APPLIED TECHNOLOGY DESIGN & PROTOTYPING DEMONSTRATING INNOVATIONS WITH 3D PRINTING


Meteor Power was founded in 2013 to develop innovative powertrains and high performance electric and petrol motorcycles. However, when the company realised that taking its cutting-edge hybrid motorcycle engine out to exhibitions and investor meetings would be too expensive, it turned to KWSP, the high performance engineering and additive manufacturing (3D printing) specialist. Utilising black and grey ABS material, the company was able to print a full-scale model of the engine in just 50 hours. The design engineers at KWSP began by analysing the original CAD


drawings, which were not intended to be used for additive manufacturing, and translating the CAD so that it was appropriate for the additive manufacturing process. They then suggested the addition of threaded inserts to enable the complete engine to be bolted together. “We opted for 3D printing as it was the best option to demonstrate the compact size and packaging of our design. It also showed a much more tangible product that really engaged people and illustrated just how small everything was going to be,” commented Mike Edwards, CEO of Meteor Power. Meteor’s proposed hybrid engine is just 30kg in weight, measures 350 x 300 x 160mm, and has a power density of 300kW per litre. These figures are consistent with the BMEP (Brake Mean Effective Pressure, used for


comparing engine performance) that is being achieved elsewhere but in a vastly reduced form factor, the company explains. Reducing the weight of the petrol engine to just 30kg and utilising the latest lightweighting technologies to bring the generators down to 10kg, the hybrid power train is expected to achieve a like-for-like weight reduction in terms of the batteries removed from an electric only vehicle, i.e. hybridisation is weight neutral. The engine and associated power


electronics are intended for use as part of a serial hybrid power train – to generate electricity for EVs at a power density not found in any existing hybrid vehicles. It is also destined for more mainstream automotive use in various forms and will be Euro 6 compliant, immediately allowing lightweight sports car manufacturers to benefit from hybridisation, without having to worry about packaging issues.


KWSP www.kwspecialprojects.com DESIGNING A NEXT GENERATION ALL-PLASTIC ENGINE


The Polimotor 2 project aims to design and manufacture a next-generation, all-plastic engine for competitive automotive racing. This will be a four-cylinder, double-overhead CAM engine that weighs between 63-67kg, or about 41kg less than today’s standard production engine. To help, a high-performing grade of Solvay’s KetaSpire polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has been selected to fabricate an oil scavenger line for the engine’s dry sump modular oil pump system. Allegheny Performance Plastics, LLC, machined the 18in oil scavenger line from a stock shape available from Texas-based Drake Plastics. The shape was extruded with Solvay’s


KetaSpire KT-820 CF30 PEEK, a 30% carbon fibre-reinforced grade that is said to retain high modulus and best-in-class fatigue resistance at continuous-use temperatures reaching 240˚C. This is comfortably above the peak oil temperatures in Polimotor 2’s dry sump design, which can reach 138°C. The project will leverage Solvay’s advanced


polymer technology to develop up to ten engine parts. In addition to the oil scavenger line, these include a water pump, oil pump components, water inlet/outlet, throttle body, fuel rail and other high-performance components. Besides KetaSpire PEEK, other Solvay materials targeted for use encompass Amodel polyphthalamide


(PPA), AvaSpire polyaryletherketone (PAEK), Radel polyphenylsulfone (PPSU), Ryton polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), Torlon polyamide- imide (PAI), and Tecnoflon VPL fluoroelastomers. “KetaSpire PEEK is one of the highest


performing polymers in our automotive portfolio,” said Brian Baleno, global automotive business manager for Solvay Specialty Polymers. “The Polimotor 2 project is one of the latest and most innovative showcases for this advanced polymer’s outstanding combination of high-temperature mechanical stability and strong chemical resistance.”


Solvay www.solvayspecialtypolymers.com


Enclosures from the smallest to the largest.


ENCLOSURES POWER DISTRIBUTION CLIMATE CONTROL


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