AIE signs production order with The Proving Factory
The Proving Factory has partnered with engine designer Advanced Innovative Engineering (AIE) to produce the first in the series of AIE’s modern Wankel rotary engines. This announcement comes from the Cenex LCV 2015 event at Millbrook Proving Ground today, where The Proving Factory has once again taken over hall two, with an extensive exhibit supported by a number of its partners, including AIE.
The Proving Factory was set up by Productiv and Tata Steel, with support from the UK Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative fund, to support low-carbon technology developers to get their products into production and the AIE partnership is one of the first examples of this work. Wankel rotary engines inherently operate at very high revolutions per minute (rpm), generating a lot of heat in their cores. While high temperatures are essential for offering the best operating efficiency and in turn the best fuel consumption, this heat then needs to be safely managed and dispersed. AIE engines are unique in that they use an innovative cooling design, which applies both mechanical and thermodynamic processes to reject heat effectively. The main design challenge is achieving both precision and smoothness on the surfaces and contours of core components that are subjected to high thermal, chemical and fatigue stresses, during operation.
AIE’s initial orders are from an R&D end-user of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) in the marine sector and a systems integrator developing a ruggedised hybrid motorcycle. Both of these orders are for the first in a series of ultra-compact rotary engines. There is also interest from the automotive industry and discussions are ongoing for the supply of an engine in a high-performance sports car. The first units will be produced at The Proving Factory for delivery this autumn and since the company’s manufacture and assembly is completely scalable, production can be rapidly increased or decreased to reflect the market need.
As AIE’s engines have a no-vibration requirement, advanced manufacturing techniques and state-of-the-art tooling must be used to guarantee that the finished rotors that spin at such high rpm, must be perfectly balanced. The Proving Factory is supporting AIE with this process, using the latest design computer numerical control (CNC) milling machines and tooling, together with computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software and skilled operators, to enable high-quality machining of components.
The quality of the assembly operations ensures that the manufactured tolerances are continued throughout the assembly process ensuring no loss of performance in the final engine. Process quality systems for assembly and component manufacture ensure the traceability of parts from the blank to the assembled engine.
Nathan Bailey, managing director of AIE, said: “From initial engagement with The Proving Factory through to the on-going joint manufacturing, assembly and commercial activities that have been undertaken to date, AIE has benefited hugely from the experience, expertise and enthusiasm of the team. In particular the continued manufacturing support we’ve received has enabled AIE to push its technology further, faster, while focusing and strengthening its core competencies both technically and commercially. We look forward to building this relationship further as we commercialise our technologies into the broader market with the support of The Proving Factory.”
Richard Bruges, co-founder of The Proving Factory and chief executive of Productiv, said: “AIE’s design has real potential for a range of low-carbon applications and we are excited about being its production partner on this technology. The UK is truly reclaiming its heritage as a manufacturing nation, with so many promising new technologies being designed here. Historically moving these prototypes to products has been challenging for one-off developers, with little financial backing, but The Proving Factory is increasingly proving itself as the missing conduit between the stages.”
Ends
Media contacts
Caroline Holmes: cholmes@torqueagencygroup.com or 020 7952 1072
Adam Forshaw: aforshaw@torqueagencygroup.com or 020 7952 1082
