This is a three-piston engine that I modeled in Inventor and animated in 3DS Max. This is similar to the Machine Vise assignment that was also modeled in Autodesk Inventor and animated in 3ds Max. Both projects were finalized in Premiere Pro. This was simpler in design and animation than the Machine Vise but required new skills in the process of animating the parts in the assembly. I was required to create a “bone structure” within the design (not viewable) in a process known as “rigging”.

I animated the crankshaft in a repeating 360 degree rotational loop and then linked the connecting rods to the crankshaft for animation. The bone structure was used to make sure everything articulated properly. If you notice, the connecting rods rotated around the crankshaft but the piston heads only move up and down.

This project also included an additional step. The original model was modified to specifically go to a 3D Printer and print as an assembly – not as a set of parts to be assembled. One modification specifically was to create a handle to manually spin the crankshaft. Another included adding feet to stabilize it so it could sit on a table. Clearances between parts also were adjusted to make sure that it printed correctly. These changes are reflected in the animation but the original can be seen in the PDF (link below).

See the Machine Vise project here