A real Kulibin…

This is what Roman Krainov’s colleagues call him, the head of the thermal automation and measurements workshop of the Western Thermal Complex

Since childhood, I have shown an interest in learning something new, not by buying something ready-made, but by gaining experience. I believe that the theory should be supported by the material embodiment of the plan. At the beginning, everything seems just a fantasy, unreal at first glance. But it turns out that everything is real.

In 2016, I decided to modernize my BMW car. I needed parts for node automation mechanisms. The production of printed circuit boards and body parts to order came out of the concept of building and re-equipping a car. Therefore, I decided to build a machine with numerical control. Eight months later he was ready. The machine turned out to be “small”, only 105 kg.

While working on the machine, my design skills in computer-aided design (CAD) systems such as Autocad came in handy. I had to learn the Compass-3D and SOLIDWORKS systems from scratch. All parts and machines were designed electronically and tested for strength.

Since 2016, a unique machine park has been designed and gradually created. I remember every machine, every detail. A lot of time and financial resources were spent on everything.

It takes from two months to two years to create a machine, depending on the complexity of the design and the delivery of components. I make machines from aluminum profiles, steel sheets, profile pipes, cast iron castings. One machine is made of an aluminum bar 120×12 mm.

In total, five machines were restored and modernized and four new ones were built. My greatest achievement is an automatic digital control system for injection and ignition of an internal combustion engine, built instead of an analog control system. To do this, it was necessary to study from scratch the basic principles of operation of engines and existing fuel systems, analyze the range of necessary initial data and types of sensors, build an analysis and diagnostic system from an existing system with processing large amounts of data, develop a program for 8-bit RISC microcontrollers based on RTOS real-time operating system, debug in the developed simulator, design an electronic circuit diagram and trace it taking into account automotive electromagnetic compatibility requirements, manufacture a printed circuit board, mount components, install them in a case and put them into operation on a car. And this is only three years of work from 2011 to 2014.

For those who want to learn how to assemble cars, I advise you to start with automatic design systems. The dimensions of the purchased parts are known; CAD will help you fit everything else into the required dimensions. Without additional costs for material, it is possible to check the compatibility of units. You can check both the components separately and the entire structure as a whole for rigidity and strength.

I devote all my free time to my hobby. I have my own motto: do good, even when no one sees it. I have a dream to buy a private house and expand my workshop.