How an engine works. Assembled by hand.

01 / 06Turbofan

A jet engine, front to back.

A turbofan built from its real components. Pull with both hands and it comes apart in order, with every part labelled.

1. Fan. Draws air into the engine. Part of the air flows around the core.
2. Compressor. Low- and high-pressure stages squeeze the air.
3. Combustion chamber. Fuel burns in the compressed air.
4. Turbine. Hot gas spins the high- and low-pressure turbines, which drive the compressor and fan through the shaft.
5. Nozzle. The gas leaves at high speed and produces thrust.

02 / 06Assembly

Rebuild it in the right order.

In assembly mode the parts lie on a workbench around the base, and the place of each one glows as an outline.

1. Carry a part to its outline. A dotted line leads from the part to its place. Let go, and it clicks in with a flash.
2. Order matters, as in a real workshop. Fit a part too early and it returns to the bench, with a note on what goes first and why.
3. Hints when you're stuck. Hint highlights the next part. Press it again and M2 fits the part for you.

Turbofan order: shaft → compressors → combustion chamber → turbines → nozzle, then the fan, spinner and casing.

03 / 06Piston engine

A two-cylinder boxer engine, part by part.

The cylinders lie flat, facing each other. It has 30 parts, and you fit 23 of them by hand. The parts list follows the textbook groups.

1. Start from the crankcase. It stays on the bench as the base. Then come the crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, cylinders and heads.
2. Mesh the gears. The camshaft gear goes on only when the camshaft and crankshaft gear are in place, so the teeth engage.
3. Small parts follow their hosts. Tappets go in with the camshaft; valve guides and rocker supports come with the cylinder head.

Crank mechanism

crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons

Valvetrain

camshaft, crankshaft and camshaft gears, tappets, valves, valve springs, rocker arms

Housing

crankcase, finned cylinders, cylinder heads, valve covers, studs

Ignition

spark plug

04 / 06Run

Press Run and watch the four strokes.

The crankshaft turns, the connecting rods swing, the pistons slide, and the camshaft turns at half speed, lifting the tappets and opening the valves. The casing turns see-through, like an X-ray, so you can watch the pistons.

1. Intake, compression, power, exhaust. A label above each cylinder shows its current stroke, and an orange flash marks the spark.
2. Two turns, four strokes. The cylinders take turns: each goes through all four strokes in two turns of the crankshaft.
3. Change the speed. 10, 40, 150 or 600 rpm. At 10 you can follow every stroke; 600 is close to idle.
4. Run the jet engine too. The rotors spin up and the combustion chamber glows. Switch between idle, cruise, maximum continuous and take-off.

05 / 06Close-up

Open any part full screen.

Pinch a part, then stretch it with your other hand: it opens full screen, with a card that explains what it is and what it does. In the video: the combustion chamber.

1. Turn it. Pinch anywhere and move your hand. Spread or bring your hands together to zoom.
2. Next part. Next → moves on to the following part, so you can go through the whole engine.
3. Back to the engine. Bring your hands together, or press Back, and the part returns to its place.

06 / 06Questions

Questions and answers.