While electric motors are gaining a lot of popularity and growing in adoption, projected to see their market size increase at a CAGR of 7.61% to $246.59 billion by 2032, plenty of innovation is also happening in internal combustion engines (ICE).
ICE is a heat engine that burns fuel and converts its chemical energy into work. Its remarkable adaptability across various applications, such as the automotive, marine, aerospace, and power generation industries, is driving its market size, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% to over $485 bln by 2032.
It is the outstanding drivability and durability of ICEs that have made it so popular worldwide all these decades. Not to mention, they can be powered by different kinds of fuels, such as gasoline, diesel, and renewables.
Given the efficiency, versatility, cost-effectiveness, and high power density of these engines, ICE technology continues to attract attention and go through innovation.
Recently, Advanced Innovative Engineering (AIE) announced its brand new 40ACS Wankel rotary engine, offering a combination of small size and significant power output. The advanced air-cooled Wankel rotary engine features AIE’s exclusive Compact SPARCS cooling technology.
AIE is a UK-based engineering company that has been designing and developing innovative rotary engine power solutions for more than a decade now. The company is also involved in the consultation, conceptualization, and testing of a range of innovative and highly efficient Wankel rotary engines.
Invented in the 1950s by German engineer Felix Wankel, the Wankel rotary engine is a type of internal combustion engine that uses a triangular rotor to convert pressure into rotational motion.
In addition to having a simple design with fewer moving parts that make it more reliable and easier to maintain, the Wankel engine has a high power-to-weight ratio, making it a good choice for applications such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Other applications of these engines can be found in aircraft, hybrid automotive power systems, motorcycles, snowmobiles, jet skis, track cars, chainsaws, small generators, and auxiliary power units for aerospace and land-based vehicles.
However, the Wankel engine is not without its disadvantages, which arise in the form of low efficiency, high heat transfer due to a high surface-to-volume ratio, sealing and leakage issues, and poor emissions because of its combustion chamber shape.
AIE here is known for its Wankel rotary engines, which he continues to innovate through offerings like 40S with 5 Brake horsepower (bhp), 80S with 15 BHP, 225CS with 40 BHP, and 650S engine with 120 BHP. Its latest product, 40ACS, showcases the company’s ongoing efforts to advance engine technology by making use of modern tools and techniques.
“The 40ACS represents the future of compact, efficient, and sustainable engines, offering unmatched versatility for mission-critical applications,” said AIE in an official announcement, while noting that its engine will have a significant impact in the fields of robotics and aerospace, where 40ACS’s combination of performance and small size is highly desirable.
40ACS Specifications: Compact Design with High Performance
The state-of-the-art air-cooled Wankel rotary engine from AIE boasts high performance and efficiency while offering an unmatched power-to-weight ratio. Among the key benefits of the 40ACS listed by the company include compactness, long endurance, revolutionary cooling system, and low total cost of ownership.
The rotary engine comes with some great operational characteristics, such as smooth operation and minimal vibration.
AIE’s latest offering stands out for its unique and simplified design, which features fewer components than traditional reciprocating engines. As one of the company’s smallest offerings, 40ACS measures 16.3 cm in height, 19.5 cm in width, and 17.2 cm in depth. It also puts out 2.75 lb-ft of torque at 8,000 rpm.
The single-rotor engine of 40ACS also features a compact design thanks to having fewer components. This translates to a smaller, lighter engine that weighs just 2 kg (4.4 lbs) while delivering 5 BHP (3.7 kW), offering an exceptional power-to-weight ratio of 1.14 hp/lb, exceeding the 1.0 hp/lb benchmark. So, 40ACX maximizes power without taking up valuable space.
This makes it suitable for systems that require substantial power but have limited space and for vehicles that need to reach higher speeds faster. The high power-to-weight ratio further allows for extended flight times, enabling vehicles to operate for longer periods and cover larger distances.
Having fewer moving parts also means the vehicle experiences less wear, which ensures lower maintenance but, most importantly, high and long-lasting reliability.
As for fuel type, the 40ACS can run on different kinds of fuel, including gasoline and AVGAS, as well as heavy fuels like Jet A-1, JP5, and JP8, making the engine highly versatile and allowing it to be used across various applications and operational environments while maintaining efficiency.
Its ignition system is a single spark plug with full electronic engine management on top of a digitally optimized lubrication oil system, while the generator is optional.
Now, for 40ACS’ cooling system, AIE made use of its own patented cooling technology called Self-Pressurizing Air-Rotor Cooling System (SPARCS). The SPARCS is a proven technology, which AIE describes as a “breakthrough in rotary engine cooling technology.”
