For a cleaner casting you should scrape the slag off the top and discard it, also use borax as a flux. Decreases the melting point and helps get the slag on top. Hope this helps for future castings
Frankly, Aluminum Conrods are already applied for top end drag racing engines, though made from much more suitable alloy grades and are forged. Unlike steel conrods, they're considered service items that must be replaced at regular intervals. They're preferred over steel conrods at the very extremes of drag racing due to their less stiff nature, reducing shock on the crankshaft.
I see how that would be good, you could use the same material as the engine, and won't need to worry about the engine wrecking itself because it's only used for five seconds. But for another use, like racing it wouldn't do very well under those conditions
There's a BIG difference between cast and forged aluminum! Try the titanium -- machine the rod(s) from a billet or forge them yourselves to a near-net-shape condition.
These doods don’t even know how to properly cast aluminum. You think they can machine titanium or “forge” titanium themselves? 😂 Machining titanium isn’t easy. Been there. Done that. If they even got to the point of making chips… they would probably end up catching the shop on fire with it. 😂
Try bronze, or copper conrods. Genuinely curious how well copper would do. Edit: Also, heating the mold before pouring does help reduce the boiling effect, leading to less risk of air pockets. Stronger.
😂😂 That last mould didn't look like a Con Rod to me😅😂 making some funny shapes there guys lol..at least we know that motor will Run "Hard" 😂😂😂😂 Keep up the amazing work BMI and the Garage 54 Team💪
I was thinking they were making cyborg dildos……..lol all in all though excellent video, these guys always come with out of the box 📦 ideas that always leave you wanting more
Aluminium has a different rate of expansion to steel and at internal engine temperature may have expanded more thereby increasing its length and striking the cylinder head.
I've seen all kinds of Raids sponsorships, but he seems to be actually interested in the game! Literally nobody else does a sponsorship video and actually knows what Raids is, I absolutely love this guy's honesty and passion!
The fact that the mold was boiling as the aluminum was poured ment that the mold still had too much water. You had extremely spongy metal. Weld up a simple mold for a rod blank from steel. Heat up some more cans and try again you can make all the rod blanks you want with that one mold.
A lot of you fellows just don't understand the complexity and exactness required in metallurgy AND manufacturing processes, or the MIND BENDING forces at work inside a running engine. I can't give you ACCURATE numbers, but a piston that weighs 600 grams at rest, may EFFECTIVELY weigh 600 POUNDS at 7000 rpm. And that weight is accelerated to maximum speed, often over 4000 feet per SECOND, then brought to a dead stop, at the top and bottom of every stroke. It's not a job for sissy parts.
@@jeffrykopis5468 Top fuel drag cars use aluminum con-rods of exceptional engineering quality. This is a shity old Lada 4 banger maybe 5000 rpm? with low compression. The con-rod they made was honestly the worst case scenario and only the one failed. Just basic knowledge of aluminum foundry practice would have produced a useful part. Flux, dross, de-gassing, using an ingot to melt, preheating the mold each a significant improvement in metal quality. Then there is post process, annealing, tempering, shot peaning, tumbling, anodized film. None of either lists is difficult for a shop of their quality to do it is just something they are apparently ignorant of.
to remove all the water from the "alabaster" (gypsum) you need to heat the molds to above 600°C at witch if you dont have additives to the gypsum to reduce shrinkage the mold will crack... as i remember they add volcanic rock dust to the gypsum to achieve lower shrinkage for the special casting gypsum...
@@jeffrykopis5468 witch or which, its spoken almost the same way and to a non native English speaking person like me doesnt matter ;) the context is important so its ok...
@Grim FPV hardening of gypsum actually means bonding the water in its crystal structure, thats why it goes hard so fast, otherwise it would need hours or days to evaporate so much water. so it will always have water in it except if you go over 600°C, molten aluminium is around 700-800°C which releases the water from the gypsum structure and instantly evaporates it, thats why the bubbling of the aluminium...
@Grim FPV gypsum for casting if done right is better because the end texture is way smoother, the gypsum is permeable by air so its great for venting the gasses in the mold, or you can even use vacuum to pull the liquid metal into the mold cavity... also, hot anhydrous gypsum will dissolve really fast in water after the pour. watch VOG channel, he is using that technique for casting really detailed pieces.
Fellas, some small, low speed agricultural engines many decades ago used BRONZE con rods. Not brass. Brass is copper and zinc alloyed. Bronze is copper and tin. Real tin (not "tin" cans) is harder to come by in pure form.
@@Rob-fc9wg Not sure, but what I would try first would be making the cylinder and block separately. Get a thick pipe, machine the inside smooth, and weld the pipe into some kind of box with a lot of bracing.
@@Choochinc I'd sooner put the raw block in a jig/fixture. Adjustable boring head in the lathe chuck to turn the cylinders etc. Sleeve the bores. Drills and boring bars to create oil and coolant passages with bungs to seal off the parts. Use the lathes ways/axis' to move the jigged block
There is a lot of resistance when aluminum is used in that way. The bearing surfaces are prone to gauling and will tear itself apart on the bearing surfaces. I would have put bearings on where the bearing surfaces are. Also, aluminum expands A LOT with heat. Oh neat. It stretched. Maybe a different alloy to try?
There are many, many reasons this experiment failed. Even a first rate, professionally made CAST aluminum rod would fail in anything beyond a governed lawn mower engine. They are simply never made or used in automotive engines. Then there's the metallurgy. There are many, many types and grades of aluminum, probably over a hundred. Each contain trace amounts of other metals and elements like silicon to meet different objectives. And even with forged parts, a heat treating OR cryogenic process may be required to reach the desired hardness, or ductility, or fatigue strength. A lot goes into it. Pistons can and are made from cast aluminum for production cars, but con rods are not.
