • @elmauto3021
    @elmauto3021 Před 2 lety +22

    Instead of rotating, try coils like a rail gun or voice coil in a speaker. Make the valve stem a coil with a coil around it, lots of power, speed and control

    • @marcogiardiello2056
      @marcogiardiello2056 Před 2 lety +2

      Christian Von Koenigsegg has patents on the idea already. Be careful he is letigious as hell. Called FREEVALVE

    • @pauljs75
      @pauljs75 Před 2 lety

      Hmmm... Can you use an induction coil as part of the solenoid plunger to boost it's reaction to a driving coil? That might be a way to get around curie temperature issues with permanent magnets or ferrous materials. That might be an interesting trick to having a strong linear solenoid action at the temperatures not uncommon to an internal combustion engine. That would involve re-inventing the linear actuator solenoid itself rather than trying to use something more off-the-shelf.

    • @jackr1110
      @jackr1110 Před 2 lety

      This makes the most sense turn the valve steam into the linear actuating coil which is what Koenigsegg does pretty much

    • @Drunken_Hamster
      @Drunken_Hamster Před měsícem

      Voice coils are incredibly electrically inefficient. To the point that there was a man who designed a servo-controlled subwoofer that delivered 10x the force on the same power as a 300w sub.

  • @shakeorefined2514
    @shakeorefined2514 Před 2 lety +2

    "So, enough of me talking. Let me talk some more."
    You speak my mind, my friend.

    • @WesleyKagan
      @WesleyKagan  Před 2 lety +1

      I just know because I edit so many weird rambles out of these videos- There's probably 2 hours edited down here haha

  • @dangale6969
    @dangale6969 Před 2 lety +18

    Looking forward to it mate! 👌 been watching from the start of your channel! You’re amazing and inspiring for all

  • @S9l8m
    @S9l8m Před 2 lety

    I cannot say enough how enjoyable your videos are! I started following your channel a few months ago and every time I watch there is a noticeable improvement in video quality and the projects keep getting more and more badass! You say all the time “I’m not an engineer” but I can promise you that many engineers are applauding your work and innovation! Keep it up!

  • @deathcogunit106
    @deathcogunit106 Před 2 lety +8

    Oh hell yes! This is easily one of my favorite channels.

  • @Pengajim
    @Pengajim Před 2 lety +2

    I love that nobody’s perfect poster in your garage!

  • @AtimatikArmy
    @AtimatikArmy Před 2 lety +10

    Just brainstorming here, but what about changing the valve system completely to say a rotary valve? Then you would get rid of the reciprocating action entirely which appears to be the main issue and I believe even in the best circumstance it will never be ideal.

    • @DevinFriske
      @DevinFriske Před 2 lety

      +1 rotary valve concept
      Really neat idea, but implementing it is not something I can fathom from my armchair. I have the basic idea in my head but I have no idea if it would work in reality.

    • @troywebb9223
      @troywebb9223 Před 2 lety

      @@DevinFriske second the rotary valve idea. As the crank turns the valves need to open. Instead of "reversing the direction" every cycle why not implement a VTEC style actuator? The amount of lift could be changed over the course of a few crank rotations which in the end have a net similar effect. Electronic valves or cam-less 4 stroke.

  • @zaucy_
    @zaucy_ Před rokem

    Dude your PC build is so freaking cool. What an awesome idea doing it on the wall like that and having each component almost like it's on display. Then running you custom water cooling system all through everything just makes it all look like some evil scientist's PC for his laboratory. Love it. Also, love everything else that you do as well. Such an interestingly awesome channel.

  • @OMGWTFBBQSHEEP
    @OMGWTFBBQSHEEP Před 2 lety +5

    Great vid, i like this freevalve series! One thing about the acceleration, if you haven't thought of it already.
    If you can get ahold of the rotational inertia of the suitable stepper motor, you can use newtons second law and calculate the acceleration of the entire system, including stepper motor, gears, shafts etc. Then you will know if the stepper motor is able to accelerate the system quick enough or not :)

    • @WesleyKagan
      @WesleyKagan  Před 2 lety +1

      That's absolutely true- It would cut down on testing things as I go. Good thought.

