{
 "version": "2026-10-20",
 "license": "Dimension sheets are written by Xem Studio from the cited sources and are free to use (CC BY 4.0, attribute 'Xem Studio'). Linked files belong to their publishers under the license shown; Xem Studio does not host them. 'license_verified: false' means the license shown is from memory or the publisher's page as last read and should be confirmed at the link before commercial use.",
 "slug": "stirling-configurations-guide",
 "name": "Stirling engine configurations: which type needs which parts on this shelf",
 "kind": "list",
 "category": "Stirling engines",
 "group": "Guide",
 "year": null,
 "question": "What are the different types of Stirling engine and what parts does each one need?",
 "tags": [
  "stirling",
  "guide",
  "alpha",
  "beta",
  "gamma",
  "configurations",
  "stirling",
  "long earth society",
  "list",
  "guide"
 ],
 "aliases": [
  "types of stirling engine",
  "alpha beta gamma stirling",
  "stirling engine configurations",
  "which stirling engine to build",
  "stirling engine parts list",
  "stirling engine mechanisms"
 ],
 "overall_mm": {
  "length": null,
  "width": null,
  "height": null
 },
 "official_cad": false,
 "xem_status": "not-scanned",
 "les": true,
 "free_files": 0,
 "url": "https://xemstudio.com/objects/stirling-configurations-guide/",
 "sheet_txt": "https://xemstudio.com/objects/stirling-configurations-guide/sheet.txt",
 "sheet": {
  "basis": "Standard taxonomy (alpha / beta / gamma by cylinder arrangement; drive mechanism; free-piston and non-mechanical variants) with the parts list for each drawn from this library",
  "overall_mm": {
   "length": null,
   "width": null,
   "height": null
  },
  "notes": [
   "Three cylinder arrangements: alpha (two pistons, hot and cold cylinders), beta (displacer and piston in one cylinder), gamma (displacer cylinder plus a separate power cylinder). Then the drive: crank + con-rod, bell crank, rhombic, Ross yoke, Scotch yoke, swash plate, or none (free-piston, Ringbom, thermoacoustic, fluidyne).",
   "Every row's parts exist on the shelf as free STEP/STL except the rotary-displacer type. Pick the row, open the linked objects, print the calibration coupons first, and the parts fit each other: Ø3 pins, Ø5 shafts, 623/608 bearings, 10 mL syringes, 16 ga tri-clamp bores and 2020 frames are the common interfaces throughout.",
   "An agent asked to 'design a beta Stirling with a rhombic drive for a 2 in tri-clamp spool' should pull: rhombic-drive-kit, tri-clamp-displacers-and-heads (Ø46 × 90 displacer, crank head), tri-clamp-spool (2 in × 6 in), tri-clamp-ferrule, tri-clamp-end-cap gasket, regenerator-and-heat-materials, brass-tube-ks (5 mm tube rod), ball-bearings-metric (623), crank-conrod-flywheel-kit (flywheel), tea-light-candles or copper-pipe-type-l-m heat exchangers, and printer-calibration-coupons.",
   "LES: this is the index the LES videos point at: 'the parts for every engine type are on one page'."
  ],
  "table": {
   "columns": [
    "type",
    "mechanism",
    "shelf objects",
    "note"
   ],
   "rows": [
    [
     "Gamma (crank)",
     "displacer + separate power cylinder, 90° crank",
     "crank-conrod-flywheel-kit, tri-clamp-displacers-and-heads, plastic-syringes, can-engine-printed-kit",
     "easiest; LES can and tri-clamp engines"
    ],
    [
     "Beta (bell crank)",
     "displacer and piston coaxial, bell crank + links",
     "motion-mechanisms (bell crank, links), tri-clamp-displacers-and-heads",
     "compact"
    ],
    [
     "Beta (rhombic drive)",
     "counter-rotating crank gears, yokes",
     "rhombic-drive-kit, spur-gears-involute",
     "balanced, Philips"
    ],
    [
     "Alpha (V-twin)",
     "two pistons 90° apart",
     "alpha-twin-crank-90, plastic-syringes",
     "highest specific power"
    ],
    [
     "Alpha (Ross yoke)",
     "parallel cylinders, triangular rocker",
     "ross-yoke-kit",
     "straight-line motion"
    ],
    [
     "Scotch yoke / swash plate",
     "sinusoidal or multi-cylinder",
     "motion-mechanisms",
     "no con-rod"
    ],
    [
     "Ringbom",
     "free displacer on stops, crank piston",
     "free-piston-core (stops), crank-conrod-flywheel-kit",
