2. Stirling’s Original
Drawings• Patrick Stirling was an engineer, who worked on the Great British airway in the
1800’s
• This drawing was patented by Stirling in December 1859.
• Unfortunately we could not find any models of the engine built.
3. Summary
• For our project we decided to draw up Patrick Stirling’s
traction engine.
• We chose this engine for our project because it fully satisfies
the design brief.
• Excluding screws it is comprised of fifty seven individual parts,
which is within the range required (50-70).
• The engine has a mix of difficult and simple parts, which
makes the drawing and assembly challenging but not
unnecessarily difficult.
• There is also a range of mechanisms included in the design,
such as spur gears, bevel gears and a valve gear.
• There are also a lot of support videos on YouTube for engines
like this. If you type steam engines cad into YouTube, you will
be met with a lot of helpful resources.
8. How it works
• Steam engines use steam and heat to make mechanical
power.
• The majority of steam engines work by heating water in a
chamber, which generates steam.
• The pressure of the steam can then be guided through pipes
and valves to generate mechanical power.
• The first steam engines were used as simple pumps to
extract water from mineshafts.
• As the engines were developed, the steam engines became
more efficient and powerful.
• They were then being used to power trains, ships, and entire
factories.
