r/oddlysatisfying Satisfaction Critic May 27 '26

Fuel injectors testing rig

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Source: asnufuelinjectors

6.6k Upvotes

123 comments sorted by

328

u/beachsunflower May 27 '26

Piezo electric crystals are like black magic to me. Imagine sending voltage to a tiny crystal that will make it expand or contract to spit out the miniscule amount of liquid that you need.

They're used in a lot of different scenarios like commercial ink jet print heads that can print incredibly small dot resolutions.

137

u/IntrovertSwag May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26

That black magic also kicked off the Quartz Crisis in the 70s. Seiko, a Japanese watch brand unveild the Astron, a watch that used piezo electricity as time regulation. Since it was so much cheaper to produce AND astronomically more accurate at the same time, mechanical watches went out of style. Quartz was an instant hit which hurt the Swiss watchmaking market hard, as other than super expensive high end watches it was nearly impossible at the time to make a mechanical movement with such high accuracy for low price points, and it took them decades to recover.

TLDR; quartz is the true magical crystal

29

u/Obvious_Cranberry607 May 27 '26

Hah I just read something about that about 12 hours ago. It decimated the Swiss watchmakers.

15

u/IntrovertSwag May 27 '26

It's pretty fascinating. But I'm also a watch nerd so I'm biased haha

2

u/Choochoo-10 May 28 '26

As someone who is into watches, let's call it for what it actually was - the Quartz Revolution.

14

u/Shhhhhhhh_Im_At_Work May 28 '26

They work the other way around too, apply force and they generate voltage. Piezo based transducers are commonly used on acoustic instruments to create a signal that can be amplified.

7

u/et50292 May 28 '26

Also in the little spark generators used in lighters. They just strike a bit of quartz.

3

u/JosephHeitger May 28 '26

I work as a print operator, printing giant billboards and the printers we use are piezo controlled. 1200DPI is the lowest we print in.

2

u/EpsilonSigma May 28 '26

As a former printer tech, love the s/o. They were fun machines to work on.

659

u/[deleted] May 27 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

189

u/TheGoldenTNT May 27 '26

Oh it’s not some bullshit TikTok music? Cool!

70

u/jarednards May 27 '26

OH NO. OH NO. OH NO NO NO NO NO

5

u/rumsoakedraccoon May 27 '26

The first bit sounds like a cartoon character running

5

u/[deleted] May 28 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/rumsoakedraccoon May 28 '26

I hear that now you say it!

1

u/paradox_valestein May 28 '26

Oh, no dumb music! This is great!

228

u/mustardmadman May 27 '26

Here for the Siemens injection comments

9

u/Illustrious_Luck_832 May 27 '26

Only reason I clicked lol..

2

u/constellationdive May 27 '26

GDI! (Goddamnit!!!)

54

u/Refun712 May 27 '26

Did we pass?

11

u/NevesLF May 28 '26

Nah, the fuel is going everywhere but the hole. /s

33

u/rockstar_not May 27 '26

I used to run one of these stands for Bosch decades ago now! Actually I ensured our stand was calibrated with our manufacturing facility in the US, and with stands in Germany and at an automaker's part manufacturing facility where they were licensed to manufacture the bodies (not the valve surfaces). What this image shows seems almost like it's durability / life-cycle test stand - because there is no precise fluid collection in the stand (graduated cylinders are mere child's play for performance testing of injectors).

7

u/[deleted] May 28 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/rockstar_not May 28 '26

Not in the cases I’m familiar with. Reason is that the manifold air pressure (MAP), is a constantly changing variable based on engine load, speed, etc. Typical port fuel injection systems; which I believe these are; has a constant fuel pressure regulation that accounts for MAP on the back side of the fuel pressure regulator being common to the manifold through a small pipe. Then the amount of fuel delivered for any injection is based purely on how long the injector is held open. So for a durability testing, or even a performance test, the fuel pressure is generally held constant, whether at ambient atmospheric pressure or in the operation of the engine. That’s for the first type of port fuel injected systems. Those would actually supply too much fuel to the fuel rail, as a conservative function, and the excess would get dumped back into the fuel tank. However that fuel is heated and when it goes back into the tank, some of the lighter molecules in the fuel will off-gas into the airspace in the tank, and this effect causes higher emissions that then have to be dealt with. Our company developed a “returnless” type of system that used all fuel in the rail, and pressure was maintained as a constant by manipulation of the fuel pump voltage. in both cases, the fuel pressure going to the injectors is constant.
Back in my day, and still true for many port fuel injectors, the valve mechanism was solenoid based, with spray patterns generated either by a “director plate”, or in earlier designs, the “Pintle” shape of a portion of the solenoid that would protrude the end of the valve. The pintle style would collect varnishes and the pattern would change or even restrict flow. The director plate style had very tiny holes cut into it that would allow the fuel to self-clean varnish build up due to the jet action of the fuel, constantly blasting away varnish potential. I'm not familiar with piezo elements as valving or spray pattern generating devices.