  • @camillosteuss
    @camillosteuss Před 2 lety +1

    Dont just leave it there, give us more content buddy! This, you, the complex that is your thinking is a great thing and you should do what you do and display it, its a great thing for mankind, not necessarily a change, but a step that with its momentum might accelerate others in making more momentum of their own toward the grand change... I will try to get my shit together, as i too have my own projects and ideas that might aid the man, but for now, i have to get some shit sorted before i can film any of my thoughts and projects...

  • @Pilotman28
    @Pilotman28 Před 2 lety

    I really love your ideas and execution. You’re a mechanically inclined nerd which I also appreciate. I’m looking forward to the journey.

  • @jakeburch9705
    @jakeburch9705 Před 2 lety

    Wesley. I love your engine projects. This is very similar to what I want to do in life and I value your videos. Great inspiration man

  • @theleadfootgunner6804
    @theleadfootgunner6804 Před 2 lety

    Absolutely love seeing your videos pop up on my feed. I’ve never seen someone so smart, be so sarcastic with themselves LOL. Keep your insanely erratic brilliance cranking out ideas!!

  • @dukiemoto8676
    @dukiemoto8676 Před 2 lety +3

    Great! Can’t wait to see the progression of this concept. Keep up the good work

  • @DiscoFang
    @DiscoFang Před 2 lety +6

    The problem of necessary inertia of a motor strong enough to do the job fast enough was my initial reaction to the 3d model. Related to your calcs - the valve opens & closes muuuuuch faster than 1 whole revolution.

    • @ferrumignis
      @ferrumignis Před 2 lety

      Exactly this, and for the best volumetric efficiency you want the valve to open and shut as fast as possible. This will become especially important when you consider valve overlap which will need to be well controlled .

  • @BikeFromTheBrink
    @BikeFromTheBrink Před 2 lety

    I'm glad you've come back to this as it is what brought me to your channel in the first place.
    Have you considered a lotus style rotary valve which is stepper controlled.
    You could speed up and slow down each valve individually.

  • @-Just_Justin-
    @-Just_Justin- Před 2 lety

    It's great to see you back onto this project once more. I think as with your last decision the harbor freight and miata engines would be best suited for testing. I'm excited to see that you have managed to deal away with alot of components in the previous design to make it more simplistic. I'm sure that you will come up with a good solution.

  • @davidelang
    @davidelang Před 2 lety

    (also sent via patreon) Simplify the task, convert to running from steam/pressurized gas
    That lowers your temps, and allows you to lower your RPM making it much easier/cheaper to build something that will work, allowing you to experiment more.
    external combustion engine would also let you go to 2 stroke vs 4 (more power for the same size engine), and adjusting the intake valve timing to change the expansion ratio as your throttle will really show the power of computer controlled valves

  • @3089io
    @3089io Před 2 lety

    I really enjoy how you engineer things and document it. Totally awesome. Inspring!

  • @hydrotricine
    @hydrotricine Před 2 lety

    Please dont give up on this project,what you are doing is fantastic!

  • @jaredharvey1511
    @jaredharvey1511 Před 2 lety +1

    Wall color is great. Have you happened upon rusEFI? That's a similar color scheme.
    Air actuators are typically fast. Either that or perhaps have a spinning motor then transfer the energy with an AC compressor clutch. If you are looking for electrical drive, a DC servo is your friend.

