CCE Engine Technology Overview

The REVETEC Engine design consists of two counter-rotating “trilobate” (three lobed) cams geared together, so both cams contribute to forward motion. Two bearings run along the profile of both cams (four bearings in all) and stay in contact with the cams at all times. The bearings are mounted on the underside of the two inter-connected pistons, which maintain the desired clearance throughout the stroke.

The two cams rotate and raise the piston with a scissor-like action to the bearings. Once at the top of the stroke the air/fuel mixture is fired. The expanded gas then forces the bearings down the ramps of the cams spreading them apart ending the stroke. The point of maximum mechanical advantage or transfer is around 20-30deg ATDC (the piston moving approximately 10% of its travel) making the most of the high cylinder pressure. This compares to a conventional engine that reaches maximum mechanical advantage around 60-70deg ATDC. (after the piston has moved through approximately just over 40% of its travel, losing valuable cylinder pressure).

The effective cranking distance is determined by the length from the point of bearing contact to the centre of the output shaft (NOT the stroke). A conventional engine's turning distance is half of the piston stroke. The piston acceleration throughout the stroke is controlled by the cam “grind” which can be altered to give acceleration to suit a certain fuel and/or torque application and/or rev range. Our trilobe cams can be asymmetrical which also allows different port timing on opposite strokes, increasing efficiency on 2-Stroke engines. We have run our engines with symmetrical and asymmetrical trilobe drive cams.

The piston assembly slides rigidly through the block via an oil pressure fed guiding system eliminating piston to cylinder-bore contact. This reduces wear and lubrication requirements in the cylinder. This also reduces piston side shock to a negligible amount making ceramic technology suitable.

One module can either comprise of two trilobate cams and either two or four pistons. The counter rotation is performed by a reverse gear set at a 1:3 ratio shaft providing two strokes of a piston to 360 degrees of output shaft rotation. This provides an output shaft speed comparable to a conventional engine and provides the correct ratio for engine balancing.

The CCE engine can be configured in a variety of layouts including: "X"Series, Boxer, 120deg"V", 60deg"V" and Inline. Above are images of some basic configuration modules, which can be expanded to further multiple cylinder engines such as; X8, Boxer4, V4, V6, V8, Inline4 etc. The output/drive shaft (Flywheel) can also be positioned 90deg from the centre line of a "V" engine's valley, further reducing engine height. Similarly this can be done on the inline design.

A preferred compact automotive engine layout is a 60deg V4, side drive shafted engine, which requires no counter-balancing.

The X4 Series Engine

Due to interest in the aviation industry, we have been evaluating the possibility of producing an engine to suit that market. We have applied for, and been granted a Federal Government Grant of over AUD$1 million to develop an engine for the aviation market. It was found that the cylinders could be arranged in a 60 degree X configuration using only two trilobe cams.

Using the basic design of the Revetec engine, we have redesigned the engine layout to reduce size and weight. This water cooled 2.4 litre “X4” engine concept will be the base for the proposed aircraft engine as well as the engine for The Hudson Group’s (GTM) trike range. A patent is now "Pending" on the "X" engine configuration.

for photos and videos of our 1st road test day with GTM.