     "semi-free-piston"
    ],
    [
     "Free-piston",
     "flexures, gas springs, linear alternator",
     "spiral-flexure-bearings, free-piston-core, linear-alternator-kit, nasa-fpse-references",
     "NASA / Sunpower"
    ],
    [
     "LTD (coffee cup)",
     "wide thin displacer, tiny piston",
     "ltd-coffee-cup-engine-kit",
     "runs on 15 K"
    ],
    [
     "Thermoacoustic (standing wave)",
     "stack in a resonator, no pistons",
     "thermoacoustic-stacks-and-resonators, tri-clamp-spool",
     "LES main line"
    ],
    [
     "Thermoacoustic-Stirling (travelling wave, TASHE)",
     "looped regenerator + resonator",
     "regenerator-and-heat-materials, thermoacoustic-stacks-and-resonators, linear-alternator-kit",
     "NASA TASHE"
    ],
    [
     "Fluidyne",
     "water columns as pistons",
     "fluidyne-manifold, copper-pipe-type-l-m",
     "no moving parts"
    ],
    [
     "Lamina-flow (thermal lag)",
     "one tube, one piston, no displacer",
     "borosilicate-test-tubes, plastic-syringes, crank-conrod-flywheel-kit",
     "simplest moving-part engine"
    ],
    [
     "Rotary displacer",
     "rotating displacer in a drum",
     "— (not on the shelf yet)",
     "rare"
    ]
   ]
  }
 },
 "sheet_text": "Stirling engine configurations: which type needs which parts on this shelf — dimension sheet\nSource: Xem Studio, https://xemstudio.com/objects/stirling-configurations-guide/  (CC BY 4.0)\nBasis: Standard taxonomy (alpha / beta / gamma by cylinder arrangement; drive mechanism; free-piston and non-mechanical variants) with the parts list for each drawn from this library\nCatalog version: 2026-10-20\n\nSizes: see table below\n- Three cylinder arrangements: alpha (two pistons, hot and cold cylinders), beta (displacer and piston in one cylinder), gamma (displacer cylinder plus a separate power cylinder). Then the drive: crank + con-rod, bell crank, rhombic, Ross yoke, Scotch yoke, swash plate, or none (free-piston, Ringbom, thermoacoustic, fluidyne).\n- Every row's parts exist on the shelf as free STEP/STL except the rotary-displacer type. Pick the row, open the linked objects, print the calibration coupons first, and the parts fit each other: Ø3 pins, Ø5 shafts, 623/608 bearings, 10 mL syringes, 16 ga tri-clamp bores and 2020 frames are the common interfaces throughout.\n- An agent asked to 'design a beta Stirling with a rhombic drive for a 2 in tri-clamp spool' should pull: rhombic-drive-kit, tri-clamp-displacers-and-heads (Ø46 × 90 displacer, crank head), tri-clamp-spool (2 in × 6 in), tri-clamp-ferrule, tri-clamp-end-cap gasket, regenerator-and-heat-materials, brass-tube-ks (5 mm tube rod), ball-bearings-metric (623), crank-conrod-flywheel-kit (flywheel), tea-light-candles or copper-pipe-type-l-m heat exchangers, and printer-calibration-coupons.\n- LES: this is the index the LES videos point at: 'the parts for every engine type are on one page'.\n\ntype  mechanism  shelf objects  note\nGamma (crank)  displacer + separate power cylinder, 90° crank  crank-conrod-flywheel-kit, tri-clamp-displacers-and-heads, plastic-syringes, can-engine-printed-kit  easiest; LES can and tri-clamp engines\nBeta (bell crank)  displacer and piston coaxial, bell crank + links  motion-mechanisms (bell crank, links), tri-clamp-displacers-and-heads  compact\nBeta (rhombic drive)  counter-rotating crank gears, yokes  rhombic-drive-kit, spur-gears-involute  balanced, Philips\nAlpha (V-twin)  two pistons 90° apart  alpha-twin-crank-90, plastic-syringes  highest specific power\nAlpha (Ross yoke)  parallel cylinders, triangular rocker  ross-yoke-kit  straight-line motion\nScotch yoke / swash plate  sinusoidal or multi-cylinder  motion-mechanisms  no con-rod\nRingbom  free displacer on stops, crank piston  free-piston-core (stops), crank-conrod-flywheel-kit  semi-free-piston\nFree-piston  flexures, gas springs, linear alternator  spiral-flexure-bearings, free-piston-core, linear-alternator-kit, nasa-fpse-references  NASA / Sunpower\nLTD (coffee cup)  wide thin displacer, tiny piston  ltd-coffee-cup-engine-kit  runs on 15 K\nThermoacoustic (standing wave)  stack in a resonator, no pistons  thermoacoustic-stacks-and-resonators, tri-clamp-spool  