You could could put a threaded steel rod(slow stretching) thought the middle of the rod and have more aluminium between the top/bottom bearing's(more strength less prone to cracking)..
Briggs & Stratton has been using aluminum connecting rods for years in your lawnmower. This is why they don't have rod bearings but they only run 3600rpm
Aluminum rods are used in race engines but it is an aircraft grade, the pull tabs on the cans are aircraft grade but the cans themselves are a malleable grade and very soft. So if you could get enough pull tabs gathered and used bearings and a brass insert on the piston end they may survive. But use a sand mold.
Aluminum con rods grow when hot, you have to increase the deck height by making the rod shorter, cast rods are especially brittle, drag engines use forged rods because the act of forging increases the density and changes the grain structure within the rod
Of course, in addition to all the other flaws, if you only replace two of the four rods with homemade replicas, you throw the whole assembly WILDLY out of balance!
How cool would it be to have a iron block motor and being able to go to Garage 54 as your local garage for engine parts? That would be a dream. or getting your rotors resurfaced by them. That would be so cool.
Being cast it had no chance of being strong enough to survive. Also the recessed section isn't just for weight reduction. It's there for strength as the reason they are called I beam connecting rods.
Most con rods have an oil gallery drilled into them that feeds oil through it to the wrist pin of the piston. Without this oil supply bye-bye engine. I for one would love to see you guys make con rods out of rebar. The kind you put in concrete.
Hey Vlad ..after casting you have to cure the aluminium for at least 1 hour on about 400 C ..after machining you have to harden the metal with cold shok .same like with steel..temp again about 400 C...DRILL oil Chanel from crank hole to piston pin hole...aluminium needs a lot of oil for not seasing....the alu from cans is the best you can have for casting.we are using it all the time
The aluminum got hot and expanded from the heat which caused failure. The rod itself did not fail by breaking, just expanded which made the piston smack into the head and no place left to go so boom.
with alu rods if they are bored correctly(no radiale play) you dont Need bearings, Just look a lawnmower engine, no bearings, the Rod itself act as one
Well, I think it has to do with the casting process. High porosity in the rods and that makes them much less resistant. Forged rods would be much stronger.
Plus I don't think they degas the aluminum so there's that and I would have liked to see them use foundry sand moles both would have made a difference aluminum conrods do exist in high horse power application but they only have a set life span
I've never done molding before with alumina be even I know you got to scrape the contaminants off the top of the molten aluminum before you pour it or it's going to destroy the Integrity of whatever you were pouring
I wonder if you could make rods out of piled weld? then make different rods out of different types of welding rod or wire…might be a little far out there tho 😅😂 keep up the awesome videos guys! 👍🏾👌🏾
@@joshuagibson2520 but what? ”For what reason”? Well its Garage54 thry do literally everything for no reason really other than to have fun. I dont think anyone expected this video to work
You could use a welder to weld up a conrod out of nothing but it would be extremely brittle and inconsistent structure of it would be make it fragile. Brittle because weldments become really hard due to the way they are formed. The material is first heated to become super hot by shortcircuiting the welding material and then it gets cool really fast. This very sudden change of temperature makes the structure of the material brittle. You would have to give those conrods proper heat treatment by heating them up calmly to hot temperatures and then calmly cooling them before you could use them so the brittle nature of them is removed.
Patch the block and use it to make a mold for a plastic engine block (yes use steel or iron liners for the pistons). Do it right, use threaded inserts for head bolts and main cap bolts. Since you wont be able to run a standard cooling system just pack dry ice around the block, it should keep it cool long enough till something else lets loose :)
I think the major problem is the moisture boiling out of the plaster through the aluminum when it was being cast. Left voids and porosity inside. But also the sides and tops of the cans are two different alloys. Just the tops would have provided a much stronger aluminum.
Awesome idea, I have literally been thinking about this for the past few days. Maybe add some copper wire to the mold to check if you get a more suitable alloy?
The right aluminum alloy makes good con-rods. All air cooled engine (Here in US anyway) have cast aluminum rods that ride directly on the crankshaft. They are exposed to much harsher conditions that a car engine. 3600 RPM, 350 degree (F) temps and most don't even have pressure feed oil! Maybe try 7075 billet. (??) Excellent attempt!
Maybe this would work better if you guys had dried the molds first, the bubbling means plenty of cracks and voids were created in the cast because of the moisture
Vlad. Make a con rod out of welding the mig on a flat sheet till u get a right size. Thats shold come out as a forged by welding. If u let it cool in Oil substsance
Aluminum is the best conrod material for high horsepower builds. They don't last as long as steel or titanium. But they are easier on the bearings and can withstand more abuse.
One problem is the sharp square edges that form a weak spot .. that is why commercial parts have a rounded shape to eliminate the focal points for failure ..............Why don't you guys try to make a Lada V-8 out of two Lada engines cut at a 45 degree angle at the bottom half .........great videos .......
One common method of treating engine connecting rods to make them harder is through a process called "shot peening". In this process, small, hard beads are shot at the surface of the connecting rod with high velocity, creating a compressive stress on the surface layer. This compressive stress helps to prevent cracking and increases the tensile strength, durability, and fatigue resistance of the metal. Shot peening is often used in conjunction with other heat-treating methods to further enhance the material's properties.
You can use alu for the con rods. But let it cool slow. The slower alu cools the stronger it gets. Also I would recommend conrod bearings and balancing the crank for the new weigh of the rods. Reducing the stress all around will ensure a longer life of the engine.
