Tag: PIE

PIE X Gets a New Name – “The Trammel Engine”

November was a very busy month for Stclairtech R&D, and for the PIE X project!  

Ready For “Public” Testing

So much has been accomplished with the PIE X project it is mind boggling!!! The “backfire” issue has been resolved and there have been some very successful tests completed running with the electric motor.

Some of the highlights are:

The “backfire” problem is now well controlled with a minor design workaround. Future builds will take these backfire control requirements into account so that “workarounds” will be unnecessary.

The PIE X has earned itself a name of its own and is now known as the “Trammel Engine”. It is a name which is both literal and figurative. Literal because it has internals which resemble the operation of an ellipsograph, or “Trammel of Archimedes”, and is a figurative tongue-in-cheek reference to the same machine’s moniker of being a “do-nothing machine” since its purpose seemed nonsensical for the most part.

 The Trammel Engine (T-Engine or TE for short) is now running well enough to perform some rudimentary testing which has demonstrated true linear thrust. It has been measured thrusting upward with a weight scale with an averaged thrust of .7 lbs. and peaks ten-times that amount running at input speeds of no more than 350 RPM.

Unlike the earlier PIE systems based on Thornson technology the T-Engine does not seem to have a low-speed limitation, and it is creating more thrust as RPMs increase.

A few shareable facts (so far):

1- The TE has externally driven mechanical components which are driven via the electric motor(s) and cause overall rotation along with internal rotating components.

2- There are 3 major rotating component assemblies consisting of metal parts using ball-bearings for friction reduction.

3- Some of the pieces of the internal assemblies can be labeled with names resembling those of internal combustion engines. Pistons, connecting rods, camshaft-like parts, and flywheels are just some of those named components.

Overly simplistically stated, it uses something very similar in function to a lever pulling a load which is allowed to move past apex and “snap over center”. This over center, snapping, rotating assembly is moving masses, accelerating, decelerating, and recovering them 4 times per disc rotation.

The internal timing of these components, and the use of a “camshaft-like” sub-assembly is of utmost importance to eliminating the backfire issue!

There are several videos available on YouTube and BitChute, the latest of them (at this writing) is a 2-part set called “Trammel Engine Works Part 1” and “…Part 2”. Part one shows the test rig, and part two shows a “successful” test which ended abruptly when the fuse blew. It turned out that the fuse blew because one of the “connecting rods” broke. Here are those videos below.

Part 1
Part 2

The broken and damaged parts are now being replaced and repaired, there will be more tests to come very soon! And hopefully more can be revealed soon…

PIE 4.8 Re-Phased and then Switching to Co-Rotating Design Testing (2 Updates)

On 7/31/2021 the counter rotating PIE 4.8 was re-phased to have the planet gears synchronized (self-propulsion mode) but then one plant gear was removed from each wheel so that forward pulses will alternate from on side to the other. The non-functioning weights were fastened to the planet gear mounting holes to help balance the wheels a bit.

Results were very similar to having all the planet gears and weights in place and operational with road testing showing a 4% to 6% reduction of engine load at the standard speed of 55 MPH with little to no headwind.

I believe this poor performance may be due to the counter-rotating wheels. Previous testing has shown better thrust using co-rotational wheels (rotating in the same direction). It has been suggested that counter rotation might be needed for stability, especially in either an air or space (aerospace) vehicle, but co-rotation should be very possible with proper management using either air foils or gyroscopes. Co-rotation should still be quite manageable a with minimum amount of manipulation.

8/10/2021 Update

I have now rerouted the chain on the PIE 4.8 so now the Left and Right wheels both turn clockwise, and I have modified the ramp on one of the RH wheel’s weights for the direction change and timed the wheels for self-propulsion (synchronized). With just one weight on the right wheel and two weights on the left wheel I now see that it is a definite improvement over the counter rotating wheel setup!

The first noticeable difference between counter rotating and co-rotating is when counter rotating in this same configuration of 2 weights on left and one on the right the propulsion pulse was strong when a single weight pulsed and weak when two weights synchronously pulsed. With co-rotating wheels the propulsion pulse is strong when a single weight pulsed and doubles in strength when two weights pulse synchronously. In simple terms, the unit is stronger when co-rotational!