It is a fundamental aspect of the company’s engine design, which uses gases produced during combustion for cooling. This way, the system is able to remove the need to incorporate additional cooling system components like liquid coolants and radiators, eliminating parts and mass in the process. The compact technology optimizes thermal management, which keeps the engine cool and efficient even in demanding conditions.
“This sealed, self-pressurizing system uses blow-by gases from the combustion process, which are continuously recirculated through the engine’s rotor and integrated intercooler.”
– explains AIE
The company’s exclusive cooling technology allows for clean operation with no oil ejection, hence reducing its environmental impact as well as the need for maintenance.
“With Compact SPARCS technology, you get a powerful, efficient engine that operates cooler, cleaner, and more reliably.”
– AIE
Click here to learn how 3D printing is consolidating into the future of manufacturing.
Utilizing Additive Manufacturing to Achieve Precision and Efficiency
Innovation and advanced manufacturing are key to AIE delivering cutting-edge propulsion solutions in order to meet the evolving demands of industries around the world.
For its latest product, the company made use of additive manufacturing to produce major components of 40ACS. This advanced manufacturing process, according to AIE, allowed it to achieve exceptional precision, reduce material waste, and enhance durability.
Moreover, the engine’s components produced through this method met the highest performance and reliability standards while allowing the company to have a simple, streamlined, and lightweight design.
Additive manufacturing, however, isn’t the latest addition to AIE’s manufacturing process; rather, it has long been a central component of the company’s products. It relies on this manufacturing method to create compact, complex, and high-performance engine structures that would otherwise be challenging to build using traditional methods.
Also known as on-demand manufacturing, direct manufacturing technique, rapid prototyping, or three-dimensional (3D) printing, additive manufacturing is an advanced technique that uses 3D model data to manufacture structures with complex geometries by adding materials such as metal, polymers, or ceramics in layers.
The technology has been commercially available for a few decades now, although it has evolved significantly in recent years. Improvements in hardware, incorporation of advanced digital technologies like data analytics, cloud computing, software integrations, automation tools, and IoT, and broader material compatibility have helped additive manufacturing platforms to be more sophisticated and produce better quality products.
The use of this emerging technology has allowed for the production of components with geometries that were previously thought impossible to manufacture using legacy techniques. Besides having design limitations, traditional manufacturing is also slow and expensive, whereas additive manufacturing allows for quick, low-cost, automated processes.
Compared to traditional fabrication methods, additive manufacturing offers distinct benefits.
For starters, it gives manufacturers the ability to produce more parts in-house, which, in turn, protects their proprietary innovations. In contrast, utilizing a third party makes one dependent on others for tooling and fixtures required for the final products, which not only requires forfeiting control but also extends the timeline and leads to higher costs.
Additive manufacturing is actually a cost-effective solution to traditional subtractive manufacturing. In addition to helping manufacturers save capital, 3D printing offers greater process flexibility and design freedom.
Moreover, manufacturers can save time as it only takes a fraction of time to get a component from an idea to an actual physical part. Compared to months taken by conventional manufacturing processes, additive manufacturing gets it all done in a few days, if not hours, provided the material and 3D printers are available. Having access to additive manufacturing in-house also significantly accelerates the speed to market by enabling rapid prototyping.
This technology further fosters a culture of innovation by offering engineers the ability to solve interesting problems quickly and automate laborious tasks.
Despite having many benefits, additive manufacturing comes with its own unique problems in the form of mass production costs. While printing low volume offers cost benefits, this process struggles with scalability, hence making it more expensive per unit when producing large quantities.
When it comes to costs, manufacturers also have to deal with additional material cost issues because not every material can be utilized for 3D printing. Not to mention, the produced parts may have brittleness, internal stresses, or warping issues.
There are also size and speed limitations, which limit the throughput and, in turn, affect the adoption of additive manufacturing.
Still, the benefits of fast design, faster prototyping, production on demand, cost-effectiveness, and enhanced creativity that additive manufacturing technologies offer are simply too big to ignore, and that’s why it’s a key part of AIE’s Wankel rotary engines.
AIE isn’t the only one using this tech, though. We have Rolls Royce embracing additive manufacturing in its aircraft engines, Pratt & Whitney (a part of RTX Corporation (RTX -0.57%)) 3D printing military engines, and Honeywell (HON -0.01%) using ceramic 3D printed molds to make turbine blades. So, companies across the board are using additive manufacturing.
This makes additive manufacturing a multi-billion market, valued at $20.37 billion in 2023, which is projected to see a growth of a CAGR of 23.3% between 2023 and 2030. In 2021, 2.2 million units of 3D printers were shipped all over the world, which is expected to reach 21.5 million units by the end of this decade.
