The Man Behind the World's Smallest V-12 Engine [video]

[jhallenworld]

I wish someone with the skill to do this would use their time to push the state of the art in small generator design. Here is a sampling of parameters, all of which I think could be improved:

Cheapest: Harbor freight's "Storm Cat" $129, 2-stroke, 700W, 91 dB, 63cc, 38.2 lbs, 18.3 W / lb, 1818 Wh / Gal.

Best power / weight, most efficient: Honda "EU2000i" $1000, 4-stroke, 1600W, 53 dB, 98cc, 46 lbs, 35 W / lb, 6737 Wh / Gal.

Quietest: Honda "EU3000is" $2000, 4-stroke, 2800W, 49 dB, 196cc, 134 lbs, 20 W / lb, 5939 Wg / Gal.

Lightest: Honda "EU1000i" $800, 4-strike, 900W, 53 dB, 50cc, 29 lbs, 31 W / lb, 5700 Wh / Gal.

(there are ~33440 Watt-hours of energy available in a gallon of gasoline).

The most recent innovation seems to be the inverter/generator. It means that the engine does not have to run at any specific speed to get 60 Hz, so it can be run slow to make it quiet. Perhaps an extension to this could be the generator equivalent of a "hybrid"- supply power from a battery to cover surges, but use the engine to supply the average usage.

It will be interesting if any recent work on engine design ends up in small generators. For example, there is the OPOC engine from the Bill Gates backed startup http://ecomotors.com

You would think there would be more competition from micro-turbines, but I don't think they scale down so well. There is this 2.6 kW "Dynajet" micro-turbine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa8kS8EZWmQ

Edit: also.. what ever happened with small fuel cells? http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkanellos/2013/01/31/why-a...

[Houshalter]

The other day I saw a story on a new engine design which claims to be 125% more efficient: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChLFFT08eHg

Here (http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/19/science/putting-a-darwinia...) is an old story about a group who used genetic algorithm to design a more efficient diesel engine.

>using a Silicon Graphics Origin 2000 supercomputer with 32 processors it took more than two weeks of continuous operation to find an optimal set of parameters.

>Dr. Senecal's test engine consumed 15 percent less fuel than a standard engine while producing one-third as much nitric oxide and half the soot.

Unfortunately I have no idea if anything ever came of this or not. I can't find anything. It'd be incredibly sad if this actually worked and then was never implemented.

This was done just with a dumb genetic algorithm on 2000 era computers, a population size of 5, run for 50 generations, and only tweaking a handful of parameters. I believe there is more potential in stuff like this.

[sebastianavina]

this guy builds models,they work on compressed air, they are not actual combustion engines.

[btoptical]

You may also like this:

http://youtu.be/CIZNh1G2vNI

This guy built a fully functional scale model of a Ferrari 310 including the V12 engine all from photos. He built every part. He tuned the car so that it makes the sound of the "Ferrari Music."

It's also incredible.

[evanspa]

Not only that, he had to design and create the MOLDS for the parts!

[degio]

It's interesting how most of the comments focus on the technical aspects of what the guy built.

What I found interesting and inspiring is the time and passion that he puts in what he does. I really hope to still have something that makes me so passionate when I will be 72. It's a great way to live your life.

[webnrrd2k]

There are more people that care about things like this than you'd think... I worked on a 31 Alpha Romero gas tank a few weeks ago, with a friend. There are old cars that people really care about, as well as old boats and airplanes. There are machinists who make miniature engines, just like this guy, and all sorts of other things. That type of craftsmanship is hardly dead (although it is getting very hard to find!)

I'm into black smithing, which is an even more rare type of craftsmanship. There are all sorts of resources online. Check out ABANA [http://abana.org/] to start. But whatever it is that you're into there is bound to be someone else into it. Try the SCA [http://www.sca.org/] if you want some really old-school stuff.

[nawitus]

There's actually a museum for miniature engineering, for anyone interested in the subject.

http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/

[joezydeco]

"Since I have no internet - I don't know how to surf the web, but there seems to not be another one"

And that's probably why he's the only one.

[baddox]

It's bittersweet. He talks about how engineers now don't care about making things robust and repairable, or making things by hand, and he's probably got a point there. But he's also missing out on the opportunities of the Internet, where he could share the stuff he does and exchange ideas with people who do or want to do similar things. Especially with the increasingly prominent "maker culture," I think he would find there are a lot of people out there who share his passions.

[qsun]

Also there are some very interesting videos about marvellous artisan work on reddit http://www.reddit.com/r/ArtisanVideos/

[Sophistifunk]

Oh lord what have you done? I'm going to lose dozens of hours in there over the next month.

[DanBC]

I love this video and I'm glad it's getting attention on HN. It captures a bunch of stuff - pride in your work; actually making something non-trivial; etc.

(I posted a link to it a year ago in a comment. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6116806#up_6117341 )

[amirmansour]

You can see the passion for his work in his eyes.

[BendertheRobot]

It's funny how some people think those exquisite models are real internal combustion engines.

[fernly]

There's a point in the posted video where they demo the V12 and you see drops of condensation forming at the ends of the exhaust pipes. Some kind of combustion is going on. Maybe it's running on propane instead of gasoline, but it's internally combusting. In the video of the guy with the model Ferrari, he mentions it is fuel-injected, and when he revs it, it sure sounds like it is an IC engine.

[mxfh]

Don't know if the Artus V12[1] is smaller but it's an actual combustion engine not an air pressure driven model of a combustion engine.

In that category it might be even still bigger than a pneumatic LEGO engine[2], but still an incredible feat in craftsmanship.

[1] http://www.artus-motor.com/artus-v12-motor/

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bKIdqh6ARA

[gchokov]

It's not. It's quite larger than the one in the video.

[fasteo]

I am happy to see that great craftsmanship in my compatriot.

The spark in his eyes shows a passion that I - sanely, if that´s possible - envy.

[nobullet]

Masterpiece! I wish I could have had a possibility to use such an engine in car modeling in my childhood. Such cars could have gone a long journey!

[sunsu]

Some company should help the guy fullfill his dream and let him "design an engine room for a transatlantic ship".

[Nux]

Pretty awesome guy. And this is sad: "mechanics are nowadays mere fitters" ...

Though I am sure there are plenty of passionate, talented engineers around, just like him, it's just the world that changed and it's not all bad.

[bhhaskin]

He is definitely a master craftsman. It reminds me of old school precision clockwork.

[manucorporat]

I already submitted this before fauri did, same URL... weird https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8268858

[3rd3]

Music: http://twobicyclesband.bandcamp.com/album/valerie

[arjn]

I've seen this before, this and another, younger Italian guy. Excellent and impressive display of mechanical skill.

[robinhoodexe]

Now this is incredible...