3W Provides Complete Engine Systems

3W-157xi B2 TS HFE FI Fan

The UAV provider’s market is growing continually. Especially civilian applications are increasing rapidly. UAVs’ development times are consequently diminishing. Suppliers must react flexibly to this development. 3W International now creates complete solutions for customers or supports them during development.

‘The AUVSI 2015 event in Atlanta has shown clearly that the market is demanding complete engine systems. This means that customers are looking for engines with all of the additional systems such as generators, starters, cooling jackets, engine mounts, exhaust systems, and so forth. ‘Conversations with interested parties at the trade show have confirmed this’, explains Peter Wintrich, Head of Engineering at 3W-International GmbH.

In order to live up to this development, 3W-International is offering its customers not just the production but also the development of complete systems. ‘For a start, we regard our engines and silencers as a unit’, continues Wintrich. The German engine manufacturer has been developing silencers in-house for years and holds several patents in this area. Moreover however, silencers from renowned manufacturers are also used. The engines can be delivered ex works with the ignition and silencer. ‘Thus we can guarantee that the engine runs at 100%, because we test each engine on our in-house company test stands’, guarantees Wintrich. The customer provides all additional systems and components.

So the customers select the generators in advance. Since each customer has different specifications, a variety of motor-generator variations is possible. In order to facilitate the customer’s engine selection, 3W- International has developed engines such as the 4-cylinder 3W-440xiB4 TS HFE FI engine. The engine is provided with a ring on the engine-fixing plate, which can be adjusted to the diameter and length. Different generators and starters can thus be used. ‘The advantages here are obvious. The customers are more flexible in the selection of generators, because the motors can be adjusted to them,’ Wintrich describes the advantages.

All additional components such as the engine mounting or cooling-air cladding are customer-specific, because the engines’ position in the UAV varies with manufacturer. ‘We can actively support the developer with questions about the engines’ mounting and cooling. We know how our engines have to be effectively cooled in order to achieve the best performance and how the engine has to be optimally positioned in the UAV’, continues Wintrich. Development teams gladly avail themselves of 3W-International’s technical department due to this experience. Development time and costs can thus be reduced.

Whether a heavy-fuel engine (HF) or a petrol engine is involved doesn’t matter in this connection. ‘We can create complete solutions for the customer for both engine variants or support them in their development’, according to Wintrich. Many customers already avail themselves of this service. Thus HF engines are generally delivered with the injector, heat collector, immersion heater, fuel preheater, and temperature control unit. The injector can also be exchanged for a carburettor in individual cases. 3W-International also offers fuel injection as an alternative to the carburettor.

With more than 30 years of experience in designing, manufacturing and testing 2-stroke engines, 3W has developed and patented the newest generation of Heavy Fuel (HF) engines for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) industry.