Monday, December 13, 2021

Wilson-Knee Swash plate engine


 
Classic MotorCycle Dec1990

This is another idea in internal combustion engines from some British engineers in the 1920s, there is no crankshaft,  just a swash plate acted upon by the connecting rod/plungers. This one is a four cylinder two stroke, the pumping volume is the area below the piston, sealed by stuffing glands around the connecting rods. Apparently it was notably smooth-running but I can't find out much more than that, there is little information online. 
This not a unique idea, there was an American marine engine around in the thirties, the Sterling Diesel-  not a lot of information on it either.

3 comments:

VectorWarbirds said...

A lot of automotive A/C compressors are of swash plate design.

JP said...

You might enjoy a look at the one-off, six opposed, 300cc 1957 Tilkin:



http://patrice.courtade.pagesperso-orange.fr/Tilkin/Tilkin_EN.htm

João Custódio said...

Check the Museum of Retro Technology. Lots of info there under the tab "Unusual IC Engines". Also, so much to dig into, if you aren't yet familiar with this site:

http://douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/museum.htm