A novel centreless wheel drive system with multiple potential applications is to be showcased at the Advanced Engineering event in Birmingham from 30-31 October, thanks to Coventry-based venture engineering specialist Productiv.

Productiv has created a working prototype of Cyclopic’s revolutionary patented Wheal system, which combines drive, steering, braking and operating height adjustment in a single unit.

It will be showcased on stand D6 at the event at the National Exhibition Centre.

Each Wheal is fitted with its own separate drive system, giving complete 360-degree manoeuvrability – allowing for easy parallel parking, and so creating a ready solution for urban zone parking. In combination with road reading technology, the Wheal also delivers a unique vehicle levelling capability with no need for additional fluid power systems for levelling.

In just 13 weeks, Productiv created a complete working aluminium prototype for the show, from the Cyclopic team’s own prototype, as well as optimising the electronics and control software.

Alan Rallings, Director of Cyclopic, commented: “Uniquely combining operating vehicle height, drive, steering and braking in a single unit, the Wheal has multiple applications, not least in electric vehicles and other mobility solutions.  The Productiv team did an exceptional job in creating a completely operational model with full control system, in such a short period, once we knew we were given the opportunity to showcase the Wheal at the Advanced Engineering event. We anticipate strong interest from many sectors given the flexibility and capability of the Wheal.”

Matt Hardwick of Productiv added: “This was a genuine challenge which showcases the unique capabilities of Productiv in having design, prototyping and systems engineering all under one roof. The Wheal is a highly novel design which is versatile enough to be used in both on-road applications, such as delivery vehicles, and other applications such as warehouse robots.”

For more information on Productiv, visit www.productiv.co.uk. Further details on the Wheal can be found at www.cyclopic.co.uk.

The cream of British clean engineering innovation has been showcased to the Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, on a visit to clean engineering accelerator Productiv.
Mr Street toured The Proving Factory in Coventry where Productiv provides specialist engineering, commercial and manufacturing services to accelerate innovative clean engineering technologies to market and into production.
As well as meeting Productiv’s team of skilled engineers, Mr Street was given an insight into some of the company’s current projects. These include Rolley, an innovative ride-on micro electric vehicle; Zapinamo, a system for rapid electric vehicle charging; a hydrogen powered drone being developed with Intelligent Energy and Bladon who are manufacturing micro turbine generators to power mobile phone masts in remote locations worldwide.
Andy Street commented: ““Cleantech is important to the UK, not just in boosting our economy but also to help in the efforts to tackle climate change.
“Here in the West Midlands one company helping to drive cleantech is Productiv, who are excellently placed to support our Clean Growth Challenge.
“It was great to meet their team of enthusiastic young engineers who are supporting clean engineering techniques and pioneering environmentally-friendly technology.”
This summer saw the Mayor launch his Clean Growth Challenge to seek ways to tackle toxic pollution after he said the West Midlands has a “moral responsibility” to lead on clean growth. Productiv CEO Richard Bruges added: “The Mayor has put the environment firmly at the top of his agenda and his Clean Growth Challenge is ample demonstration of the crucial role of clean engineering in both the economy and the environment. He was clearly impressed by what he saw at Productiv and our plans for the ongoing development of the business to continue helping cleantech innovations to fly.”

Venture Engineering specialist Productiv and microturbine genset manufacturer Bladon recently hosted delegates from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers as part of the organisation’s three-day Essential Management Skills course.

The event was held at The Proving Factory, Productiv’s product development and manufacturing facility in Coventry, and included a tour of Bladon Micro Turbine’s development and production operations. Bladon is the world’s first manufacturer of microturbine gensets for the telecoms market and is based at The Proving Factory.

Following the tour, Bladon director Philip Lelliott and Productiv engineer Giles Hooker gave presentations on the key management practices that were used to build and develop Bladon’s microturbine genset technology, as well as other high-technology businesses supported by Productiv.

“Since we developed our first prototype of the Bladon microturbine genset in 2014, the company has gone from strength to strength,” said Philip Lelliott of Bladon. “It was great to share our story, which I believe provides a perfect example of how engineering and business acumen can combine to create a successful, profitable company.”