  • @Byefriendo
    @Byefriendo Před 2 lety +1

    Ive been tinkering with something similar, I also first had the idea of a direct steeper actuated valve but came to the same conclusion you did. What I came up with was using an electromagnet/solenoid for actuation, but to achieve the variable lift portion, using a mechanical endstop that gets moved by a stepper via a threaded shaft. Normal steppers can be used and can change the lift by about 10mm in 250~ms which is very reasonable

  • @MrLordZenki
    @MrLordZenki Před 2 lety

    The most incredible part of the video is how you managed to fight the urge to stop and love that adorable cat 😻

  • @christopherferrante5689
    @christopherferrante5689 Před 2 lety +9

    Love the project! What about a gearing the output of the stepper motor so the stepper spins once and the valve spins twice. (just some gear ratio) Surely it has to be easier to find a higher torque stepper motor rather than a faster one.

    • @Aheitchoo
      @Aheitchoo Před 2 lety

      This was my thought as well, although you could also change the gear ratio with the ball bearing slot helix angle.

  • @Garbasker
    @Garbasker Před 2 lety +17

    Fascinating as always, I love hearing about the technical aspects even though some of it maybe a bit over my head.

    • @WesleyKagan
      @WesleyKagan  Před 2 lety +2

      Thank you!

    • @dylanzrim3635
      @dylanzrim3635 Před 2 lety

      @@WesleyKagan I was expecting “most of it goes over my head too” 😂

  • @mikiemojo
    @mikiemojo Před 2 lety +1

    I really love your wall mounted computer. I wish I had one.

  • @klausbrinck2137
    @klausbrinck2137 Před 2 lety

    Back in business, great!!!

  • @Trevorkloida
    @Trevorkloida Před 2 lety

    Heck yeah! Love stuff like this, and thanks for the details you provide like the math etc

  • @edh7492
    @edh7492 Před 2 lety

    Some people are on a different planet, in a very good way. You are one of those people and it’s mind bending to observe. 🤜🤛

  • @fredblase5608
    @fredblase5608 Před 2 lety

    Wesley you are not thinking from the ground up, rather from the clouds down! My humble thoughts are to use air cylinders to open the valves and a tapered rail with a stepper motor to locate the rail and control lift. Air pressure could be controlled somewhat limiting lift also, Air hammer to push open the valve and a suitable spring to close it,or possibly an air cylinder around the valve stem along with a lite spring to close the valve.Air pressure could also be controlled on the closing side independently from the opening side. A lot of words I know , drawing a picture would be simpler but above my abilities on a computer. Anyway Keep up the project , as one comment was made , "Rome was not built in a day, they have been working on it for CENTURIES!!!" and still at it !Thanks keep up the good work Fred.

  • @jasonpeterson1506
    @jasonpeterson1506 Před 2 lety

    Love the content. Keep up the awesome videos Wesley!!

  • @dusty_bike
    @dusty_bike Před 2 lety +1

    You could change the ball bearing guides to be non linear, Low pitch to overcome the high opening torque transitioning into higher pitch to get the valve open in time. Also if you havent allredy you need to re-make Bose active suspension

  • @cannonroberts5129
    @cannonroberts5129 Před 2 lety

    Great explanation of the issues.

  • @frantickoala994
    @frantickoala994 Před 2 lety

    Just found your channel.. your format reminds me a lot of SuperfastMatt. funny thing, both of your very first videos were 45 days apart in 2012. great content keep up it up. :)

  • @onefastgmc
    @onefastgmc Před 2 lety

    Once someone figures this out and it's released to the aftermarket, the possibilities are endless. You can go from a nice smooth "cam profile" to a high lift high duration profile by basically coding it into your tuning software so long as your piston to valve clearance is good and the springs you're using don't see any bind. That's what you'll have to watch, it'll be cool to see it work but there are more tolerances in the engine allowing this to function than just opening and closing the valves at the right time. Super exciting though!

  • @sletanl
    @sletanl Před 2 lety

    It is always a joy to watch your projects! Have a great day :-)

  • @alecweinstein4990
    @alecweinstein4990 Před 2 lety +1

    You've got this "engineer left alone too long" humor and crazy ideas. This channel is almost singlehandedly getting me back into the mechE degree I've been burning out on. Remind me to buy you a tank of the high grade gas if I ever meet you.

