STL 7 Cylinder Radial Engine for Download
A radial engine works like any other four-stroke internal combustion engine. Each cylinder has an intake, compression, power and exhaust stroke. They differ from inline and horizontally opposed engines in their firing order and they way they connect to the crankshaft.
A radial engines cylinders are numbered from the top, going clockwise, with the first cylinder numbered 1. The first cylinders connecting rod attaches directly to the crankshaft - this is the master rod. The other cylinders rods connect to pivoting points around the master rod.
Every radial engine has an odd number of cylinders, and they fire in an alternating order. So, a five-cylinder engine fires in a 1, 3, 5, 2, and 4 order. A seven-cylinder engine fires in an 1, 3, 5, 7, 2, 4, 6 order.
As the cylinders fire, the rod assembly rotates around the crankshaft, spinning it like a bell crank would. A counterbalance weight sits opposite from the rod hub to prevent engine vibration.
STL 7 Cylinder Radial Engine for Download