The Proving Factory tour was one of several industry site visits as part of the Essential Management Skills course, a three-day programme that aims to equip young engineers with the skills needed for line and project management roles.

“Today’s engineers need more than technical know-how: they need a solid understanding of business, management and leadership,” said Giles. “Using our concept of Venture Engineering, we’ve helped numerous technology developers, including Bladon, to bring their products to market.  It was a pleasure to share our knowledge and experience in this area with delegates from the IMechE.”

Productiv graduate engineer & IMechE member Lawrence Ayers was also part of the event. He said: “It was great to both support and take part in the IMechE tour, and demonstrate how Productiv applies innovative and adaptive thinking to overcome the daunting challenges associated with new product production.”

To arrange a tour of The Proving Factory, or to find out more about Productiv’s Venture Engineering or other support services, please visit http://www.productiv.co.uk/.

Libertine FPE (“Libertine”), the creator of Smart Engine technology for electric vehicles (EVs), has joined forces with Productiv, a provider of venture engineering services for cleantech businesses, to accelerate and de-risk commercialisation of a range of modular Smart Engines using Libertine’s intelliGEN platform.

The collaboration will focus on delivering electric vehicle and lab-based prototype power generator systems to showcase Libertine’s modular Smart Engine packaging concept, and demonstrating the Smart Engine performance made possible by Libertine’s linear e-machine and controls technologies.

In addition, Libertine and Productiv are planning to establish pilot manufacturing systems at Productiv’s facility at The Proving Factory in Coventry to support Smart Engine client product developments with pre-production prototype systems including full vehicle demonstrations.

Smart Engines at a glance

A Smart Engine has the crankshaft replaced by software-controlled linear electrical machines that generate electrical power and govern piston motion to optimise the combustion process.  In addition, advanced data logging, analytics and diagnostics functions in Smart Engines will reduce maintenance costs and improve demand response. Libertine’s real-time electronic piston motion control and adaptive control algorithms will help make Smart Engines that are far more efficient, cleaner and more flexible than conventional engines.

Smart Engines are a key technology in the acceleration of global automotive electrification. Libertine’s modular Smart Engine technology platform permits complete power generator systems ranging from 20-60kWe to be integrated within the envelope of an existing EV battery pack enclosure, alongside a smaller stack of battery cells. This approach allows EV manufacturers to offer a single vehicle platform with different combinations of battery cell and fuel energy capacity, according to user needs, charging infrastructure and regulations in different markets.

Productiv boasts deep expertise and an enviable track record in commercialising low carbon powertrain technologies for emerging vehicle applications. This will enable Libertine to manufacture and commercialise Smart Engines fuelled by a range of renewable and low carbon fuels over next three years. The collaboration exemplifies the strength of the UK’s innovation leadership in low carbon automotive technologies.

Says Anand Lakhani, Managing Director of Productiv: “Productiv and Libertine have a strong shared vision for the role of innovative UK businesses in the global electrification of transport. We believe that the strength of Libertine’s technology and team, complemented by Productiv’s capabilities, will address the key remaining challenges for Smart Engines.”

Says Sam Cockerill, CEO of Libertine: “Taking complex technology to market requires strong strategic partners – a lesson we have learned from other technology IP businesses such as Arm. Productiv’s facility at the ‘Proving Factory’ provides a path to start volume manufacturing earlier than we could do alone, and will enable our customers and partners to gain access to production grade Smart Engine technology, shortening their time to market.”

Mobile phones have changed the way in which the world communicates, but their functionality can only be as good as the signal they receive.

The demand for mobile network availability is growing in the world’s more remote and inaccessible regions, creating a major challenge for companies in this sector: how to develop new, robust telecommunications infrastructure that’s reliable, simple to install and inexpensive to maintain.

The development of new mobile networks tends to be expensive. In populated areas, energy and maintenance account for over half of a phone mast operator’s costs. In more remote areas, particularly certain parts of Asia and Africa, access to a consistent source of power is rarely guaranteed, which only pushes the price even higher. This means that companies need alternative sources of power to enable development of remote mobile networks.

