1/6 Porsche 917 Engine Full Detail

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VR2
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1/6 Porsche 917 Engine Full Detail

Post by VR2 »

Hi there,

this is my first full scratch project, which has been going through my head for years and now I'm finally tackling it. My vision is to develop and build a range of full detail engine models in larger scale (1:6 or 1:8) and I've selected the iconic Porsche 917 engine (type 912) to begin with.

The Porsche Type 912 engine is very well documented and I have plenty of reference materials/drawings/pictures, which enable me to reverse-engineer the complete engine down to nuts and bolts. I do the 3D-CAD design and drawings for all parts in 1:1 (original measures) and scale it later down to produce the parts for the engine model. The model will be multi material consisting mainly of 3D-printed, machined and etched part supplemented by standard parts from the aftermarket.

The final display I've in mind will be inspired by the display at the Porsche Museum:
P917_Engine_Museum.jpg
Here we go with some of my CAD renderings (WIP) on the crankcase and its internal components:
P917_Engine_Rendereing_Crankcase_1.jpg
P917_Engine_Rendereing_Crankcase_2.jpg
P917_Engine_Rendereing_Crankshaft.jpg
The design/production and assembly process will be inspired by the workflow how the 917 engines have been built. Starting with the crankcase housing parts (3D printed) followed by the crankshaft (3D printed and machined)
P917_Engine_Crankcase_3DPrinted.jpg
An advantage of designing in 1:1 is that the model could be also build in other scales than 1:6:
P917_Engine_Crankcase_Compare.jpg
The 3D printed parts for the 2 crankcase housing parts the oil distribution casting have been painted with Zero textured paint. The color of the original crankcase is very dark, close to black. All lubrication channels within the crankcase are hollowed according to the real engine:
P917_Engine_Crankcase_MainParts.jpg
Next update will be about building the crankshaft and the dry sump oil pump. Thanks for watching !

BR, Uli

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Re: 1/6 Porsche 917 Engine Full Detail

Post by Leftkeys »

Uli, that’s another level. Hollow oil passages? Brilliant.
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Re: 1/6 Porsche 917 Engine Full Detail

Post by gp-models »

I have to take a seat and get my popcorn, this will be another stunning project from you. Still following! :)
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Re: 1/6 Porsche 917 Engine Full Detail

Post by sky1911 »

Uli!

the mention of the 1/12 made me smile and I was hoping to see that when you mentioned this engine in the RSR thread. Are you by chance working with Michael on this? I think he had already started on a 1/12 917 engine transkit while he was working on the 917/30 transkit. However, the engine kit has yet to be seen. I have always wanted to do that engine in actual metal. For that purpose I was in contact with a model foundry somewhere in Germany. I mention that as, depending on the material, you would have to print it slightly larger than the final 1/12 scale so that due to metal shrinkage and all it should be exactly to scale. When I was talking to them I had been asking about aluminium and magnesium casting - they won't do the latter for fear of burning their place down :). I would love to have the engine in actual metal. The initial casting is relatively expensive, any copy after that will be relatively cheap (only material cost for the casting plus some overhead)...

Anyway, the 3D renders are already amazing and so are the printed parts.

Also, I'll have a 1/1 please ;). Joking aside, should you decide to do a 1/12, I'd like to sign up for one (at least one, see above).
Btw. Since you are so close to the factory / museum anyway - wouldn't this be an awesome project for a collaboration with them? They've got all the plans you may be missing. Maybe contact Benjamin Marjanac at the museum.
Cheers,
Roman
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Re: 1/6 Porsche 917 Engine Full Detail

Post by racingkars »

Wow...looks great!
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English is not my native language, so sorry for any incorrect words or style... I have no intention to offend you.
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Re: 1/6 Porsche 917 Engine Full Detail

Post by daves »

This will be amazing. Sign me up for a 1/12th. I saw the exploded engine at the Porsche Museum in 2014. It was awe inspiring for a hard core 917 fan.
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Re: 1/6 Porsche 917 Engine Full Detail

Post by sky1911 »

Oh, now that I think of it... the 16 cylinder version that was intended for the 917 PA Spyder would be awesome to have as well. It's the 5.374 litre version with 4 additional cylinders stuck on the ends. Just saying ;)
DSC01711crop.JPG
Cheers,
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Re: 1/6 Porsche 917 Engine Full Detail

Post by VR2 »

HI there and many thanks for your interest !

@ Bill, #4 of the 000 Magazine with the feature story about the 917/30 become indispensable for this project. You know, what I'm talking about and again many thanks :-)
@ Guido, enjoy the popcorn :-) You may need a good stock as this will get a longer journey
@ Roman, as always ... good food for thought again :-) Actually the idea to cast the case parts in metal has also crossed my mind but after careful consideration I've decided to not go that route. The case parts anyway need to be painted and as this will become a one-off model the effort is simply not paying of in a better looking model. Thanks also for providing the name of Benjamin Marjanac. The guys in the Porsche museum/Historical Archive are aware and fully supportive of this project. I actually could take pictures of the engine from all angles and positions which usually are not visible by visitors of the museum. This will enable me to even build the gears of the transmission box
@ David, seems that we share the same passion for the 917 :-)
@ David, Roman, thanks for showing interest in a 1:12 version but at this point in time, I can't tell you whether I'll build a 1:12 version at all. First I'd like to get the 1:6 done and depending on the effort, I'll make my mind later

Over the past couple of days, I could build the crankshaft, which is a "hybrid" of machined and 3-D printed parts. The crankshaft is a three-plane crank with the con-rod journals set 120 degree apart, symmetrical on either side of the central gear.

The crankshaft has been designed "modular" with 6 segments each consisting of two counterweights and one con-rod journal in between. This segments are again connected to each other via the main bearing journals:
P917_Engine_Crankcase_SubParts.jpg
The complete crankshaft consists of 33 parts and will be fully movable inside the crankcase running in bearing shells:
P917_Engine_Crankshaft Assembly.jpg
Due to the central gear, the lubrication oil feed for the con-rods can be done axially on both ends of the crankshaft:
P917_Engine_CrankshaftLubrication_1.jpg
Racing engines are usually equipped with a dry-sump lubrication system, so the Porsche 917. The three oil pumps (two scavenge pumps and one pressure pump) of the dry sump are located within the crankcase. All three gear driven pumps are combined in one module, which are connected through a central shaft and driven by a gear connected to the layshaft:
P917_Engine_DrySumpOilPump_Overview.jpg
P917_Engine_OilPumpAssembly.jpg
Before installing the crankcase in the crankshaft, machined bearing shells have been added (2 flanged ones on either side of the central gear):
Crankcase_Components_1.jpg
And finally, crankshaft and oil pump installed:
P917_Engine_Crankcase_Assembly_WIP1.jpg
Thanks for watching! Next update will be about building and installing the upper- and lower shaft within the crankcase.

BR, Uli
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Re: 1/6 Porsche 917 Engine Full Detail

Post by Eagle »

Truly a genius at the helm here; watching with interest.

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Re: 1/6 Porsche 917 Engine Full Detail

Post by ziggysdesk »

Incredible.. much like your RSR, jaw dropping work
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