Ronald Valentine’s goal is to build the smallest operational diesel engine in the world. His Nano Bee measures merely 7/8 of an inch long with a bore and stroke of only 2mm, adding up to a total displacement of only .006cc or .00037 cu in. Under Ron’s guidance, his brother Chris Valentine exhibited great skill in his machining techniques when he produced this Nano Bee in Ronald’s shop in 2011.
Chris machined it completely from aluminum and steel bar stock with some tolerances held to one ten-thousandth of an inch (1/10,000″ or 0.0001″). The engine will spin a 1-1/4 x 1 inch aluminum propeller up to 12,800 revolutions per minute.
The second photo shows a micro engine display with Knapp collection engines #115, 116, 135, 253, and 274. The Nano Bee is the smallest engine on the base of the display. Courtesy of Chris Hans Valentine and Ronald Valentine.