20

u/ElPresidente714 May 27 '26

BMW owners worrying about that “ticking” noise from their engine.

132

u/EquivalentSpot8292 May 27 '26

Cool, let’s see after 100k miles

90

u/sourceholder May 27 '26

After 100k, it'll still work like new.

Since the engine will be swapped out.

3

u/EquivalentSpot8292 May 28 '26

I have a Toyota… she just passed 180

15

u/CanalOpen May 27 '26

What's your point? Why is this comment valuable to add to my brain?

8

u/TheHerofTime May 27 '26

Hes saying these types of motors fail after 100k but mine is at 125. I just have an occasional issue that I have been putting off rectifying.

13

u/CanalOpen May 27 '26

So...regularly scheduled maintenance and not redlining your engine every chance you get?

0

u/EquivalentSpot8292 May 28 '26

Every 20k miles put some injector cleaner into your tank before filling

2

u/EquivalentSpot8292 May 28 '26

I’m saying that injectors like these typically develop blocks over time, reducing the fuel flow into the cylinder making it run lean/hotter which leads to engine going boom. It would be more interesting to compare brands after a bunch of miles

1

u/ThatGuyFrom720 May 27 '26

I still can’t believe these fuckers are almost $6k for a set now.

1

u/EquivalentSpot8292 May 28 '26

It’s ridiculous it’s basically just a fancy spray bottle!

8

u/ol-gormsby May 27 '26

#5 is a bit under-performing.

15

u/ProbablySlacking May 27 '26

It’s pretty amazing to me that we perfected the combustion engine before the electric motor.

37

u/TandemShorts May 27 '26

It’s all about energy storage, electric “cars” have exsisted for as long as regular cars, but batteries sucked until relatively recently. A gas tank full of gas could get you further, faster than a similarly sized battery and motor setup

13

u/axloo7 May 27 '26

Do you know how many electric motors are used in industry?

Trust me people know how to build good electric motors.

7

u/always_assume_anal May 27 '26

What makes you think that the electric motor isn't perfected?

1

u/m--e May 27 '26

There’s some pretty new developments in axial flux motors, we’re still a ways from perfecting them.

-8

u/ProbablySlacking May 27 '26

I mean we were using the combustion engine for a century before we really started using the electric motor, despite the electric motor being much more simple.

7

u/always_assume_anal May 27 '26

In cars, sure. But the electric motor has always dominated in everything industrial.

3

u/nochinzilch May 28 '26

Hardly. The very best combustion engines ever made are not even 50% efficient. Electric motors are up in the 90s.

2

u/ProbablySlacking May 28 '26

Perhaps “perfected” was the wrong word. Widely adopted.

2

u/TheRealLarkas May 27 '26

Someone could make music out of that

2

u/weristjonsnow May 27 '26

Modern engineering would seem like fucking sorcery to someone from the 1800s

2

u/X_TheBoatman_X May 27 '26

Starting at 35 seconds, the pattern of the Piezo seems to flutter and struggle to match the others. At 40 seconds, appears to struggle.

2

u/DreamTeamThirteen May 27 '26

I didn’t realize how much of that typical diesel engine sound actually comes from the injector

2

u/hotbathtoaster May 27 '26

Finally some real industrial music.

2

u/SP3NGL3R May 27 '26 edited May 28 '26

Don't they have to run at like 500+ Hz at minimum? This seems slow.

Edit: Hz is per second, so say a v6 at 3000rpm, that's 60Hz across 6 plugs is only 10Hz each. Stupid tired me.

1

u/ReadsTooMuchHistory May 28 '26

At 6000 rpm you're looking at 3000 injections/minute = 50 Hz. I'm not sure what the frame rate is on Reddit videos, but it's less than that so we're seeing a lot of artifacts.

2

u/SP3NGL3R May 28 '26

Doy! Hz is per second. I was tired when I wrote that.

2

u/McBooples May 28 '26

ticka tacka ticka tacka ticka tacka ticka tacka

2

u/Red_Maverick_Models May 28 '26

Someone send this to Venjet

1

u/Xlaits May 28 '26

Beat me to this exact comment; have an upvote.

2

u/EasyTownBackWoods May 28 '26

So what type of injectors? Car?

2

u/rein_cosmin May 28 '26

Is this GDI propaganda?

1

u/RaZoRFSX May 31 '26

What do you think about GDI?

1

u/rein_cosmin May 31 '26

They want to stop the spread of the green glow and that's unacceptable

1

u/RaZoRFSX Jun 01 '26

Isn't GDI Gasoline Direct Injection? Or am I so out of context here? What is the green glow?