LES main line\nThermoacoustic-Stirling (travelling wave, TASHE)  looped regenerator + resonator  regenerator-and-heat-materials, thermoacoustic-stacks-and-resonators, linear-alternator-kit  NASA TASHE\nFluidyne  water columns as pistons  fluidyne-manifold, copper-pipe-type-l-m  no moving parts\nLamina-flow (thermal lag)  one tube, one piston, no displacer  borosilicate-test-tubes, plastic-syringes, crank-conrod-flywheel-kit  simplest moving-part engine\nRotary displacer  rotating displacer in a drum  — (not on the shelf yet)  rare\n\nFiles elsewhere (not hosted by Xem Studio; license as stated by the publisher):\n- Wikipedia: Stirling engine — web — CC BY-SA 4.0 (text) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine\n- Wikipedia: Rhombic drive — web — CC BY-SA 4.0 (text) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhombic_drive\n- Wikipedia: Thermoacoustic heat engine — web — CC BY-SA 4.0 (text) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoacoustic_heat_engine\n- Ohio University: Stirling cycle machine analysis (Urieli) — web — Author's site — https://www.ohio.edu/mechanical/stirling/\n- Long Earth Society: Engine builds — web, video — LES site — https://longearthsociety.com/engineering/\n\nXem Studio scan: not planned; the official CAD above covers it.\nAPI: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=stirling-configurations-guide\n",
 "sources": [
  {
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "title": "Stirling engine",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine",
   "formats": [
    "web"
   ],
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0 (text)",
   "license_verified": true,
   "hosted": false
  },
  {
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "title": "Rhombic drive",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhombic_drive",
   "formats": [
    "web"
   ],
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0 (text)",
   "license_verified": true,
   "hosted": false
  },
  {
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "title": "Thermoacoustic heat engine",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoacoustic_heat_engine",
   "formats": [
    "web"
   ],
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0 (text)",
   "license_verified": true,
   "hosted": false
  },
  {
   "publisher": "Ohio University",
   "title": "Stirling cycle machine analysis (Urieli)",
   "url": "https://www.ohio.edu/mechanical/stirling/",
   "formats": [
    "web"
   ],
   "license": "Author's site",
   "license_verified": true,
   "hosted": false
  },
  {
   "publisher": "Long Earth Society",
   "title": "Engine builds",
   "url": "https://longearthsociety.com/engineering/",
   "formats": [
    "web",
    "video"
   ],
   "license": "LES site",
   "license_verified": true,
   "hosted": false
  }
 ],
 "xem": {
  "status": "not-scanned",
  "sheet_free": true,
  "mesh_price_usd": null,
  "step_price_usd": null,
  "tolerance_mm": null
 },
 "related": [
  "rhombic-drive-kit",
  "ross-yoke-kit",
  "alpha-twin-crank-90",
  "ltd-coffee-cup-engine-kit",
  "thermoacoustic-stacks-and-resonators",
  "fluidyne-manifold",
  "free-piston-core",
  "crank-conrod-flywheel-kit",
  "can-engine-printed-kit",
  "tri-clamp-displacers-and-heads",
  "motion-mechanisms"
 ],
 "fits": [],
 "faq": [
  {
   "q": "What is the difference between alpha, beta and gamma Stirling engines?",
   "a": "Alpha: two pistons in two cylinders (hot, cold). Beta: a displacer and a power piston sharing one cylinder. Gamma: a displacer cylinder and a separate power cylinder joined by a passage. Same cycle, different packaging."
  },
  {
   "q": "Which Stirling engine is easiest to build?",
   "a": "Gamma with a crank: the can engine or the 2 in tri-clamp gamma. The LTD is next (runs on a warm hand but needs flat plates). Thermoacoustic has no moving parts but needs a heater and tuning."
  },
  {
   "q": "Which Stirling type is best balanced?",
   "a": "Beta with a rhombic drive: the two mirror cranks cancel side loads and shaking forces; it is why Philips used it."
  }
 ],
 "files_license": null,
 "offers": [],
 "markdown": "https://xemstudio.com/objects/stirling-configurations-guide/index.md"
}