Engineered Product - Lawnmower Engine
Engineering Report
By Kira
1
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
Engineered Product - Lawnmower Engine.......................................................................... 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................................2
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT............................................................................................... 3
EFFECT ON SOCIETY............................................................................................................ 4
RECYCLABILITY OF A LAWNMOWER ENGINE.................................................................. 5
ENGINE OBSOLESCENCE.................................................................................................... 5
PROPERTIES AND OVERVIEW............................................................................................. 6
Air Filter.............................................................................................................................. 6
Fuel Tank............................................................................................................................6
Spark Plug..........................................................................................................................6
REFERENCE LIST.................................................................................................................. 8
APPENDICES........................................................................................................................ 10
APPENDIX A (Lawn Mower Engine Pictorial).................................................................. 10
APPENDIX B (Spark Plug Drawing).................................................................................11
APPENDIX C (Air Filter Lid Drawings)............................................................................. 12
APPENDIX D (Air Filter Body Drawings)..........................................................................14
APPENDIX E (Fuel Tank Drawings).................................................................................16
APPENDIX F ( Lawnmower Engine Photo - Front and Top)............................................ 18
APPENDIX G (Spark Plug Photo - Front)........................................................................ 18
APPENDIX H (Air Filter Photo - Top)............................................................................... 18
APPENDIX I (Buddings Cylinder Push Mower)................................................................19
APPENDIX J (Thoman Green Lawnmower Design)........................................................ 19
APPENDIX K (Ransomes Combustion Engine Design)...................................................20
APPENDIX L (Original Triplex).........................................................................................20
APPENDIX M (First Rotary Design)................................................................................. 20
APPENDIX N (Victa First Lawnmower)............................................................................21
APPENDIX O (Honda Electric Lawnmower).................................................................... 21
APPENDIX P (1800’s Cloth Mill)...................................................................................... 21
APPENDIX Q (Lawnmower Hitched to Horse).................................................................22
APPENDIX R (Cobalt Mine)............................................................................................. 22
APPENDIX S (Oil Mine)................................................................................................... 23
2
, HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Before lawnmowers were invented, peoples lawns and grass were maintained by either
livestock or by hand, using tools such as a scythe. This solution to maintain people's lawns
took a lot of time and effort, so having a neat and tidy lawn became an indication of wealth.
This pushed the invention of the first lawn mower in 1830, created and designed by Edwin
Beard Budding. Budding was an English engineer who got the idea of the first mechanical
lawn mower after seeing a local steam powered cloth mill work (appendix P). He saw that to
give cloth a smooth finish, the machine used a cutting cylinder with a blade reel to trim the
irregular fibres from the surface of the cloth, which inspired the design.
In 1832, Budding and his partner sold over 1000 cylinder push lawn mowers
(appendix I), proving the machine to be very popular. Other companies and inventors then
started to build their own copies of the machine, making subtle changes in each design to
improve the efficiency. This led to the creation of a lawn mower that could be hitched to
animals (appendix Q). In 1859, Thomas Green created the first chain driven mower
(appendix J), which became a big deal as the machine became lighter due to the thinner iron
plating used, and it further reduced the amount of effort needed to cut your lawn. This design
was sold by Thomas Green’s company until 1935, when production stopped.
After steam powered engines started to emerge in the 1890’s, Ransomes produced
the first internal gas combustion powered lawn mower in 1902 (appendix K). The Ransomes
company was also the first to create a ride-on lawn mower with an engine, which started the
commercial lawn mower production in the UK.
In 1915, gas powered mowers were being sold by Ideal Power Lawn Mower Co in
the US. By 1922, the company produced the first self propelled ride on lawn tractor, which
was known as the ‘Triplex’ (appendix L). In 1948, The Bull Tractor Company started to
create lawn mowers, and had a huge success due to their new rotary lawn mower design,
with an enclosed deck (appendix M). This design ended up becoming a leader in the push
mower industry. A company that was originally known for creating the engines that powered
lawn mowers, Briggs and Stratton, revolutionised the lawn mower industry in 1953 by
inventing the first lightweight aluminium engine, which was advanced in 1958 with the
introduction of the all aluminium sleeve-bore engines. Their basic design inspired Victa, an
Australian lawnmower company that was started by Mervyn Victor Richardson in 1952. He
started in August of 1952, selling over 20 000 of his combustion powered mowers (appendix
N) within 2 years of being in business. In 1958, Victa moved to a new factory and started to
invest in marketing campaigns and their slogan, ‘turns grass into lawn,’ was created. Victa
had one advantage over other companies, they could cut sloping lawns as the blade was
tilted.
Towards the start of the 21st century, the traditional 2 and 4 stroke engines were
slowly being phased out, with electrical engines being the new environmentally friendly
trend. Big companies, such as Honda (appendix O), were making this change to better fit
with society's view on what's good for the environment, so to increase profits, the change to
electrical engines was made.
