Welcome to the Electronic Camshaft Project web site
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Background

      The most commonly used engines in today's society are of the internal-combustion class. They utilize a mechanically driven timing system known as the camshaft to operate intake and exhaust valves. Due to the nature of this system, performance is limited over a small RPM range.
      The 2006 University of Massachusetts Electronic Camshaft Senior Design Project Team, advised by Professor Hyers (M.E.) and Professor Looze (E.E.), are proposing an advancement in combustion motor timing, called an electronic camshaft. This device will provide enhancements in horsepower and fuel efficiency, allowing for an improvement in performance over a large RPM range. By utilizing an electrically based system, the RPM limitation of the mechanical system can be almost erased, allowing the peak performance for operation to be much larger and flexible.
      The Implementation will be done with a one-cylinder motor valve profile. The goal is to have one functioning valve for this profile, but ultimately have the two valves working as time permits. The evaluation of the motor characteristics will be measured on both the mechanical and electrical designs to determine the exact change in efficiency.