  • @gregweber8951
    @gregweber8951 Před 2 lety

    Super cool! Love the content! Maybe some kind of solenoid that has hydraulic pressure on the back side to help it “return” or to boost the return rate of the valve? Idk If such solenoid exists? Maybe switching to a hydraulic manifold to operate the valves would be more cost effective and still give you the control ability of the stepper valves for programming

  • @jetix4531
    @jetix4531 Před 2 lety +4

    Hi,
    A little suggestion/idea: instead of changing the gear ratio you can just adjust the shape of your ball bearing guides on your center pinion.
    Thank you for your videos, it is always very interesting.

    • @Akya2120
      @Akya2120 Před 2 lety +1

      Yes, but the more aggressive the slot profile, the more aggressive the wear pattern.

  • @gafrers
    @gafrers Před 2 lety

    Quality as always. Interesting

  • @gIeener
    @gIeener Před 2 lety

    Last place I expected to find the cover of Twin Fantasy, but a welcome one. Good choice!

  • @soodonym
    @soodonym Před 2 lety +3

    Just a thought... Make a rotating valve rather than an in/out valve. Like a sleeve valve arrangement but within the cylinder head.... As I say... Just a thought that came to me. Love your work, keep it up

    • @Byefriendo
      @Byefriendo Před 2 lety

      The valves in 4 stroke motors are a pretty important part in their performance, the valve sticking out in the air stream creates tumble which helps homogenize the charge mixture. Rotary valves would work and be easier, but would negate a lot of the benefits

  • @stevesloan6775
    @stevesloan6775 Před rokem

    Defiantly recycle forged parts where you can.
    Home heat treating for the win!

  • @onesadtech
    @onesadtech Před 2 lety

    This is incredible! I have never seen such an accurate way to measure torque! 😂 For real though, this is super cool, thanks for sharing, and taking the time to dive into the theory!!

  • @markm0000
    @markm0000 Před 2 lety

    Never give up! Make it work!

  • @justamar
    @justamar Před 2 lety

    the editing was funny, great work.

  • @Scrogan
    @Scrogan Před rokem

    Use brushless servos, or just common brushless motors with an encoder on each.
    Also I think you could get electromagnets to be fast enough if you overvolt them initially to get the current up quickly. Maybe have two FETs on each electromagnet, one that gives it the full voltage, and the other that gives it a lower voltage. Using a weak spring on each valve would let you open it quicker, so long as you forced it closed by putting the electromagnet into reverse. I think you could reduce electricity consumption by having the electromagnets feed their energy back into the battery+capacitors via H-bridge control, which may or may not be possible.
    Great project man.

  • @nogood_ideas
    @nogood_ideas Před 2 lety

    I am really excited to see what you come up with, I have been interested in camless engines for a while now. After watching the math portion and reading some comments, I have been trying to work some things out in my head. I'm not sure if my logic is right, but here goes. I guess the ultimate goal of this would be to achieve full lift of the valve quicker than a camshaft, so that the duration of the valve opening can be controlled to gain better performance from the engine. In a mild camshaft for an old school v8, most of the modern grinds seem to usually end up around 270-280 degrees advertised degrees of crankshaft duration. If we use 274 degrees as an example that means the valve isn't fully opened until around 137 crankshaft degrees (assuming a steady ramp rate and symmetrical lobes). At 6000 RPM that means the valve will be fully open in ~3.8 ms, and only gets faster as rpms increase.
    There seems to be many different ways to look at this situation. You could calculate the effective "advertised duration" based on 0 dwell at max lift, the time to fully open and close the valve, and engine RPM. You could also calculate the max RPM based on valve opening and closing time, where you run out of time to dwell the valve at that desired lift.
    I vaguely remember you mentioning something about a desmodromic valve system in your previous videos and not using one for a certain reason, but I'm not seeing the advantage of the ball screw unless it is easier to find something faster acting and with enough power in an electric/stepper motor vs. solenoid/some sort of linear motion device. I'm not very knowledgeable on the electrical side of things as a more mechanically inclined person, but maybe using a brushless motor could be faster than a stepper motor? You might end up needing to really beef up the stopping mechanism on the ball screw shaft, and you would probably lose control over fine valve lift adjustments, but it might be able to open the valve quicker.