According to Chat GPT Slag can boil up like foam when aluminum is being poured into a mold if it's not removed during the smelting process. If the slag is not removed before the aluminum is poured, it can become trapped in the molten metal, causing it to boil up and create a foamy appearance. This can negatively impact the quality of the finished aluminum product, as it can create voids and weaken the structure of the metal. Therefore, it's important to remove the slag from the surface of the molten metal before it is poured into the mold. This can be done using a slag arm, which is a tool that is used to skim the slag off the surface of the metal. The slag arm is typically made of metal and is designed to resist the high temperatures of the molten metal, allowing the slag to be safely removed. By removing the slag before the metal is poured into the mold, the quality of the finished product can be improved and potential problems with the castings can be prevented.
You didn't scoop out the slag from the top of molten aluminum. I think that's why it got sort of foam like when you poured it. Slag is composed mostly of oxides, which make metal brittle if not removed.
I mean even if aluminium is a soft metal it didnt stretch in the frist place. Aluminium expands more the thicker it is. Taking the bore specs for the main cap and piston bolt makes it shrink thus making it to seize plus on top of that the reason why it slapped the valves due to heat expansion. Not being stretched by sheer force. Thats why cast and forged aluminium has a double clearence over cast iron pistons for example.
Aluminum conrods are put into some 2000+ HP drag cars ripping 9krpm in a big v8. Heat cycles are the only problem. Barbarically cast popcans obvi won't do the trick.
Aluminum rods are only used in high end drag racers, and are changed every run down the track. Still worried about the resin with carbon but maybe try forged carbon pistons and compression molding them, in one go of course. Get it loaded up with resin in a mold and add several hundred pounds, uh Kgs I mean
Aluminum connecting rods are for drag racing only. Usually for less than 5 passes, and only if you're feeling lucky. There's a reason you don't see them in street engines.
Try making the connecting rods out of a plastic called "Vespel". Believe Dupont makes the stuff. Suppose to be good up to 575 F. The only down fall is the cost. 3/8" x 5" x 10"will run you right at $2536.00 US.
🤣 Funni as heck. I suggest that you find the best quality hardest OAK. Oak will lubricate well and take heat. You may need to pin where the crank and piston bearing surfaces are. Cheers from Canada 👍
LIGNUM VITAE. I suddenly remembered this from my farther speaking of it used in/on ships. I also learnt of it in trade school. Lignum Vitae is much stronger than Oak!
Aluminum rods are used in racing. The main reason is not weight - it is that aluminum is not so stiff that allows it to cope with uneven cylinder pressures due to misfires and knock without transmitting the shockwaves directly to the crankshaft, acting as cushion. Top Fuel drag racing engines use aluminum rods for this exact reason...but instead of stretching they shrink on such engines. Cast aluminum is a big no for connecting rods. Alloy choice and heat treatment can also affect strength in such application. You would actually increase aluminum at all areas possible on the entire rod for extra strength and so appear thicker and bulkier than regular steel ones but of less weight. The reason why we see no aluminum rods on production engines is the limited fatigue life of aluminum - they are replaced after a certain amount of mileage or more specifically, heat cycles (warm up engine and cool down) as they get weaker as they go through. They don't bend when they fail...they snap and what happened to the Lada engine would be the exact result!
You should make aluminum pistons with normal connecting rods and see what happens. Love your videos and wishing you all happy days and good health from the frozen north of Alaska USA. Have a wonderful day!
did you realize we need the moon more than the sun, as the moon provides us light, while the sun does provide light, who needs the extra light as you can see everything in the day even in the shade..
@@johngillon6969 without sun there would be no life the plantet would be unstable the water tides would be crazy and it would be a very dark dead planet .
If you used fiberglass resin and then paint it on the part itself linseed oil make sure the part is fully covered and then you said it into the cavity as you're pouring the epoxy resin in make sure that use drop pins in the corners for alignment you removed them after the mold is cured that we use them for alignment from then on but that's how you make a permanent mold
I totally agree with some fellas here; Aluminum conrods are commonly made a little bit shorter for reliability reasons as they like to expand when heated. For aviation and automotive application, Aluminum alloys are usually used for their lower thermal expansion coefficients so they don't stretch out too much, which you can make if you know what the recipe is for that alloys, some are trivial. At higher performance level of the car, well, some Aluminum alloys conrods are expendable as you kind of found out.
I bet the rod failed at the big end due to galling as it did not have a proper big end bearing. the rod did not stretch as much as the big end just flogged out a massive bore until it let go. Also what about the second rod. How did it fair?
Cool, they did what i suggested a while ago, "casting metal". But making molds is done differently than you guys did, You need to suspend the article in mid air (somehow) and fill the "plaster" half way while making some indents needed to make the other half of the mold match exactly and have it fit seamlessly to the other half of the mold. Watching Adam Savage (former) Mythbuster or some other TH-camr that shows how to make (negative/positive) molds might help. Another method is making a rubber like material mold of the crank rod with the method described above, remove the rod and fill the mold with molten wax, later attach some breather "pipes" to the wax piece to allow the poring of the metal and let air escape and than use plaster and place the wax mold inside, the hot metal will eliminate the wax. suck the air out of the plaster using a vacuum machine to prevent explosion and what not, while poring metal. a probably better method, to ensure a solid metal piece and not have air ruining the piece. lost wax casting ... also believe you need to trow "borax" in to the liquid metal to clean it. You can improve it by cranking the heat up and trow some copper in the mix. diy air craft grade aluminum.
I swear when I read the title I though they would just cut aliminium cans, flatten and pile them up until it was in the shape of a conrod. Those guys are madlads.
You guys try some surprising things so I have a suggestion for you how about a carbon fiber engine block of course it will have steel piston liners and inserts for things like head bolts . Keep up the good work.
I think that the knocking sound was because of thermal expansion of aluminium, the rods have gotten longer when the engine warmed up, they didn't stretch out. You should've shortened the aluminium rods in relation to the iron ones.
