Steam Engine Development

From Open Source Ecology
Revision as of 01:43, 6 May 2011 by Mjn (talk | contribs) (Added a description of the development process.)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Main > Energy > Steam Engine



Steam Engine
   Home  |  Research & Development  |  Bill of Materials  |  Manufacturing Instructions  |  User's Manual  |  User Reviews    Steam Engine.png


The Development Process

Project-Process.png

The product development process consists of the following steps:

  1. Gather Requirements
  2. Create a Design
  3. Specify What Will be Built
  4. Describe How to Build It
    • Bill of Materials with Sources
    • Fabrication Plan (Diagrams, CAM, CNC, etc)
    • Assembly Instructions
  1. Prototype
  2. Final Product

The creation of a prototype will often reveal design flaws, hidden assumptions, new requirements, etc. This learning is fed back into the development process to create a new design leading to another prototype. When sufficient quality is reached, the product is released (leading to Marketing Plans, User Documentation, Production Plans, and other considerations).

Progress

  • 2.5.09 - We are still developing a strategy for building the first steam engine. We have not decided whether we should cast the engine block or approach it by using stock tubing and parts.
  • 4.30.11 - Project has been re-started based on dialog between Marcin and Mark Norton.
  • 5.3.11 - Updated design goes into review at SACA.

Unanswered Questions

  • What kind of steam control valve should we use?
  • What will be fabbed vs. bought off-the-shelf?

Design

See Steam Engine Design

Collaborators