Steam Engine Development

From Open Source Ecology
Revision as of 01:45, 6 May 2011 by Mjn (talk | contribs)
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
    1. Bill of Materials with Sources
    2. Fabrication Plan (Diagrams, CAM, CNC, etc)
    3. Assembly Instructions
  5. Prototype
  6. 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