Melting down some coins to make nickel or copper rods would be cool. Also, I have no idea if this will work, but what about bismuth rods made from Pepto Bismol or the Russian equivalent?
i would balance the crankshaft tp match the weight of the pistons and rod assemblies. also would make 4 rods not 2 . without rebalancing the rotating assembly it willnever work right
The reason is because you failed to install the bearings & bushing in the conrods. If you did this, & drilled the oil feed hole in the conrod, it would not have failed. :) Make them again, & install the piston pin bushing, & the big end shell bearings, along with drilling the oil feed hole in the conrod.
Aluminum rods are used in top fuel cars, where the whole engine gets rebuilt every single pass. They're very ductile so it puts less wear on the crank, probably the most expensive single component in the engine. They're also very light, reducing the rotating mass, but top fuel cars are limited to I think 8k rpm, so no rev limit benefit. The rods last 10 runs or less, and at 3 seconds a pass... Vlad's rods might have actually lasted longer 😂😂😂
Y'all ought to get a single cylinder scooter for testing these things. Tear down and reassembly can be done in an hour. 😉 Valiant freshman effort nonetheless.
Guys, You needed to add flux and degasser to the aluminum before you pour it ! and make sure those molds are 100% dry. Would have been much better to use petrobond sand / oil bonded sand for the molds.
Thank you for sharing your ideas and testing them. It is educational and entertaining at the same time. Keep up the great work and expanding the mind's imagination!! I am wondering though. If the entire engine was made from Al would it make a difference with the con rods being able to withstand the heat and pressure as the entire block would be made of the same material.....
![โรงเรียนห้ามรัก โดนจับได้ตาย...!! [เอิร์นไดเม่]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4u02Sbr556Q/mqdefault.jpg)
![CAMPปลิ้น | EP.83[1/2] เปิดแคมป์หลอนต้อนรับ 2 ตัวพ่อแห่งวงการผี!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2uPuHYHgwiI/mqdefault.jpg)
For a cleaner casting you should scrape the slag off the top and discard it, also use borax as a flux. Decreases the melting point and helps get the slag on top. Hope this helps for future castings
they didn't use any borax omg that's gonna be such a dirty pour 😬
@@ronniewilliz153 Borax as in the washing helping detergent?
@@danyf3116 Yes exactly
@Let'sGo Brandon Good idea !!!
The mold had moisture in it that's why it was foaming up also.
Frankly, Aluminum Conrods are already applied for top end drag racing engines, though made from much more suitable alloy grades and are forged. Unlike steel conrods, they're considered service items that must be replaced at regular intervals. They're preferred over steel conrods at the very extremes of drag racing due to their less stiff nature, reducing shock on the crankshaft.
Are they also used for lightness to increase revs maybe?
I see how that would be good, you could use the same material as the engine, and won't need to worry about the engine wrecking itself because it's only used for five seconds. But for another use, like racing it wouldn't do very well under those conditions
That's been a thing for along time. They are doing this for shots and giggles...
In our workshop we manufacture conrods out of plastic (PE to be exact) to attach client to our workshop.
yeah what they needed was a 6061 aluminum cans are made from 3004 aluminum which is a softer metal to make it easy to turn into can
At this point, I'm surprised there aren't Raid Shadow Legends ads in my mailbox, on my soda cans, and being written in the sky over my house...
Lucky you don't get an ad on your Infotainment system... coming soon... out of fuel? Watch an AD to continue.
Gotta love the SponsorBlock Chrome extension
I heard russian army is handing out raid shadow legends discount codes to liberated Ukrainian victims of war
Who actually plays Raid?
@@Lofi.z34 money wash and dirty business
There's a BIG difference between cast and forged aluminum! Try the titanium -- machine the rod(s) from a billet or forge them yourselves to a near-net-shape condition.
These doods don’t even know how to properly cast aluminum. You think they can machine titanium or “forge” titanium themselves? 😂 Machining titanium isn’t easy. Been there. Done that. If they even got to the point of making chips… they would probably end up catching the shop on fire with it. 😂
Adding some bearings would definitely help lol
That would make too much sense. Stop making sense!
@@jeffrykopis5468 your right my bad
What's the difference between cast and forged?
Try bronze, or copper conrods. Genuinely curious how well copper would do.
Edit: Also, heating the mold before pouring does help reduce the boiling effect, leading to less risk of air pockets. Stronger.
😂😂 That last mould didn't look like a Con Rod to me😅😂 making some funny shapes there guys lol..at least we know that motor will Run "Hard" 😂😂😂😂
Keep up the amazing work BMI and the Garage 54 Team💪
I was thinking they were making cyborg dildos……..lol all in all though excellent video, these guys always come with out of the box 📦 ideas that always leave you wanting more
Aluminium has a different rate of expansion to steel and at internal engine temperature may have expanded more thereby increasing its length and striking the cylinder head.
I've seen all kinds of Raids sponsorships, but he seems to be actually interested in the game! Literally nobody else does a sponsorship video and actually knows what Raids is, I absolutely love this guy's honesty and passion!
The fact that the mold was boiling as the aluminum was poured ment that the mold still had too much water. You had extremely spongy metal. Weld up a simple mold for a rod blank from steel.
Heat up some more cans and try again you can make all the rod blanks you want with that one mold.
and use sandmolds, it will get a much better cast
A lot of you fellows just don't understand the complexity and exactness required in metallurgy AND manufacturing processes, or the MIND BENDING forces at work inside a running engine. I can't give you ACCURATE numbers, but a piston that weighs 600 grams at rest, may EFFECTIVELY weigh 600 POUNDS at 7000 rpm. And that weight is accelerated to maximum speed, often over 4000 feet per SECOND, then brought to a dead stop, at the top and bottom of every stroke. It's not a job for sissy parts.
@@jeffrykopis5468
You can actually have aluminium rods though.