Growing demand for prototyping applications from healthcare, automotive, and aerospace & defense, along with the aggressive research and development in 3D printing, are the driving factors of this growth.
Click here to learn how 3D printing is a potential $500 billion market.
40ACS’s Versatility Expands Use Cases Across Industries
By taking advantage of additive manufacturing and its patented cooling technology, AIE has been able to offer a lightweight and efficient Wankel rotary engine that ensures clean operation, high reliability, reduced maintenance, and extended lifespan.
Its latest innovation, the 40ACS Wankel rotary engine, in particular, boasts a unique, simplified design with minimal components that delivers exceptional performance and reliability, making it an efficient choice for a wide range of applications.
As AIE noted in its official announcement, 40ACS is a cutting-edge engine that is tailored for UAV propulsion. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), also called a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot or passengers and is controlled remotely by a human pilot. UAVs are widely used in the military as well as in other areas such as aerial photography, environmental monitoring, policing, and infrastructure inspections.
The 40ACS Wankel rotary engine, with its air-cooled, compact design, offers a powerful solution that ensures reliable performance in demanding aerial applications. Being more lightweight than traditional engines and offering a higher power-to-weight ratio allows AIE’s latest product to significantly extend UAV flight time while maintaining low vibration and operational efficiency.
Equipped with its proprietary SPARCS cooling technology, 40ACS also supports multi-fuel use, making it adaptable to various UAV missions. Its 40cc engine delivers 5 BHP, which further makes 40ACS a suitable option for drones requiring consistent, high power with minimal maintenance.
In addition to being highly useful for Military RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System)/UAVs due to offering dependable power for mission-critical operations, the engine can be used in surveying for accurate terrain mapping and in agriculture for precision farming and crop monitoring.
The product’s simplified architecture and improved efficiency can also be a great help in disaster & relief events for quick response for humanitarian aid and relief while producing clear aerial footage for news and media and efficient project monitoring and site mapping in the construction field.
It can further find its application in surveillance through long-endurance flights for security and monitoring, while reliable data collection in remote environments can be of immense aid in scientific research.
When it comes to 40ACS’s application, while the focus of AIE is on UAV propulsion systems and robotics, its slim size, power-dense design, and seamless integration into various systems have the company anticipating the engine’s usage across industries, which also include hybrid automotive and auxiliary power units. So, engines for scooters, electrical APUs, portable power units, and range extenders for vessels and vehicles are among the use cases of this product.
Advanced Innovative Engineering has certainly built a powerful product that has a vast addressable market. However, it’s a private company. So, let’s take a look at some relevant companies that are advancing in this space.
When it comes to Wankel rotary engine tech, the $58.47 billion market cap General Motors (GM -1.33%) has a history of experimenting with it, particularly during the 1970s. While its focus has since shifted to electric vehicles, they do continue to innovate in ICE technology as well.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Mazda introduced its very first car model in over a decade to run on a rotary engine. After the discontinuation of the RX-8 back in 2012, in 2023, Mazda released the MX-30 R-EV, which features a Wankel rotary engine along with a large battery that allows it to also be used like a pure electric vehicle.
Now, in the world of additive manufacturing, the likes of 3D Systems Corporation (DDD +2.12%) and Stratasys Ltd. (SSYS +1.77%) are pioneering this technology.
Honeywell International Inc., a leader in aerospace technologies, meanwhile is utilizing 3D-printed components for turbine engines. The company also develops advanced propulsion systems, including lightweight and efficient engines. The $147.52 billion market cap company’s shares (HON:NASDAQ), as of writing, are trading at $226.87, up 8.36% this year. It has an EPS (TTM) of 8.66 and a P/E (TTM) of 26.22 while paying a dividend yield of 1.99%.
Honeywell International Inc. (HON -0.01%)
Conclusion
Advanced Innovative Engineering (AIE) unveiling its 40ACS Wankel rotary engine marks a significant milestone in the evolution of internal combustion engines, which are known for their high accessibility, low cost, and high power-to-weight ratio while facing the challenge of limited efficiency, emissions, and maintenance requirements.
However, by integrating cutting-edge additive manufacturing techniques and its proprietary SPARCS cooling technology, AIE has created a lightweight, versatile, and efficient engine suitable for various high-demand applications.
So, as industries like aerospace, robotics, and hybrid power systems continue to evolve, innovations like AIE’s 40ACS allow for the traditional ICE technology to remain relevant in a technologically advanced future that is shifting its focus to electric. With its adaptability and performance, the 40ACS Wankel rotary engine represents a new benchmark for compact engines and driving progress in critical mission applications.
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