  • @Morrisonspouch
    @Morrisonspouch Před 2 lety

    Love your videos man, have A 928 myself

  • @yngvefalkenberg-arell4941

    I love your "crazy" videos. Keep up the good and educational content :D

  • @theafro
    @theafro Před 2 lety

    Engineering is the art of making the thing that you need, from stuff you can get. You missed on both counts! (But I love it, DO NOT STOP!)
    Balls may be a bad idea in the screw-jack thingys, they're going to generate radial forces that can only jam things up, cylindrical pins or small roller bearings running in flat tracks would mean the only forces generated would be axial and rotational, (also easier to make, and make reliably).
    It's also worth looking into higher voltages for driving the motors, you may have already considered this, but do not arbitrarily limit yourself to 24v, IR2 is a thing!
    Loving the projects dude, it's like my school-boy notebook, but on youtube!

  • @ehb403
    @ehb403 Před 2 lety

    Just a quick note on valve actuating times: you calculate 20 msec per revolution (at 6,000 rpm). This includes things other than valve operation, like compression and intake for the intake valve (the valve should "dwell" at the ends of its operation). Camshafts typically are designed to have a "duration" of about 240 degrees or less (not the 360 you calculated); keep in mind this time also has to include operation in both directions. So, 1/2 of 2/3 of 20 msec or less than 7 msec per "stroke" and the mechanical direction-switching action usually will take up some of this as well. Of course, you can gain time by reducing your maximum rpm (probably a good idea with the Harbor Freight engine anyway). Keep thinking happy thoughts!

  • @turnipsucks6416
    @turnipsucks6416 Před 2 lety

    Looking forward to the follow up.

  • @curator23
    @curator23 Před 2 lety +1

    Ball screw vs rack and pinion?
    Use servos instead of steppers? They typically out perform an equivalent sized stepper.
    My approach to this would have been to develop a linear servo using a long throw sub woofer driver and amplifier as a basis, modify the amp to use a hall sensor for position feedback.

  • @bigbird2100
    @bigbird2100 Před 2 lety

    Great video 👍love the ideas and solutions you cover would fuel injection actuators be an alternative to stepper's or an abs pump.

  • @isaacmirandajs
    @isaacmirandajs Před 2 lety

    Wow, can't wait!

  • @wimvanderschelden1369
    @wimvanderschelden1369 Před 2 lety +5

    Being able to follow the process of this project like this is awesome. It's great to see why this stuff isn't easy and what particular details are a consideration in something like this.

    • @WesleyKagan
      @WesleyKagan  Před 2 lety +2

      Yeah, I'm trying to open up my process a bit more, and it's cool to document what works and not. Something something Rome wasn't built in a day. Not saying niche valve tech is Rome, but.

  • @Drunken_Hamster
    @Drunken_Hamster Před měsícem

    In learning about rotary valves recently, I strongly suggest looking into deleting poppet valves in addition to camshafts.

  • @Choober65
    @Choober65 Před 2 lety

    Absolute BRILLIANCE!

  • @Ralph2
    @Ralph2 Před 2 lety

    Nice video and that computer panel is sick.

  • @badatengineering
    @badatengineering Před 2 lety +1

    Awesome Project!! About the motors you might want to look in to Odrive its a controller for BLDC motors that you can use them like a servo motor maybe that is fast enough, I am not sure though.