@@jeffrykopis5468 Top fuel drag cars use aluminum con-rods of exceptional engineering quality. This is a shity old Lada 4 banger maybe 5000 rpm? with low compression. The con-rod they made was honestly the worst case scenario and only the one failed. Just basic knowledge of aluminum foundry practice would have produced a useful part.
Flux, dross, de-gassing, using an ingot to melt, preheating the mold each a significant improvement in metal quality. Then there is post process, annealing, tempering, shot peaning, tumbling, anodized film.
None of either lists is difficult for a shop of their quality to do it is just something they are apparently ignorant of.
@@andrewvoigt1133 True enough.
to remove all the water from the "alabaster" (gypsum) you need to heat the molds to above 600°C at witch if you dont have additives to the gypsum to reduce shrinkage the mold will crack... as i remember they add volcanic rock dust to the gypsum to achieve lower shrinkage for the special casting gypsum...
"at which", sir 😉 Different kind of "which" than a "witch" 🧙
Thanks, Jeff misses the point but knows a witch lol
@@jeffrykopis5468 witch or which, its spoken almost the same way and to a non native English speaking person like me doesnt matter ;) the context is important so its ok...
@Grim FPV hardening of gypsum actually means bonding the water in its crystal structure, thats why it goes hard so fast, otherwise it would need hours or days to evaporate so much water. so it will always have water in it except if you go over 600°C, molten aluminium is around 700-800°C which releases the water from the gypsum structure and instantly evaporates it, thats why the bubbling of the aluminium...
@Grim FPV gypsum for casting if done right is better because the end texture is way smoother, the gypsum is permeable by air so its great for venting the gasses in the mold, or you can even use vacuum to pull the liquid metal into the mold cavity... also, hot anhydrous gypsum will dissolve really fast in water after the pour.
watch VOG channel, he is using that technique for casting really detailed pieces.
Fellas, some small, low speed agricultural engines many decades ago used BRONZE con rods. Not brass. Brass is copper and zinc alloyed. Bronze is copper and tin. Real tin (not "tin" cans) is harder to come by in pure form.
What were they? Like irrigation pump engines?
@@skylined5534 I don't remember, actually. It's been decades since I've seen one. Probably a pump.
Those plaster moulds were still wet. You need to cast with sand. Far better results. Or a slightly more difficult way is lost wax casting.
Styrofoam
@@dennisford2000
Isn't that how the auto industry cast a lot of aluminium parts? I have no idea how it's possible but it sure is impressive!
One thing I've been wanting to do for a long time is build an engine from scratch using only a lathe. This channel is proving how possible that is.
How would you make an engine block with a large?
@@Rob-fc9wg Not sure, but what I would try first would be making the cylinder and block separately. Get a thick pipe, machine the inside smooth, and weld the pipe into some kind of box with a lot of bracing.
@@Choochinc How would you use a lathe to make a boks? Also if you weld you dont just use a lathe.
@@Choochinc I'd sooner put the raw block in a jig/fixture.
Adjustable boring head in the lathe chuck to turn the cylinders etc. Sleeve the bores.
Drills and boring bars to create oil and coolant passages with bungs to seal off the parts.
Use the lathes ways/axis' to move the jigged block
@@osbberjen When I said only a lathe, I didn't mean a lathe, and no other tools. I meant only a lathe for anything machined, so no CNC.
There is a lot of resistance when aluminum is used in that way. The bearing surfaces are prone to gauling and will tear itself apart on the bearing surfaces. I would have put bearings on where the bearing surfaces are. Also, aluminum expands A LOT with heat.
Oh neat. It stretched. Maybe a different alloy to try?
There are many, many reasons this experiment failed. Even a first rate, professionally made CAST aluminum rod would fail in anything beyond a governed lawn mower engine. They are simply never made or used in automotive engines. Then there's the metallurgy. There are many, many types and grades of aluminum, probably over a hundred. Each contain trace amounts of other metals and elements like silicon to meet different objectives. And even with forged parts, a heat treating OR cryogenic process may be required to reach the desired hardness, or ductility, or fatigue strength. A lot goes into it. Pistons can and are made from cast aluminum for production cars, but con rods are not.
You could could put a threaded steel rod(slow stretching) thought the middle of the rod and have more aluminium between the top/bottom bearing's(more strength less prone to cracking)..
@@kylereese4822 The aluminium would just stretch around the steel, it wouldn't help.
@@jeffrykopis5468 Top fuel dragster use aluminium rod
@@Mauro-82 well aware, my friend.
If thats plaster, I assume the water is boiling out and thats why your casts keep getting full of bubbles.
Briggs & Stratton has been using aluminum connecting rods for years in your lawnmower. This is why they don't have rod bearings but they only run 3600rpm
Your team has great machining skills to be able to make engine parts from scratch.
Aluminum rods are used in race engines but it is an aircraft grade, the pull tabs on the cans are aircraft grade but the cans themselves are a malleable grade and very soft. So if you could get enough pull tabs gathered and used bearings and a brass insert on the piston end they may survive. But use a sand mold.
cans are made out of a ductile aluminum 3004 that bends easily so it's easier to make cans you need a harder type of aluminum like 6061
perhaps throwing a small sample of good ol Russian Bear shat into mixture would strengthen rods. LOL
Respect from Madagascar, Africa. Love your channel. Best balance between Knowledge and Practice ever!!!
Aluminum con rods grow when hot, you have to increase the deck height by making the rod shorter, cast rods are especially brittle, drag engines use forged rods because the act of forging increases the density and changes the grain structure within the rod
the only "grain" we are interested in ,is, whats in the glass.(shot glass),THIS we can talk about,,,,,at length, LOL
Ahh yes.. spirits
@@mikecorleone6797 there's a reason the turkey flies sideways.
