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Renewed Pursuit of the All-plastic Auto Engine

Posted July 16, 2015 12:00 AM by Engineering360 eNewsletter

Shaving 100 lbs or more from an auto engine, a great idea. The fastest way to cut that much weight? The all-plastic auto engine. Unfortunately that concept, pursued since the 1980s, is still struggling to reach reality. Among the first plastic motors was the Polimotor, built for Ford, but never installed in a vehicle. Now, the Polimotor's original designer, Matt Holzberg and several plastics companies are racing to develop the Polimotor2, in time to power a race car competitively next year in Connecticut. Leading the charge is Solvay, which is providing seven high-performing thermoplastic materials to replace metal engine components.

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SolarEagle
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: by the beach in Florida
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#1

Re: Renewed Pursuit of the All-plastic Auto Engine

07/20/2015 12:59 AM

Maybe carbon fiber is the way to go???

Wait a minute $50k for 20 lbs saving over an aluminum block, I'll stick with my aluminum block thank you...

http://blog.caranddriver.com/is-this-the-engine-of-the-future-in-depth-with-matti-holtzberg-and-his-composite-engine-block/

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ronseto
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Technical Fields - Technical Writing - New Member Engineering Fields - Marine Engineering - New Member

Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Vancleave, Ms about 30 miles inland from Biloxi and the coast
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#2

Re: Renewed Pursuit of the All-plastic Auto Engine

08/03/2015 3:40 PM

As a casual observer of all plastic engines, the only parts of an engine that require shielding from high temperatures are the cylinder liners, piston crowns and exhaust manifold. All other components could be made from a plastic or carbon filament.The cylinder liners could be double wall construction with passages for water cooling. Really the pistons would pose the greatest challenge.

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