    • @WesleyKagan
      @WesleyKagan  Před 2 lety +1

      Thanks for the tip, I'll look into it!

  • @loganbyrom9185
    @loganbyrom9185 Před 2 lety

    I love that Porsche poster so much

  • @webbeddizzy
    @webbeddizzy Před 2 lety +1

    I have been wanting to do this ever since I first heard about what Koenigsegg did with the free value system. You are doing great and I love the experimental mind set that you have of figuring out what works and what doesn’t work. I think in your first video you mentioned electromagnetic actuators as a possibility. I would definitely look into those to see if they are a viable and affordable option. The stepper motors are a great idea but I believe there is still the mechanical component there in this assembly, that will wear out and eventually break. I believe that was a big reason for doing away with the cam and chain assembly. Also for your intake and exhaust timing having you to thought about “probing” the ignition timing to get your electrical signal for the actuators. It’s seems to my understanding that you are just setting the intake and exhaust timing to a constant but in actually it over the rev range of the motor. Please don’t think I’m being critical of you, I love what you are doing. These are just suggestions, can’t wait for more content!

  • @sevensixtwo5001
    @sevensixtwo5001 Před 2 lety +1

    +1 awesome points for being a Twin Fantasy enjoyer. As if you didn't have enough already.

  • @psychosis7325
    @psychosis7325 Před 2 lety

    They keep blocking my comments trying to explain in full.... Math for 300 degree camshaft at 6000rpm is 0.0083 seconds to open, can not have too much overlap. Love the project, keep it up

  • @Mrcrowntown
    @Mrcrowntown Před 2 lety

    Stock miata head for consistent location and oiling, and change the stepper ratio to something that gives you a coarse control resolution, but with a fast opening speed. It's a sacrifice in the beginning, but the raw data can only assist in the refinement process.
    Excited to see where this goes!

  • @hardstile20
    @hardstile20 Před 2 lety

    Love the freevalve videos, maybe you could try usiing oil presure to puch down the valves?

  • @grandmasternas2494
    @grandmasternas2494 Před 2 lety +1

    Don’t stop with this keep going this is a great idea , put your name on it too so no big company’s get any big ideas 😂

  • @ugagnskraake
    @ugagnskraake Před 2 lety +3

    I really admire your abilities to conceptualize and implement mechanical solutions. I'm a 30 year old embedded software engineer teaching myself mechanical engineering to hopefully become as skilled as you are one day.

  • @poprawa
    @poprawa Před 2 lety

    Miata parts are great to lay around, I too can recommend them for that

  • @rthomp03
    @rthomp03 Před 2 lety +9

    Would it be easier to find a smaller, faster-acting stepper motor, and connect them in series to the same shaft to meet the torque requirements? It seems like the response time is the limiting factor.
    Also, I'm not sure your calculations are correct, because during the compression and power strokes, neither valve is moving. So the time of the intake and exhaust strokes is still going to be the duration of 1/2 a revolution, and that's the time you have to open AND close the valve, including any duration you want it full open. 6000 RPM = 100 rev/sec. 1 revolution = 0.01sec. 1/2 revolution = 5ms (that's the entire duration of each stroke). So basically you're looking at around 2ms to open, 1ms hold open, then 2ms to close (depending on how much air you want to let in and out of the cylinder per stroke). You'll be hard-pressed to find any non-camshaft system that responds that quickly, and you'll have very little granularity for tuning.

  • @PmanProductions100
    @PmanProductions100 Před 2 lety

    A video on a test stand would be dope, especially since you could then use something like an arduino/raspberry pi to gather data! Impressive stuff!!!