Saving the environment and entertaining all of us, thank you again g54
except for the 1/2 gallon of oil + coolant spilled behind "Crazy Ivan's" shop. LOL
Of course, in addition to all the other flaws, if you only replace two of the four rods with homemade replicas, you throw the whole assembly WILDLY out of balance!
you need to put a brass bushing into the rods for the piston wrist pin, there is way to much friction without and then this shouldnt happen again
How cool would it be to have a iron block motor and being able to go to Garage 54 as your local garage for engine parts? That would be a dream. or getting your rotors resurfaced by them. That would be so cool.
Try using spring steel, melt down some leaf springs
Why?
Aluminum rods work just fine and we ran them in our Sprint car. They were forged, not cast and also heat treated.
Ah but this was aluminum can rods you would need to run them in a Sprite car.😂
I loved the kindling to start the fire. Awesome. Garage 54 even found a use for for the useless US dollar bills. 🤣🤣🤣 I love you guys.
his loss, also reducing inflation
Dollar bills will become fuel if this inflation keeps up!
@@ghoulbuster1 too true
@@ghoulbuster1 he should be burning russian currency, but unfortunately european leadership likes whats happening so they keep paying for russian oil
Wild amount of work. Best car channel,on the tube !
Yes, Titanium conrods would be good. I expect they would be 107% success.
Racecar components.
Titanium rods aren't as great as one would think.
Titanium also stretch like alluminum but slower and they are lighter.
Being cast it had no chance of being strong enough to survive.
Also the recessed section isn't just for weight reduction. It's there for strength as the reason they are called I beam connecting rods.
I beam or h beam for the win?
Most con rods have an oil gallery drilled into them that feeds oil through it to the wrist pin of the piston. Without this oil supply bye-bye engine. I for one would love to see you guys make con rods out of rebar. The kind you put in concrete.
Hey Vlad ..after casting you have to cure the aluminium for at least 1 hour on about 400 C ..after machining you have to harden the metal with cold shok .same like with steel..temp again about 400 C...DRILL oil Chanel from crank hole to piston pin hole...aluminium needs a lot of oil for not seasing....the alu from cans is the best you can have for casting.we are using it all the time
The aluminum got hot and expanded from the heat which caused failure. The rod itself did not fail by breaking, just expanded which made the piston smack into the head and no place left to go so boom.
"Strange knock," might have something to do with the complete absence of rod bearings.
Good observation
which are made form aluminum
with alu rods if they are bored correctly(no radiale play) you dont Need bearings, Just look a lawnmower engine, no bearings, the Rod itself act as one
I'll always watch him assemble something because it's always something different and new so I appreciate the knowledge
Well, I think it has to do with the casting process. High porosity in the rods and that makes them much less resistant. Forged rods would be much stronger.
They used soda cans... crapiest alu i can think of 🤣
Also not right alloy for casting. Seems like the mold had moisture left in it, its not suppose to boil and foam like that.
Plus I don't think they degas the aluminum so there's that and I would have liked to see them use foundry sand moles both would have made a difference aluminum conrods do exist in high horse power application but they only have a set life span
Good that you guys finally allowed us to hear the engine working. Thanks garage54 and BMI Russian for correct editing!
I've never done molding before with alumina be even I know you got to scrape the contaminants off the top of the molten aluminum before you pour it or it's going to destroy the Integrity of whatever you were pouring
I wonder if you could make rods out of piled weld? then make different rods out of different types of welding rod or wire…might be a little far out there tho 😅😂 keep up the awesome videos guys! 👍🏾👌🏾
I mean, you could, but...
@@joshuagibson2520 right! I mean..is it plausible? I feel like it’s a total 50/50…but if pop cans sorta held 🤷♂️ 😂😂😂
@@joshuagibson2520 but what? ”For what reason”? Well its Garage54 thry do literally everything for no reason really other than to have fun. I dont think anyone expected this video to work
You could use a welder to weld up a conrod out of nothing but it would be extremely brittle and inconsistent structure of it would be make it fragile. Brittle because weldments become really hard due to the way they are formed. The material is first heated to become super hot by shortcircuiting the welding material and then it gets cool really fast. This very sudden change of temperature makes the structure of the material brittle. You would have to give those conrods proper heat treatment by heating them up calmly to hot temperatures and then calmly cooling them before you could use them so the brittle nature of them is removed.
yeah if you use green sand in order to make a mold out of aluminum because the alabaster will not let heat dissipate it boils
Patch the block and use it to make a mold for a plastic engine block (yes use steel or iron liners for the pistons).
Do it right, use threaded inserts for head bolts and main cap bolts.
Since you wont be able to run a standard cooling system just pack dry ice around the block, it should keep it cool long enough till something else lets loose :)
that wont work !!
No, just no.
"Do it right"??? Do you know what channel you're watching? This is Russian Roadkill! 😆
@LabRat Knatz compacted graphite block is a thing . Toyota has played with it .
@LabRat Knatz Coming soon to an auto near you.
I think the major problem is the moisture boiling out of the plaster through the aluminum when it was being cast. Left voids and porosity inside. But also the sides and tops of the cans are two different alloys. Just the tops would have provided a much stronger aluminum.
Awesome idea, I have literally been thinking about this for the past few days. Maybe add some copper wire to the mold to check if you get a more suitable alloy?
Gosh, I *LOVE* this channel.
Doing things for the sake of doing it!! 👍
The right aluminum alloy makes good con-rods. All air cooled engine (Here in US anyway) have cast aluminum rods that ride directly on the crankshaft. They are exposed to much harsher conditions that a car engine. 3600 RPM, 350 degree (F) temps and most don't even have pressure feed oil! Maybe try 7075 billet. (??) Excellent attempt!
