Crankshaft Assembly Design, Mechanics and Loading

Together with both the piston pins and the crankshaft’s crank pins, the connecting rod in reciprocating piston engines converts oscillating piston motion into rotary crankshaft motion. Running smoothness is a universally important criterion for the design of crankshaft assemblies. High speed has priority in gasoline engines, thus making a minimum of moving masses an absolute imperative. The emphasis shifts somewhat for diesel engines. Firing pressures can be twice as high as in gasoline engines and continue to increase as the size increases. Thus, controlling the effects of the gas force is the primary challenge.