Next gen gensets?

The use of a diesel generator, or genset, has been the traditional approach to tackling this issue. While generally reliable, these units must be refuelled regularly – a substantial undertaking if there are multiple masts located many miles apart on poor quality roads. Regular breakdowns can also occur, particularly if an operator is not monitoring a unit regularly via a predictive maintenance system, for example. Other disadvantages of diesel gensets include inefficiency (because they run at a constant speed), noise, pollution and their desirability as a target for thieves.

These issues are causing a shift towards less energy-intensive power sources with lower maintenance requirements, more reliability and added security. Among these technologies is the microturbine genset (MTG), a multi-fuel generator for phone masts that is currently being championed by UK company Bladon.

Moving on to MTG

In contrast to diesel gensets, MTGs can run off a mixture of different fuel types, such as diesel, kerosene or a combination of the two. This, along with the fact that MTG parts cannot be used in traditional diesel gensets or road vehicles, helps to deter thieves by making it more difficult for the unit to be repurposed elsewhere. Each MTG can also be monitored and controlled remotely in real time with a special controller that is supplied with the product.

Crucially, an MTG requires fewer service visits than a diesel genset, thus significantly reducing maintenance costs for operators. Depending on the location, MTGs can last a month (as opposed to several days) before an on-site service is needed.

Bladon’s story

Coventry-based Bladon is one of the world’s first manufacturers of microturbine gensets for the telecoms market. Supported by venture engineering services provider Productiv, Bladon has developed the Bladon MTG, an ultra-low vibration product and the world’s only EURO V Compliant 12kW diesel genset. At <65dB per 1m, it is also the quietest genset on the market.

The company developed its first prototype of the Bladon MTG in 2014 but did not have the in-house resources to optimise its manufacturing design and commercialise the product. As Bladon’s director Philip Lelliott explains, additional help was needed to take the prototype forward:

“We were looking at several possible markets and applications for the prototype, including range extension for electric vehicles. In the end, it was Productiv that worked with us when the telecoms market was identified.”

Bladon soon asked Productiv to get involved in the design, manufacture and commercialisation processes, with speed of the essence in all three cases.

“The Productiv team started by validating the design and recommending adjustments,” Philip says. “We then revised these designs based on their feedback and started looking at suitable opportunities and penetration points in the telecoms market.”

Getting it right first time

As the company agreed the final design and came closer to assembly, Productiv supported Bladon by developing what it calls a ‘guided sequence’. This broke down the assembly of each MTG into 1,000 individual steps, including: powerplant insulation, electrical wiring, fuel and air systems, dump resistors, door locking mechanisms, powerplant mounting, turbine and alternators, cabinet panels, combustors, battery assembly, and final assembly.

Productiv then reviewed each step to ensure that it was optimised, while removing any stages that the team deemed unnecessary, collating the remaining steps into a clear, easy-to-follow guide.

The Productiv team identified several potential issues during this process. Access to the recuperator-end of the powerplant insulation, for example, was restricted, making it difficult to insert fixing bolts. The insulation material’s thickness was also inconsistent, which meant that an engineer had to individually measure each component before cutting the material.

The installation of the dump resistors also risked incorrect orientation and assembly of the system. In these cases, Productiv created clear photographic guides to demonstrate best practice for assembly, as well as an idea of what the components should look like once complete.

“The guided sequence that Productiv created has since become our assembly team’s bible,” Philip says. “We’re now installed at Productiv’s own facility, The Proving Factory, where we plan to manufacture one MTG every 12 minutes.”

A Productiv partnership

Bladon Jets is now entering volume production for its MTG, which may soon power many of the millions of phone masts available worldwide. The company has also received its first major order from a leading mobile phone tower operator.

“Correct assembly of the MTGs has been vital to ensuring quality control and optimum performance,” Philip says. “The Productiv team’s painstaking efforts to identify and address any possible issues has helped us to create a complete assembly blueprint which we can now take forward into volume production.”

For further information visit www.productivgroup.com.