Maybe this would work better if you guys had dried the molds first, the bubbling means plenty of cracks and voids were created in the cast because of the moisture
Vlad. Make a con rod out of welding the mig on a flat sheet till u get a right size. Thats shold come out as a forged by welding. If u let it cool in Oil substsance
Aluminum is the best conrod material for high horsepower builds. They don't last as long as steel or titanium. But they are easier on the bearings and can withstand more abuse.
One problem is the sharp square edges that form a weak spot .. that is why commercial parts have a rounded shape to eliminate the focal points for failure ..............Why don't you guys try to make a Lada V-8 out of two Lada engines cut at a 45 degree angle at the bottom half .........great videos .......
One common method of treating engine connecting rods to make them harder is through a process called "shot peening". In this process, small, hard beads are shot at the surface of the connecting rod with high velocity, creating a compressive stress on the surface layer. This compressive stress helps to prevent cracking and increases the tensile strength, durability, and fatigue resistance of the metal. Shot peening is often used in conjunction with other heat-treating methods to further enhance the material's properties.
I think the mold had moisture in it and it aerated the molten aluminum weakening it. Try again with a dry mold.
You can use alu for the con rods. But let it cool slow. The slower alu cools the stronger it gets. Also I would recommend conrod bearings and balancing the crank for the new weigh of the rods. Reducing the stress all around will ensure a longer life of the engine.
What if you forged the aluminum? That should be stronger but slightly heavier with it being the same size.
According to Chat GPT
Slag can boil up like foam when aluminum is being poured into a mold if it's not removed during the smelting process. If the slag is not removed before the aluminum is poured, it can become trapped in the molten metal, causing it to boil up and create a foamy appearance. This can negatively impact the quality of the finished aluminum product, as it can create voids and weaken the structure of the metal.
Therefore, it's important to remove the slag from the surface of the molten metal before it is poured into the mold. This can be done using a slag arm, which is a tool that is used to skim the slag off the surface of the metal. The slag arm is typically made of metal and is designed to resist the high temperatures of the molten metal, allowing the slag to be safely removed.
By removing the slag before the metal is poured into the mold, the quality of the finished product can be improved and potential problems with the castings can be prevented.
You didn't scoop out the slag from the top of molten aluminum. I think that's why it got sort of foam like when you poured it. Slag is composed mostly of oxides, which make metal brittle if not removed.
I mean even if aluminium is a soft metal it didnt stretch in the frist place. Aluminium expands more the thicker it is. Taking the bore specs for the main cap and piston bolt makes it shrink thus making it to seize plus on top of that the reason why it slapped the valves due to heat expansion. Not being stretched by sheer force. Thats why cast and forged aluminium has a double clearence over cast iron pistons for example.
Aluminum conrods are put into some 2000+ HP drag cars ripping 9krpm in a big v8. Heat cycles are the only problem. Barbarically cast popcans obvi won't do the trick.
Aluminum rods are only used in high end drag racers, and are changed every run down the track. Still worried about the resin with carbon but maybe try forged carbon pistons and compression molding them, in one go of course. Get it loaded up with resin in a mold and add several hundred pounds, uh Kgs I mean
Aluminum connecting rods are for drag racing only. Usually for less than 5 passes, and only if you're feeling lucky. There's a reason you don't see them in street engines.
Aluminium con rods are forged and not cast like in the video.
Try making the connecting rods out of a plastic called "Vespel". Believe Dupont makes the stuff. Suppose to be good up to 575 F. The only down fall is the cost. 3/8" x 5" x 10"will run you right at $2536.00 US.
These guys would certainly thrive in a post apocalyptic wasteland! Keep up the craziness good goodfellas 👍
Production would quickly shift to "Scull Crushers" in such an event.LOL
"My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos... ruined dreams... this wasted land."
@@skylined5534 " I remember, the Vodka Warriors" 😂😊
Held up longer than I expected
Castings were imperfect, but still proved it's possible to make DIY rods... :)
🤣 Funni as heck. I suggest that you find the best quality hardest OAK. Oak will lubricate well and take heat. You may need to pin where the crank and piston bearing surfaces are. Cheers from Canada 👍
Oak con rods... yes!
LIGNUM VITAE. I suddenly remembered this from my farther speaking of it used in/on ships. I also learnt of it in trade school.
Lignum Vitae is much stronger than Oak!
Aluminum rods are used in racing. The main reason is not weight - it is that aluminum is not so stiff that allows it to cope with uneven cylinder pressures due to misfires and knock without transmitting the shockwaves directly to the crankshaft, acting as cushion. Top Fuel drag racing engines use aluminum rods for this exact reason...but instead of stretching they shrink on such engines.
Cast aluminum is a big no for connecting rods. Alloy choice and heat treatment can also affect strength in such application. You would actually increase aluminum at all areas possible on the entire rod for extra strength and so appear thicker and bulkier than regular steel ones but of less weight.
The reason why we see no aluminum rods on production engines is the limited fatigue life of aluminum - they are replaced after a certain amount of mileage or more specifically, heat cycles (warm up engine and cool down) as they get weaker as they go through. They don't bend when they fail...they snap and what happened to the Lada engine would be the exact result!
I really liked to song choice on this video. Sounded really nice and fit the theme of work really well.
You should make aluminum pistons with normal connecting rods and see what happens. Love your videos and wishing you all happy days and good health from the frozen north of Alaska USA. Have a wonderful day!
Most modern engine us cast alluminum piston some have treatment on them for strenght.
A guy here in the US put a lawnmower carb on a Ford with a V-8. Y’all ought to try that on a Lada.
Besides alloy and water in mold, aluminium rods need to be shorter as they expand twice as much as steel rods as they warm up.
