AUT - Cameron Wynniatt
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Cameron Wynniatt
Project - Valve Train Design and Simulation
“I had to redesign the Indian’s valve actuation mechanism to produce much more aggressive valve timing. This involved changing the followers and cam profile. To achieve this I had to learn the terminology, research the engine set up and its limitations and learn the 3D mechanical engineering CAD (computer aided design) software product Solidworks. This was first validated by first principles analysis before being used to further develop and design the final cam profiles.”
“With my project partner Brendon Midgley, I met weekly with academic supervisor Dr Roy Nates to discuss the maths, while lecturer David White helped with problems relating to the bike such as parts, geometry and engine characteristics.”
Challenges
“Getting the SolidWorks™ motion analysis up and running with the Indian’s layout was very complicated. After hours of trial and error we finally got realistic results that were comparable to values we had found mathematically.
“The other challenging part of the project was the cam profile. It was very difficult to achieve the timing since every small change in the cam profile changed the timing diagram. I had to repeat this over and over until the desired valve timing was achieved.“
Highlights
“Highlights came after every breakthrough; getting the SolidWorks™ motion package up and running, the production of the test jig and matching the final timing diagrams from Solidworks to those of results obtained from testing at Lynn Rogers Automotive.”
Lessons learned
“I learned a lot about the motion analysis of SolidWorks™, since this was our design tool and the main program in which we’d designed a suitable cam profile for the Indian. I had to work with Brendon constantly to work things out and used every spare moment I had.”
“When we were stuck for ideas, David and Roy were there to help so there was a lot of teamwork. We knew what we wanted but we didn’t know how long the project would take since we kept having problems. I learnt a lot about cams and how the change in geometry can affect valve mechanism kinematics. The amount of work required for this project reflects in the report I wrote and the final mark I received.”