[YachtForums]

The Dyna-Cam.

Prepare yourself for a look at the future...

The engine is 13" in diameter, 40" long and weighs 265 pounds with basic accessories. It has unique features and major benefits over conventional engines of similar weight and power. The benefits include lower manufacturing costs in equal production, 50% smaller size, 50% fewer replacement parts, better fuel economy, smoother operation, lighter weight, plus nearly 100% higher torque enabling the engine to turn high efficiency propellers with lower noise output.

The engine has two identical cylindrical blocks that each have six cylinders arranged parallel around the main shaft located in the center. Cylinders of both blocks line up so that six double-ended pistons can fire back and forth between the aligned cylinders of each block Each free floating piston is cut away on the central interior side and fits with precision around a 9" diameter, four lobe, sinusoidal cam that is keyed to the main shaft.

As the pistons fire back and forth, the main cam rolls through the pistons causing the central shaft to turn. All moving surfaces are roller bearing surfaces. Another smaller 5" cam is attached to the main shaft at the outer end of each block. As each valve cam turns, it pushes against hydraulic lifters which push against the poppet valves inside each cylinder head.

The engine is a 4-stroke engine. Because of the design of the main cam, each of the twelve cylinders fires with every revolution of the shaft, in contrast to three times with conventional six-cylinder engines. The engine can be described as a free piston, axially cam-drive engine.

Specifications...

12 Cylinder, 6 Piston
13" Diameter x 40" Length
265 Lbs Dry Weight
373 Cubic Inches
40% Less Friction Horsepower
50% Less Components
25% Quieter with similar exhaust systems
20% More fuel efficient
50% Less space required for installation
Vibration Free Operation
Assembled/Rebuilt in 1/3 time of conventional engines
Liquid Cooled
Fuel Injected
Multi-Fuel use
TBO of 2500 Hours

Horsepower...

Naturally Aspirated Rating of 200 Horsepower
Turbo-Charged up to 350 Horsepower
Turbo-Intercooled up to 450 Horsepower

Torque & HP Ratings...

200 HP @ 2000 RPM
175 HP @ 1600 RPM
650 ft.lb torque @ 1200 RPM
525 ft.lb. torque @ 2000 RPM

1100 ft.lb. torque w/ Turbo
1400 ft.lb. torque w/ Intercooled Turbo

Here is the first in a series of pictures....

[YachtForums]

The flip side...

[YachtForums]

From another angle...

[YachtForums]

The engine has six double-headed pistons which compress and fire at each end. As one end fires, it compresses the other end. This back and forth movement forces the roller cam to rotate and since the main shaft is keyed to the cam, rotational power is developed. Trunion rollers are housed in the middle of each piston that ride along the cam.

The resulting engine operation has a pure harmonic motion and is so perfectly balanced that almost "zero" vibration is developed. Counterweights, vibration dampeners and flywheels are not needed!

This internal drawing gives an idea of how the piston are positioned...

[YachtForums]

There are many less moving engine parts in the Dyna-Cam, as compared to conventional engines. This engine has less than one-half the parts of other equally powered engines. There are two engine blocks (identical), six double-headed pistons, one main cam shaft, trunnion rollers, valves and valve cam thrust bearings. With the exception of the exhaust system and fuel system... that's it!

Here's a picture of the parts...

[YachtForums]

This is the DynaCam main engine blocks split in half...

[YachtForums]

The DynaCam Engine has already been proven successful. The original developer, Dr. Karl Herrman, in conjunction with the Navy, spent millions developing and refining the design, which was used successfully to power Mark 46 torpedos for over 20 years.

The design reached FAA certification in the late 1950's. By the 1980's, it was further refined, retrofitted with new accessories and successfully installed and demonstrated in a 4-place Piper Turbo Arrow.

Over 40 prototypes have been built and tested. Hundreds of thousands of hours later, (40 years!) the engine has finally moved into production at Aero-Marine's new facility located in Ronkonkoma, New York.

[John B]

Originally posted by YachtForums
The Dyna-Cam.

The engine is a 4-stroke engine. Because of the design of the main cam, each of the twelve cylinders fires with every revolution of the shaft, in contrast to three times with conventional six-cylinder engines.

Does this mean all four strokes (intake, compression, power and exhaust) occur in each revolution?

I can't picture that. A four stroke needs two revolutions to complete all four strokes. Or is this what the 'main cam' is doing (unlike a cranksaft)?

[Ben]

Originally Posted by YachtForums

...each of the twelve cylinders fires with every revolution of the shaft...

I think what they are refering to is that each piston in a normal 4 stroke fires every two rev's of the crankshaft, because this engine has double ended pistons, each piston can effectivly fire every rev'.

At the risk of sounding a little crude, one end is "s u c k - squashing" while the other end is "bang - blowing" (s u c k , squash, bang, blow = 4 stroke )

[brian eiland]

Maybe I missed it, but I've not been able to determine the fuel type for this engine. Can it use diesel rather than some more highly explosive fuels that we don't care for on boats?

[catmando]

It says 'multi-fuel use' so that could include JetA, kerosene, biodiesel, etc. as well as gasoline. Where was that booth? I walked all over the convention center inside and out and I didn't see it.

The intercooled turbo motor will find many different applications, especially in the 20'-30' range. Look out Mercury!!

[YachtForums]

Originally Posted by catmando

Where was that booth? I walked all over the convention center inside and out and I didn't see it.

The pictures and information were gathered at the 2004 Miami Show. The thread was bumped to the top of the forum by Ben's post.

[Ben]

I knew it was an oldie, I just didn't have the heart to tell 'em

John's question hadn't been answered, so I thought I'd have a go, just incase he was still interested.

[YachtForums]

That's OK Ben...

It was a good idea to bring this thread back to the surface. It's an interesting subject.

[brian eiland]

Originally Posted by catmando

It says 'multi-fuel use' so that could include JetA, kerosene, biodiesel, etc. as well as gasoline.

I beleve the term 'multi-fuel' is possibly overused here, and it does not always refer to the total available fuel spectrum. Diesel fuel usage usually requires some substantial higher compression ratios so as to not require an ignition source. I think I detect an ignition distributor in the photos. And I don't know of many, or any certified diesel fueled small aircraft engines.

If they appeared at a marine show, one would think they would most definitely pronounce the use of diesel fuel, which they do not to my knowledge....just my observation