Stainless steel rods would be interesting as it’s a hard material to drill thread ect.. but the tensile strength isn’t as good
did you realize we need the moon more than the sun, as the moon provides us light, while the sun does provide light, who needs the extra light as you can see everything in the day even in the shade..
@@johngillon6969 without sun there would be no life the plantet would be unstable the water tides would be crazy and it would be a very dark dead planet .
@@gamerX-wk7ct That there is a joke
If you used fiberglass resin and then paint it on the part itself linseed oil make sure the part is fully covered and then you said it into the cavity as you're pouring the epoxy resin in make sure that use drop pins in the corners for alignment you removed them after the mold is cured that we use them for alignment from then on but that's how you make a permanent mold
Chamfer the sharp edges to reduce stress risers. Should also have bronze bushings on piston end with holes for oiling.
Nice job making these Connor considering starting from scratch.
I totally agree with some fellas here; Aluminum conrods are commonly made a little bit shorter for reliability reasons as they like to expand when heated. For aviation and automotive application, Aluminum alloys are usually used for their lower thermal expansion coefficients so they don't stretch out too much, which you can make if you know what the recipe is for that alloys, some are trivial. At higher performance level of the car, well, some Aluminum alloys conrods are expendable as you kind of found out.
I bet the rod failed at the big end due to galling as it did not have a proper big end bearing. the rod did not stretch as much as the big end just flogged out a massive bore until it let go.
Also what about the second rod. How did it fair?
Cool, they did what i suggested a while ago, "casting metal".
But making molds is done differently than you guys did, You need to suspend the article in mid air (somehow) and fill the "plaster" half way while making some indents needed to make the other half of the mold match exactly and have it fit seamlessly to the other half of the mold. Watching Adam Savage (former) Mythbuster or some other TH-camr that shows how to make (negative/positive) molds might help.
Another method is making a rubber like material mold of the crank rod with the method described above, remove the rod and fill the mold with molten wax, later attach some breather "pipes" to the wax piece to allow the poring of the metal and let air escape and than use plaster and place the wax mold inside, the hot metal will eliminate the wax. suck the air out of the plaster using a vacuum machine to prevent explosion and what not, while poring metal.
a probably better method, to ensure a solid metal piece and not have air ruining the piece.
lost wax casting ... also believe you need to trow "borax" in to the liquid metal to clean it.
You can improve it by cranking the heat up and trow some copper in the mix. diy air craft grade aluminum.
and remember anuminum conrods are only for the tracks not for the dirtbikes..there is also a diffrence between casted and forged anuminum parts
I swear when I read the title I though they would just cut aliminium cans, flatten and pile them up until it was in the shape of a conrod.
Those guys are madlads.
CEMENT Conrod !! 😆😆😆
You guys try some surprising things so I have a suggestion for you how about a carbon fiber engine block of course it will have steel piston liners and inserts for things like head bolts . Keep up the good work.
I once took apart a Briggs and Stratton engine and the conrod was made out of injection molded aluminium which was neat
Some old triumph motorcycles use alloy conrods , try using a block of good quality alloy billet to make rods instead
I would say make them out of 6061 aluminum, They should hold up for sure I've seen it in the racing industry
They should try to cast an entire engine block and cylinder head too.
No joke. I could see them doing it and somehow succeeding
Aluminum con rods are made of certain alloys plus it was mostly due to the bearing locking up or spinning
Amazing Test!!!!!!! Do they have lubrication? If not that's why they fail... Or they block the oil passage...
I think that the knocking sound was because of thermal expansion of aluminium, the rods have gotten longer when the engine warmed up, they didn't stretch out. You should've shortened the aluminium rods in relation to the iron ones.
Also maybe drilling the oil passage through the center of the rod
Melting down some coins to make nickel or copper rods would be cool. Also, I have no idea if this will work, but what about bismuth rods made from Pepto Bismol or the Russian equivalent?
i would balance the crankshaft tp match the weight of the pistons and rod assemblies. also would make 4 rods not 2 . without rebalancing the rotating assembly it willnever work right
The reason is because you failed to install the bearings & bushing in the conrods. If you did this, & drilled the oil feed hole in the conrod, it would not have failed. :) Make them again, & install the piston pin bushing, & the big end shell bearings, along with drilling the oil feed hole in the conrod.
Make the conrods from stainless steel aisi316TI. It will hold up. If you are looking for a low weight material then titanium is the way to go. :)
Aluminum rods are used in top fuel cars, where the whole engine gets rebuilt every single pass. They're very ductile so it puts less wear on the crank, probably the most expensive single component in the engine. They're also very light, reducing the rotating mass, but top fuel cars are limited to I think 8k rpm, so no rev limit benefit. The rods last 10 runs or less, and at 3 seconds a pass... Vlad's rods might have actually lasted longer 😂😂😂
Y'all ought to get a single cylinder scooter for testing these things. Tear down and reassembly can be done in an hour. 😉
Valiant freshman effort nonetheless.
Burning American currency? What are you saying by doing that?
Wonder if this was recorded in the last 2 months
Maybe he’s saying the American dollar is worthless to him?
Aluminum rods are always fatter than steel rods, i have a hemi one from the Don Garlits museum hanging above my work bench signed by Don.
Guys, You needed to add flux and degasser to the aluminum before you pour it ! and make sure those molds are 100% dry.
Would have been much better to use petrobond sand / oil bonded sand for the molds.
Aluminum rod are good for weight savings in races and if it's expected that the engine will be rebuilt after every race
maybe you can weld the block and the headgasket, then install the biggest turbo you can and see what happens hahahah. Regards from Spain
Thank you for sharing your ideas and testing them. It is educational and entertaining at the same time. Keep up the great work and expanding the mind's imagination!!
I am wondering though. If the entire engine was made from Al would it make a difference with the con rods being able to withstand the heat and pressure as the entire block would be made of the same material.....