I need to put trolley wheels under it again to test properly on the bench, but the unit seems strong and is pulling itself (sliding forward) across the bench when running even without fine tuning the gear timing. Next, I will adjust the gear timing and modify the other weight for clockwise rotation so that I can complete this round of testing.

If there was lots of extra time to do extensive testing it would be best to build it with 4 wheels, two co-rotating and two countering them to be able to arrange them in different ways to record and study the results. I don’t feel it is necessary at this time as the testing I have done is more than adequate to demonstrate the workability of the PIE system.

I have discussed the origin of the SDC and the subsequent positive effects of its use, and when I was setting up the PIE 4.8 to co-rotate, I could visually see the point of heavier motor load in the PIE’s rotation. So I published a short video of this visually obvious effect demonstrating the position in rotation which needs the RPM boost using the Speed Differential Control (below).

More to come soon!!!

PIE 4.7 and “PIE X”

PIETECH 4.7 and “PIE X”:

It has been a while since my last post, or video so here is an update:

The PIE 4.7 second half (CCW wheel) is progressing, although somewhat slower than I would prefer as life’s circumstances have presented certain obstacles to its advancement. The first “dead blow” weight for it is ready to install, and another is in process.

I always said it is not a good idea to have more than one project going at a time, yet that is exactly what I am doing…

After communicating at length with other builders, I have split my time between the PIE 4.7 and a new design, the “PIE X”. It has some radically different internal components and will look a bit different but it is still what I would call a Pulsed Inertial Engine, so right now it is known as the “PIE X”.

This design has originated from other people so I will need their permission to “open source” any of that information! I require their permission to share or publish the information leading up to the PIE X without the consent of those who have been kind enough to share the basic design information with me!

If the PIE X is as feasible as predicted and becomes something worth pursuing more information may be provided (with permission), and if it falls short, I will provide thoughts regarding that failure (still, with permission only).

Note: The PIE X is quite a bit more expensive and much more complex to build and fabricate the components for, so it may not be something the casual hobbyist would feel comfortable with, at least not until there is a working prototype to prove the principals.

Those who know me and those who have followed along with my PIE/PIETECH projects know that I do not randomly spout “theory”. I only present factual information so until I have an experimental prototype, I would not request permission to elaborate any technical information. I only mention the PIE X as an ongoing project because it does slow the PIE 4.7 project and has pushed back the timetable to begin full testing. I am hoping to be performing “on road” testing of the PIE 4.7 by early June which gives me about 8 weeks.

I hope to be posting photos and videos VERY soon, so right now I need to go get busy, I have a PIE 4.7 to finish building and a PIE X to get underway!

PIE 4.5 and My Original Thornson Drive Replication

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog’s new home. I hope that this venue will be of at least the same quality as before, and I really hope that the text is a bit easier to read!

I posted a video on YouTube & BitChute of the PIE 4.5 with 3 gears, 2 gears and just one planet gear on it. There is a bit of controversy as to which is better and what configuration should be considered for the PIE 4.5 to continue. Watch the video and you can plainly see the lack of propulsion with better balance (3 planet gears), and much better propulsion with a fully unbalanced wheel (1 planet gear). Of course, getting rid of the jerking nature of the drive is a primary goal along with stronger propulsive force.

I have gone back and reviewed my recorded data, and videos, going all the way back to the very first truly functioning drive still being referred to as a Thornson Drive even though the stop modifications were already being changed and modified to the design finally used in the PIE system. The wheels (4 of them) all had a single planet gear, they were all running more or less in-sync, and it just plain worked. I am going to put the 3 videos I have of this original unit together into one video and post in soon.

Keeping this in mind, and knowing that I really can get a MUCH stronger forward pulse without increasing the back pulse, the goal remains to pulse smoothly (an oxymoron). For this plan to work, I need 2 or more complete PIE units that produce fairly equal amounts of force and that can run in-sync (with a calculated offset) without actually being physically mounted to the same frame.

Stay tuned to this blog and my video channels as I think some exciting things should be happening soon!