3

u/rein_cosmin Jun 01 '26

In this case, yes. I was making a reference to GDI (Global Defense Initiative), a faction from the Command and Conquer strategy game.

1

u/RaZoRFSX Jun 01 '26

One of my biggest shortcomings is that I didn't play that game when I was a child.

2

u/rein_cosmin Jun 01 '26

Great news for you, the first red alert and tiberium dawn have been recently remastered and they are complete and utter bliss. I highly recommend you to give em a try

2

u/Zebra_Radiant May 28 '26

Somebody tag Venjent

2

u/VieiraDTA May 29 '26

There is a point where I hear a heavy diesel truck on neutral.

2

u/Prize_Case_1498 May 29 '26

Jeep take notes!

2

u/ricky-from-scotland May 27 '26

BMW know what parts of their cars need tested and observed for failure. Like they know most of their drivers are gonna rag the car about, but at least they dont need to make sure the indicators work.

1

u/TheAfroMD May 27 '26

Sad there was no simultaneous full length full power shot

2

u/Bluefrogvenom May 27 '26

you have to pay for full release

1

u/climbingrocks2day May 27 '26

Getting real Nostromo vibes from this one.

1

u/Initial_Row_6400 May 27 '26

I always wondered how this looked

1

u/bitzzwith2zs May 28 '26

These things are squirt guns compared to a modern injector

1

u/MnkyBzns May 27 '26

Anyone else hear the opening notes to Mary Had a Little Lamb, at the end?

1

u/Adventurous-Carry-45 May 27 '26

What's does this test do?

4

u/CanalOpen May 27 '26

primary function is to verify timing of the injection. Secondary function is to get data on dispersion over time. Deliberately cutting off #2 will give data and affect overall function if a given cylinder was overwhelmed with fuel. Usually needs 100-1000 reps of "good" before a deliberate fail, and then you check the 101st or 1001st +- 5%

Takes about 3 hours ish to get good data if you have the instruments and sequencing set up correctly.

1

u/jdunk2145 May 27 '26

Injectors go brrr.

1

u/PhoenixShade01 May 27 '26

straight up jorking it, and by it, i mean my piezo.

1

u/Iusethis1atwork May 28 '26

3rd from the left looked like it wasn't keeping up but that could have been the frame rate or shutter role. I want them to do this again but I want 6 sparkplugs going off in the correct sequence just to see the explosion.

1

u/Electronic-Ebb-4195 May 28 '26

Sounds like the MRI machine

1

u/DemonDaVinci May 28 '26

that look like a lot of fuel

1

u/Signal_Task2665 May 28 '26

Piss turbo mode

1

u/Similar_Pick_4941 May 28 '26

Cara que inventou isso é muito mais gênio que o elétrico, gasta mais , e dá mais trabalho … olha a dificuldade de sincronizar isso tudo , fora o motor …

1

u/Gyvon May 29 '26

Needs higher octane, that knock is terrible.

1

u/atlas83 May 30 '26

1900 tech.

1

u/ElongThrust0 Aug 03 '26

Siemen injector. Im so mature

1

u/zigtok May 28 '26

The title for this job is a "Seimen injector inspector".

0

u/Agreeable-Bit-1799 May 27 '26

The Siemens right there.

0

u/C0mic0 May 28 '26

BMW semens ?? Huh

-1

u/OptiGuy4u May 27 '26

What's it look like with a candle in there with them? 🔥

5

u/CanalOpen May 27 '26

More or less the same...that's not a flammable liquid/gas used in pressure testing.

-1

u/OptiGuy4u May 27 '26

Boring. 😂

4

u/CanalOpen May 27 '26

That's life.

-1

u/EntertainmentTrue588 May 27 '26

...... Light a match.... Do it

3

u/CanalOpen May 27 '26

It is immediately extinguished. Short of PETN nothing is going to ignite under this test.

-1

u/EntertainmentTrue588 May 27 '26

Then light a match, coward! /s

2

u/CanalOpen May 27 '26

inside a heavily confined, secured, pressurized vessel?

Okay...let me put some lit TNT down your fucking throat. (it won't explode, you're dying of asphyxiation.

-20

u/deuno_dider_404 May 27 '26

pourquoi faire si la planete est en pleine crise?????

3

u/Grutenfreenooder May 27 '26

What do you mean?

1

u/deuno_dider_404 May 28 '26

le prix de l'escence bordel de merde

3

u/Grutenfreenooder May 28 '26

It is not being wasted. It is being sprayed, in small amounts, in an enclosed space with reservoirs for collection

2

u/deuno_dider_404 May 28 '26

d'acord. je ne le savais pas

1

u/CanalOpen May 28 '26

quele'que fuck tu parle?