  • @timwatterson8060
    @timwatterson8060 Před 2 lety

    look at trinamic enabled bldc motors in stepper Nema packages, stepper control with bldc speeds. Some other companies offer similar products with differing specs. You could also tune the ball race for the forces needed. It looks like your race design requires alteration of the steppers' direction every half cycle, and the associated acceleration and deceleration. If the race is made to always operate in one direction with known flats as needed, the acceleration and deceleration only need to be appropriate for the chosen flat lengths and open/close durations.

  • @M_Gargantua
    @M_Gargantua Před 2 lety +1

    I love the idea of the ball bearing rotation design. One thing you might be able to experiment with, since at high RPM you aren't really ever going to want to adjust valve lift (it will just be max lift above some rpm threshold), you could do a continuous bearing race, and control duration by slowing a continuous single direction spin rather than reversing, where at low RPM you can easily adjust lift by reversing. You can also improve performance with a servo motor (or just a 24Vdc motor with a rotary encoder slapped onto your design), since you don't need exact positioning anymore, just good position with good torque. If you want extra resolution on the "cam" sync position go with a little Pogo pin to ground a sensing pad when the valve reaches the top of its stroke.

  • @turkeyboyjh1
    @turkeyboyjh1 Před 2 lety

    You should look at how 2 stroke oil injection pumps move, you could use smaller steppers geared over out of the way for space and have linear actuators to change lift and slow and speed up the motors during constant rotation to adjust valve timing, the piston in those pumps are adjustable travel by an arm that connects from the throttle to the offset ball bearing cam and the piston that would actuate the valve in this case has an eccentric face on the top and it doesn’t rotate so the piston goes upon and down a little bit and when the motor and brought down valve lift increases

  • @unionse7en
    @unionse7en Před 2 lety

    cat: "who ya talkin too, i'm right here" ........... yep , step 1: calculate the power requirements to move the valves. Fun Project, good video.

  • @mikeylarsen1267
    @mikeylarsen1267 Před 2 lety

    Hey im in PHX area and I have a 2000 Chevy metro 3cylinder that would be perfect for the free valve. If ya ever want to do another car. The crankshaft keyway got worn by the woodruff key so the timing is variable.. but not the good kind. Anyways really enjoy and appreciate your videos thanks for the hard work.

  • @linusgk5042
    @linusgk5042 Před 2 lety +1

    You have become a lot better youtuber since I started watching you. I have extremely low knowledge and experience with electro mechanics. But have you thought about using an Odrive on a regular Bldc motor (most likely with a gearbox)? I know it have a big community that might can help you.
    Also, you have a dead fan on your top radiator on your wall pc.

  • @rikishi273
    @rikishi273 Před 2 lety

    Cool video - I like the idea - it feels like it could work without some super special motors and I couldn't help but also think about how I would try fix some of these problems:
    1. Gear the connection to the valves so it is not 1:1 and less steps per open/close. less torque but it looks like you have excess anyway
    2. Change the shape of the ball bearing cut-outs - I'm thinking a continuous sine wave pattern all the way around which connects to itself. You could even make this sine shape with flat areas at the peaks of the sine wave so you can keep the valves closed while still rotating the motor slowly and reducing the need for such high acceleration on the motor
    3. less travel on the valves from open to close state - maybe you might have to put higher pressure into the fuel for this
    I'm keen to see what you come up with

  • @samuie2
    @samuie2 Před 2 lety

    Love this project and that you share all the information.
    Would brushless DC motors with an encoder offer better response time?
    Controllers like O-drive even have "stepping" modes so the coding should be about the same. Plus being closed loop might be good for reliability.

  • @solenskinerable
    @solenskinerable Před 2 lety

    something cool you could try would be to drive camshaft with a strong stepper. you can modulate rotational speed by a sine wave to control how long or short the valve is open. going ducati style lifters would reduce imaginary load, too, and let a smaller stepper drive it fine.

