How it's Made: Engine Block

Very cool.

Check out Wartsila.com where I worked as a consultant for 3 years in Vaasa Finland and you will see blocks for 30-400 ton engines (not being made, but just look at beautiful engines). I have seen a single grey iron casting coming out of the foundry for a 248 ton engine (18V48) in one piece, and they have engines larger than that. Model number explanation; 18 = cylinder, V = Vee configuration (L or R = in-line engine) and the number 48 = 48 cm bore. They have a 96 cm bore engine. Yup . . . almost 1 meter piston.

http://www.wartsila.com/,en,productsservices,productportfolio,product,,24079490412160704,no,8001.htm

http://www.wartsila.com/Wartsila/global/docs/en/ship_power/media_publications/brochures/product/engines/medium_speed/w64_tr.pdf

Surf around low and medium speed engines under "Products" and then look for "Technology Reviews". The low speed engines are 2 cycle, medium and high speed 4 cycle.

Have fun.

George

kewl link! I wish the photos were larger for more detail.

I had fun working there and seeing the R/D lab. Walking inside crankcases, etc. I have an exhaust valve for an 18V46 on a wooden display in my office ! 1 meter tall.

OK all you gear heads drooling over these Wartsila pics. Here is how to use the website better. For example, I just pulled this drawing out (link below) in 30 seconds (shows 10.924 meters from center of crankshaft to the top of the single mother of all mother exhaust valve actuator [hydraulic . . . not running from a push rod off a cam] )

http://www.wartsila.com/Wartsila/global/docs/en/ship_power/products/2str/inst_info/rt_flex96c/336_281___.pdf

********* Instructions *******

Go to: http://www.wartsila.com/,en,productsservices,,,,,,.htm which is Products and Services. Then go in the middle and under Selection of Products and Services click either "Low Speed" (the big mother 2 cycle engines) or "Medium Speed" (the 4 cycle engines . . . my favorites). Then once inside there, click on the 'family' model you like keeping in mind the model number is like this for low speed: RTA96 = (R) is Swiss first letter for "line" meaning in-line, (T) is Turbo, (A) is Aftercooled and 96 is the bore in cm (about 38"). And then you put the cylinder quantity in front. So a 14RTA96 in an in-line 14 cylinder 96 cm bore engine with a turbo and aftercooler.

For the medium speed, click on the family such as 64 (64 cm bore . . . a beautiful engine) and models are like this 6L64 or 12V64 or 9R32 or 12V32 or 9L32. The first number is the cylinder count. The letter is the configuration: V = Vee and L or R are interchangeable for in-line engine. L = "line" but the older models with Finnish and Swiss numbers use R which is the first letter of "Line" in those languages. And the last digits are the bore in cm. 64 cm = 25" 32 = 12.5 ", etc.

Once inside each model's description, look in the left for "Related Material" and click on the Technology Review or whatever you want. Those are pdf files and you can hit the + sign in Adobe in the tool bar and blow up the pictures as large as you want.

My favorite pic is page 11 of the 64's Technology Review showing the guy with the con rod. Page 16 shows a guy standing between two turbos with the huge intake manifold cavern under his feet of a 18V64.

A 6R32 is about $1 m (million bucks), 18V32 about $2.2 m, 18V46 about $3.5 m, 18V64 maybe $8.5 m and I haven't a clue for any 2 cycle engines (I was a 4 cycle guru . . . . I didn't work with them there dern "Yamahas" !)

I just did a failure analysis on one that threw a rod out the side. Amazing energy. I walked in through the hole, climbed up on the crankshaft and sat swinging my feet saying "Talk to me" looking around with my light.

Enjoy.

George

How much does one of those go for?

I'd like to install one in my snowblower and freak out my neighbors across the creek....:)

I'm thinking SERIOUS chopper. Big bike. ...Make the Harley or even small-block-Chevy "Super" biker boys shrivel in envy.

I recently did a cooling water jpiping job in a large automobile engine block manufactoring facility. They use high pressure injection molding machines that spit out 22.5 aluminum blocks an hour. When you multiply this times 12 machines times 24 hour around the clock production and that is alot of blocks. Everything but the inspection and final clean-up was done via robots. They only used limited manpower to run, monitor and "feed" the machines/furnaces and to do maintenance of course. It was really an awesome operation.

tigwelder