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Internal Combustion Engine Construction Kit

Azimech

By Azimech
in KSP1 Mod Development

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Azimech

Azimech

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Ever wanted to try and build a car or aircraft engine? Now you can. After months of tinkering I present you with a set of parts that has made the impossible possible, just by editing config files.

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A turbine driving a semi-variable transmission, driving a propellor with adjustable pitch.

Simple trike with a two speed transmission.

This is impossible to build in stock. Even the mods that i've used, i've modded them to create parts that would be usable, rocket parts are just what they are ... rocket parts.

Procedural Parts: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/70676-0-25WIP-Procedural-Parts-Parts-the-way-you-want-em-0-9-19-Oct-11

Infernal Robotics: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/37707-0-25-Magic-Smoke-Industries-Infernal-Robotics-0-19-2

Tweakscale: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/80234-0-25-TweakScale-Rescale-Everything!-%28v1-44-2014-10-10-19-20-UTC%29

Editor Extensions: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/38768-0-25-Editor-Extensions-v1-4-11-Oct-2014-%28EdTools-Editor-Tools-replacement%29

Part Angle Display: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/81390-0-25-Part-Angle-Display-including-seamless-highly-accurate-rotation-v0-2-4-5

Select Root: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/43208-0-24-Jul18-SelectRoot-Set-a-new-root-part-Still-works-in-0-25

The Colliders Strike Back: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/93897-0-25-The-Colliders-Strike-Back-v1-0-1-Intra-vessel-part-collisions-are-back!

This will be very useful for ignition timing: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/86062-WIP-Plugin-Parts-LaserDist-0-3-for-KSP-0-24-Alpha

Included is a part from Talisar's Cargo Transportation Solutions mod, reused with kind permission. Link to his mod: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/77505-Cargo-Transportation-Solutions-%28WIP%29

Why Procedural Parts? Because building an engine requires fine-tuning. In real life engineers think in microns. Thanks to PP, we can at least think in millimeters.

Mandatory: Editor Extensions and Select Root. While you might be able to build something without EE, without Select Root it will not happen. Period.

Very, very helpful: Part Angle Display. Stock KSP is like a drunken carpenter: pretty but wildly inaccurate. Try to align cylinders and pistons without PAD and see what I mean.

Tip: SPH is much better for building engines. You really NEED the 6DOF.

A big thank you to Ferram4, without his "Colliders Strike Back" mod, this was simply not possible.

A big thank you to sirkut, without his Station Parts I couldn't have a free running bearing and this project wouldn't start at all.

Collisions are the challenge for the future of this mod. In the mean time, set Max Physics Delta-Time per Frame to 0.03! Use extra models like tubes attached to cylinders to reduce piston twisting (see video). I'm working on a solution but KSP and Unity has a few limitations.

Use the mini or micro radial attachment points (MRAP) between Infernal Robotic parts and Procedural Parts. You'll see the result after reloading if you don't.

Basics of crankshaft building: first build one main bearing, attach MRAP, then a short procedural part science fiction, then a crank pin using one of the oval procedural parts. Attach an MRAP on the outer edge of the oval. then attach the bearing for the piston rod. Use Select Root on the piston rod bearing. Now you can copy the crank pin, select the MRAP that's attached to the piston rod bearing, rotate 180 degrees and attach.

Root parts should never be a bearing part or procedural part when you decide to launch! Bugs will occur!

Stroke of the engine: rotate a piston-rod assembly 180 degrees around it's bearing to see if the mantle of the piston intersects with the crank pin. Adjust the length of the piston rod to compensate.

Adjusting length of procedural part elements: Sometimes you change the length and parts connected to top and bottom node remain where they are. Only solution is to detach and reattach.

Mounting cylinders: Remove the piston-rod assembly by detaching the bearing ring from the bearing core. Otherwise the cylinder might attach to the piston.

*Find a solution for the colliders, even with Ferram's mod sometimes pistons go through the cylinders

*Find a way to make connections as stiff as they possibly can be, connection stiffness shouldn't be depending on mass

*Need an ignition system. Maybe the Laser + kOS will be a solution. Otherwise a real plugin will be needed

*Find a solution for the 47 radians per second limitation. This is roughly 489 rpm, much to slow for any decent engine not installed in a cargo freighter

*Find a way to make the attachment nodes (the green orbs) even smaller than size 0.

*Need smaller struts, the things become huge when scaling down

*Need struts that don't compress or stretch

*Balancing

*Better part & file/folder structure

*Some kind of audio system

Version 0.2: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wgu35qwgz34qgco/77%20Ind_ICECK0.2.zip?dl=0

Please take a look at the readme and the included engine.

Version 0.1: https://www.dropbox.com/s/krhkx0xkrv6pknj/ICE_Construction_Kit_01.zip?dl=0

Don't expect realistic values for things like strength or crash damage ... yet.

Open for suggestions, tips, tools, anything.

And as a bonus, here's a link to an album with some older projects.

http://imgur.com/a/IK2pn

Edited by Azimech
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White Owl

White Owl

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I'm impressed!

I've long wanted to see a system for players to engineer their own engines and other complex systems. Ideally, I'd like to see your kind of effort rewarded by the ingame creation of a single-part engine with identical stats, so it would be usable without so many parts and all their resources.

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Azimech

Azimech

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That's exactly the reason I've put so much work in it, to show people that it can be done, it's usable and most of all, a lot of fun! Right now I can build multiple models or types using subassemblies. Now it's waiting for a proper ignition system, in the video i'm switching on and off using my finger.

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Azimech

Azimech

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Ever heard of these guys?

Jumo%20205%20Slovakia.JPG

It's the Junkers Jumo 205, a 1930's aircraft engine. It's a two stroke diesel, with two crankshafts, 6 cilinders and two pistons per cilinder.

Right now I'm testing a short, two cilinder version (only 190 parts, wow!) I've uploaded a few images to Imgur so they're visible in the OP.

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White Owl

White Owl

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I downloaded but haven't tried it out yet. Looking at your first post, I see I'll at least need Procedural Parts, Collisions Strike Back, Infernal Robotics, and Tal's Cargo Solutions. Anything else?

Installing your configs will probably drastically change the way most of those mods work, so I'm guessing I should do this on a clean install, new save, right?

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Azimech

Azimech

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I just remembered ... Tweakscale is also required. I'll update the download soon but in the mean time ... needed for the cylinders is the following adjustment in the Tal config file: replace "stack" with "free" and delete the default size.

Tip: the firespitter plugin is useful because you can open the cylinders and even pistons, align stuff and see what's going on. You can even run an engine with the sides open.

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Azimech

Azimech

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I need a lot of help. The colliders are a mess, pistons are very hard to keep inside the cylinders. Joints are a problem too, even with Joint Reinforcement. And struts are too flexible. Any insights are greatly appreciated.

I love the opposed piston design but at the moment there is a limitation in the code of the bearing, two crankshafts won't work, one of them will have a bearing that's locked. This is because surface attachment of the bearing ring is a violation of the rules. But I've just come up with a solution at this very moment, although not pretty.

Wankels are a problem as gears are a problem at this time. Also the three lobed design would have to be made with a modeling program.

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Azimech

Azimech

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Doing research in the collider issue. Ignition system will have to wait because the LaserDist plugin isn't ready yet.

So I did something else as well.

Ever wanted to build a gearbox? I've got one. Video is in the OP.

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