3
Engineering Report
By Kira
1
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
Engineered Product - Lawnmower Engine.......................................................................... 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................................2
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT............................................................................................... 3
EFFECT ON SOCIETY............................................................................................................ 4
RECYCLABILITY OF A LAWNMOWER ENGINE.................................................................. 5
ENGINE OBSOLESCENCE.................................................................................................... 5
PROPERTIES AND OVERVIEW............................................................................................. 6
Air Filter.............................................................................................................................. 6
Fuel Tank............................................................................................................................6
Spark Plug..........................................................................................................................6
REFERENCE LIST.................................................................................................................. 8
APPENDICES........................................................................................................................ 10
APPENDIX A (Lawn Mower Engine Pictorial).................................................................. 10
APPENDIX B (Spark Plug Drawing).................................................................................11
APPENDIX C (Air Filter Lid Drawings)............................................................................. 12
APPENDIX D (Air Filter Body Drawings)..........................................................................14
APPENDIX E (Fuel Tank Drawings).................................................................................16
APPENDIX F ( Lawnmower Engine Photo - Front and Top)............................................ 18
APPENDIX G (Spark Plug Photo - Front)........................................................................ 18
APPENDIX H (Air Filter Photo - Top)............................................................................... 18
APPENDIX I (Buddings Cylinder Push Mower)................................................................19
APPENDIX J (Thoman Green Lawnmower Design)........................................................ 19
APPENDIX K (Ransomes Combustion Engine Design)...................................................20
APPENDIX L (Original Triplex).........................................................................................20
APPENDIX M (First Rotary Design)................................................................................. 20
APPENDIX N (Victa First Lawnmower)............................................................................21
APPENDIX O (Honda Electric Lawnmower).................................................................... 21
APPENDIX P (1800’s Cloth Mill)...................................................................................... 21
APPENDIX Q (Lawnmower Hitched to Horse).................................................................22
APPENDIX R (Cobalt Mine)............................................................................................. 22
APPENDIX S (Oil Mine)................................................................................................... 23
2
, HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Before lawnmowers were invented, peoples lawns and grass were maintained by either
livestock or by hand, using tools such as a scythe. This solution to maintain people's lawns
took a lot of time and effort, so having a neat and tidy lawn became an indication of wealth.
This pushed the invention of the first lawn mower in 1830, created and designed by Edwin
Beard Budding. Budding was an English engineer who got the idea of the first mechanical
lawn mower after seeing a local steam powered cloth mill work (appendix P). He saw that to
give cloth a smooth finish, the machine used a cutting cylinder with a blade reel to trim the
irregular fibres from the surface of the cloth, which inspired the design.
In 1832, Budding and his partner sold over 1000 cylinder push lawn mowers
(appendix I), proving the machine to be very popular. Other companies and inventors then
started to build their own copies of the machine, making subtle changes in each design to
improve the efficiency. This led to the creation of a lawn mower that could be hitched to
animals (appendix Q). In 1859, Thomas Green created the first chain driven mower
(appendix J), which became a big deal as the machine became lighter due to the thinner iron
plating used, and it further reduced the amount of effort needed to cut your lawn. This design
was sold by Thomas Green’s company until 1935, when production stopped.
After steam powered engines started to emerge in the 1890’s, Ransomes produced
the first internal gas combustion powered lawn mower in 1902 (appendix K). The Ransomes
company was also the first to create a ride-on lawn mower with an engine, which started the
commercial lawn mower production in the UK.
In 1915, gas powered mowers were being sold by Ideal Power Lawn Mower Co in
the US. By 1922, the company produced the first self propelled ride on lawn tractor, which
was known as the ‘Triplex’ (appendix L). In 1948, The Bull Tractor Company started to
create lawn mowers, and had a huge success due to their new rotary lawn mower design,
with an enclosed deck (appendix M). This design ended up becoming a leader in the push
mower industry. A company that was originally known for creating the engines that powered
lawn mowers, Briggs and Stratton, revolutionised the lawn mower industry in 1953 by
inventing the first lightweight aluminium engine, which was advanced in 1958 with the
introduction of the all aluminium sleeve-bore engines. Their basic design inspired Victa, an
Australian lawnmower company that was started by Mervyn Victor Richardson in 1952. He
started in August of 1952, selling over 20 000 of his combustion powered mowers (appendix
N) within 2 years of being in business. In 1958, Victa moved to a new factory and started to
invest in marketing campaigns and their slogan, ‘turns grass into lawn,’ was created. Victa
had one advantage over other companies, they could cut sloping lawns as the blade was
tilted.
Towards the start of the 21st century, the traditional 2 and 4 stroke engines were
slowly being phased out, with electrical engines being the new environmentally friendly
trend. Big companies, such as Honda (appendix O), were making this change to better fit
with society's view on what's good for the environment, so to increase profits, the change to
electrical engines was made.
3