  • @boltonky
    @boltonky Před 2 lety

    Great little video, i enjoy the fact your like trying stuff that i can imagine but can't design lol

  • @matthewverde3390
    @matthewverde3390 Před 2 lety

    You are the dude... man. Fucking love your content

  • @EdwardKrapovnitsky
    @EdwardKrapovnitsky Před rokem

    Hi! I use stepper motors in my projects but I do not see them doing this job for a few reasons but mostly because of dramatic efficiency decrease at higher speeds. And we definitely looking for higher speeds to get full advantages of the technology on a small engine. A 3-phase synchronous electric machine will suffice both speed and torque wise but still a spring assistance needed to reduce start/stop requred torques up to two times. Teknic ClearPath are 3 phase synchronous motors with step/dir integrated controllers. I used them too in my projects. I'm not sure these controllers can change direction and speed fast enough. So a custom controller may (or may not be required for this project).

  • @chopper3lw
    @chopper3lw Před 2 lety +2

    When you originally said you were going to try steppers in the last video my immediate thought was "it'll never be fast enough." I didn't comment because too many youtube ppl get negative comments. TBH I really think you need to use solenoids. Maybe steal one out of a starter motor. It'll require a lot of current, and to get precise control over it some tricky mosfet pwm circuit. Negative side would be that you'll have to deal with a spring again unless you do a pushme-pullyou setup (complex). Oh well, I can't wait to see this work as you desire.

    • @WesleyKagan
      @WesleyKagan  Před 2 lety +2

      The only problem with a big solenoid is the inductance of the coil. It takes so long for the coil to discharge it can't charge up fast enough.

    • @chopper3lw
      @chopper3lw Před 2 lety

      @@WesleyKagan Yea @5000RPM that'd be about 80Hz. You'd probably have to wind your own to get something fast enough.

    • @DiscoFang
      @DiscoFang Před 2 lety

      @@WesleyKagan Car subwoofers seem to manage to operate fast enough at very high amplitude. Plus, rotary woofers use the voicecoil technology to operate an actuator at the required frequency.

  • @nomaralonso1880
    @nomaralonso1880 Před 2 lety

    What i think: This is a million dollar channel with a lack of resources. My man needs a sponsor.

  • @MrBubmer
    @MrBubmer Před 2 lety

    I don't have anywhere I could do this, so I live vicariously through Wesley's videos

  • @ikocheratcr
    @ikocheratcr Před 2 lety

    Maybe use two motors per valve, I know more complex design, but maybe easier in the long term.
    My idea goes as follows:
    One motor brushless DC ( 2 or 3 phase) that rotates the actuator you show in this video, but the thread path is not linear, it is more to the profile of open for a little time that a valve normally does.
    The second motor might be an stepper, the rotates an external cylinder of the actuator the first motor rotates. This cylinder has in the inside the balls the first one rides on, and external a fine pitched thread. The block that keeps this in place has the mating thread of this second part.
    The way it works, the brushless motor rotates at the right speed and phase to open and close the valve when needed. To control how much the valve opens, the stepper raises or lowers the fine thread cylinder and controls that.
    I know it is way more complex mechanically, but the brushless motor speed and phase control is not that complex, and the stepper handles the valve travel distance with not much torque.
    I do see one disadvantage, which is as more valve travel is needed, the amount of time the valve is open increases. Not sure how to deal with this. Changing the speed of the brushless per degree of rotation is not simple (inertia gets in the way).
    Hope you see this.

  • @sacrificialrubber779
    @sacrificialrubber779 Před 2 lety +1

    Have you heard or thought about rotary valves? The experiment with them on a small block Chevy I believe…check it out. It might be a new direction to explore

  • @alphawolf4714
    @alphawolf4714 Před 2 lety

    As a technician and sports car enthusiast, I'm rooting for your advancement and success. I want so badly to add freevalve to my V6 and get truly free and unlimited valve variation... both for fuel economy AND sorts application.

    • @WesleyKagan
      @WesleyKagan  Před 2 lety

      I'm really pursuing this form, I'm a lot happier with it so far compared to the compressed air system