The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank,'s the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation. To convert the reciprocating motion into rotation, the crankshaft has "crank throws" or "crankpins", additional bearing surfaces whose axis's offset from that of the crank, to which the "big ends" of the connecting rods from each cylinder attach. It typically connects to a flywheel, to reduce the pulsation characteristic of the four-stroke cycle, a… (More on Crankshaft)