G.E. WORLD'S FIRST COMPOSITE B18C ENGINE
10-29-2010, 07:40 AM
#1
Thread Starter
G.E. WORLD'S FIRST COMPOSITE B18C ENGINE
We are in the process of helping a composite engine designer place our sleeves in his block. These engines would be for N/A and not boost. The engineer has already produced an engine and tested it. The engine fits the bill for high end European race teams that need to keep cars as lite as possible. These engines are not cheap. The price is around 15K to 20K. Who knows what the future may hold for technology like this but it is sure to come sooner or later.
WHAT the world could use right now is an affordable plastic car. After all, a car with a plastic frame and body would be lighter than a comparable steel vehicle, get better fuel economy and produce less carbon dioxide.The reality is that the most popular plastic car in American driveways is red and yellow, and is foot propelled: the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe. Alas, that solution is not scalable. The auto industry has for decades waited for the necessary polymer materials to become practical and cheap enough to make mass production of a roadworthy plastic car feasible. That situation may be about to change.
The best materials for vehicles are carbon-fiber composites, which are polymers reinforced with embedded carbon fibers. Not only are the substances light, but they are also remarkably strong — considerably stronger pound for pound in comparison with most metals. This high strength-to-weight ratio is why such polymer composites first replaced metals in military jets like the F/A-18 Hornet. Plastic car structures still face the same obstacles they did in the past: high fiber costs and slow manufacturing. The fibers are tricky to manufacture and therefore expensive, and composite parts have to be baked for hours under high pressures and temperatures in large chambers called autoclaves. Fabrication slows to a crawl. Among others, chemists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and at Japanese textile makers like Toray Industries are working to cut prices by using cheaper, easier-to-process starting materials. Engineers at MAG Industrial Automation Systems, a machine-tool maker in Germany, are also on the case. Daniel Allman, director of MAG’s automotive composites business unit, said the company was “developing a high-performance fiberreinforced composite material suitable for structural automotive components at a cost that is palatable to the industry.” Crucially, the new materials do not require autoclave processing. MAG, Mr. Allman said, is looking to complete new production machines that would be able to fabricate structural composite car parts as rapidly as stamped-metal assembly lines. Progress in this area may be further advanced than we know. Executives at Toray, which has already spent several hundred million dollars to commercialize carbon fiber auto platforms, have suggested that the first mass-produced plastic car prototypes may be only three to four years away. As one might expect of an exotic material, carbon fiber became a fashion statement because of its link to racecar construction. The exposed — though clear-coated for protection — weave soon became the rage among the “Fast and Furious” tuner crowd and the advanced materials began showing up in trim on all sorts of cars. It is mostly for show. The carbonfiber roof on the BMW M3 coupe, for instance, saves a dozen pounds and lowers the car’s center of gravity a bit, but it is only an exterior surface panel that is supported by a conventional metal substructure underneath. Who knows what is next for sport compact market but what ever the future holds G.E. will be at the front with this project and more to come in the future. G.E. carbon fiber intake manifolds for example.
WHAT the world could use right now is an affordable plastic car. After all, a car with a plastic frame and body would be lighter than a comparable steel vehicle, get better fuel economy and produce less carbon dioxide.The reality is that the most popular plastic car in American driveways is red and yellow, and is foot propelled: the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe. Alas, that solution is not scalable. The auto industry has for decades waited for the necessary polymer materials to become practical and cheap enough to make mass production of a roadworthy plastic car feasible. That situation may be about to change.
The best materials for vehicles are carbon-fiber composites, which are polymers reinforced with embedded carbon fibers. Not only are the substances light, but they are also remarkably strong — considerably stronger pound for pound in comparison with most metals. This high strength-to-weight ratio is why such polymer composites first replaced metals in military jets like the F/A-18 Hornet. Plastic car structures still face the same obstacles they did in the past: high fiber costs and slow manufacturing. The fibers are tricky to manufacture and therefore expensive, and composite parts have to be baked for hours under high pressures and temperatures in large chambers called autoclaves. Fabrication slows to a crawl. Among others, chemists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and at Japanese textile makers like Toray Industries are working to cut prices by using cheaper, easier-to-process starting materials. Engineers at MAG Industrial Automation Systems, a machine-tool maker in Germany, are also on the case. Daniel Allman, director of MAG’s automotive composites business unit, said the company was “developing a high-performance fiberreinforced composite material suitable for structural automotive components at a cost that is palatable to the industry.” Crucially, the new materials do not require autoclave processing. MAG, Mr. Allman said, is looking to complete new production machines that would be able to fabricate structural composite car parts as rapidly as stamped-metal assembly lines. Progress in this area may be further advanced than we know. Executives at Toray, which has already spent several hundred million dollars to commercialize carbon fiber auto platforms, have suggested that the first mass-produced plastic car prototypes may be only three to four years away. As one might expect of an exotic material, carbon fiber became a fashion statement because of its link to racecar construction. The exposed — though clear-coated for protection — weave soon became the rage among the “Fast and Furious” tuner crowd and the advanced materials began showing up in trim on all sorts of cars. It is mostly for show. The carbonfiber roof on the BMW M3 coupe, for instance, saves a dozen pounds and lowers the car’s center of gravity a bit, but it is only an exterior surface panel that is supported by a conventional metal substructure underneath. Who knows what is next for sport compact market but what ever the future holds G.E. will be at the front with this project and more to come in the future. G.E. carbon fiber intake manifolds for example.
10-29-2010, 09:39 AM
#3
Honda-Tech Member
Re: G.E. WORLD'S FIRST COMPOSITE B18C ENGINE
15k-20k lol....with that kind of money you could definetly drop weight in other areas of the car and still have money to burn.
and composite engines are nothing new...The first Polimotor (short for polymer motor) that Holtzberg built in 1980 was a 2.3-liter Ford Pinto engine clone that used plastic for the engine block, the cylinder head, piston skirts, oil pan and connecting rods....gm has a motor thats made out of about 80% plastic (composite)...toyota has also developed one...the list goes on...and they sure as hell dont cost no 15-20k
and composite engines are nothing new...The first Polimotor (short for polymer motor) that Holtzberg built in 1980 was a 2.3-liter Ford Pinto engine clone that used plastic for the engine block, the cylinder head, piston skirts, oil pan and connecting rods....gm has a motor thats made out of about 80% plastic (composite)...toyota has also developed one...the list goes on...and they sure as hell dont cost no 15-20k
10-29-2010, 10:58 AM
#4
Thread Starter
Re: G.E. WORLD'S FIRST COMPOSITE B18C ENGINE
I agree the price seems to be in the outer limits. Great to hear you know about these engines.
Mattie Holtzberg is the engineer we are working with.
Mattie Holtzberg is the engineer we are working with.
10-29-2010, 11:49 AM
#5
Honda-Tech Member
Re: G.E. WORLD'S FIRST COMPOSITE B18C ENGINE
The other thing i would like to point out is saving weight in the front end on a fwd drive is only good up till a certain point...you still need some weight for traction. This is why trucks setup for drag racing will sometimes have steel plates or some other form of weight added over the rear axle.
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