TESLA TURBINE

This was the final project for the Foundations of Machine Shop Operations course. Each students made a Tesla turbine out of raw stock and tested it at the end of the semester.

Tesla Turbine: Project

The Tesla turbine is comprised of a stainless steel shaft (lathe), aluminum bearing housing (lathe), aluminum output pulley (lathe), aluminum housing (two axis CNC mill), polycarbonate cover (two axis CNC mill), aluminum air intake block (two axis CNC mill), aluminum clamp plate (two axis CNC mill), eight stainless steel discs (water jet & mill) and seven stainless steel spacers (water jet & mill).

Tesla Turbine: Pro Gallery

The final step was to see if the turbine works. It was placed in a welded box for safety measures and only the output pulley could be seen. The nozzle for the pressurized air was screwed into the air intake block and a piece of reflective tape was placed on the pulley to measure the RPM. My turbine had a slightly stiff bearing so its maximum RPM was around 21,000. Normally it would be able to reach 24,000 with relative ease.

Tesla Turbine: Projects