The Internet Craftsmanship Museum Presents:
Clennell "Clen" Tomlinson
Added to museum: 10/31/03
CNC-machined miniature engine masterpiece
Clen is seen here at the 2003 Pacific Rim International Model Engineering show in Oregon with his nearly-completed Napier Deltic 18-cylinder engine.
When I had Craig add Clen to our Craftsmanship Museum I did so with the express idea to answer the question, “Is a craftsman still a craftsman if he uses CNC tools along with CAD/CAM programs?” Just a glance at the magnificent project that is “still in the works” by Clen and one should have the answer, and it should be a definite “yes.” In the hands of a great craftsman CNC is just another tool, and Clen deserves the same amount of respect as any great craftsman.
What especially impressed me about Clen and his project was he wasn't a youngster who grew up in the computer age; he was a craftsman who was willing to take on a seemingly impossible project and use every tool at his disposal to accomplish his goal. I'm looking forward to the day when Clen’s engine roars to life. --Joe Martin
While looking at the engines on display at the 2003 PRIME show in Oregon, Joe Martin was particularly impressed with the work of Clen Tomlinson. Taking on a model engine project of this magnitude is no small task, and the finishes on this model are simply superb. Although it is not yet complete, we felt that visitors to this museum would want to see what has taken place so far and will follow the progress of this project to its completion along with us.
Another aspect where this project varies from others in this museum is that it is machined almost completely using modern CNC technology. In the past we have excluded CNC work in favor of the hands-on craftsmanship of non-computer controlled tools. In this case we made an exception for two reasons: 1) The level of complication of this model meant that even with the help of Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) and Computer Numeric Control (CNC) machines to make the part, the combination of knowledge and skill required to actually make the parts is in some ways more demanding than making them by hand, and 2) CNC machining is the way machine shops now work and the way in which craftsmen in the future will be making parts. As projects get more highly technical, some parts such as turbine blades simply cannot be made any other way than with the help of computer control. What you see here is a preview of the direction model engineering will be heading in the next decade or two.--Craig Libuse
Technical training lays the background
Clennel "Clen" Tomlinson is a 71-year old retired Electro/Mechanical engineer, living in West Sussex England. He started his working life as an apprentice in the motor vehicle industry and is qualified as a Motor Vehicle Technician. His experience includes cars, commercial vehicles, agricultural tractors and equipment, civil engineering plant and equipment and motorcycles.
Clen has designed and built many special-purpose machines, including road and race cars and bikes. He has also managed sports and racing car departments. In middle of this time he spent two years National Service (Draft) in Royal Air Force. He spent 13 months—5 days a week, 8 hours a day in the classroom being trained as an aircraft flight and navigation instrument technician. He says, "I learned more in that period of my life than in my life to that point!"
In the mid 1960's he made a change into scientific manufacturing and spent three years making small, high-speed (500,000 rpm) turbines and free piston engines used in cryogenics for liquifying Helium. He then took training in education and joined a large manufacturing company to set up and run an engineering training school. He progressed to Group Training Manager and finally to Group Personnel and Training Manager. The company designed and built large electro-magnets for atomic particle physics research. He also specialized in new manufacture and refurbishment of underwater weapons and designed and built ion implanters for the electronics manufacturing industry.
In the early 1970's, Clen joined with three other senior managers and set up new company operating in similar areas. The company developed into one of the leading magnet manufactures in the world. As Engineering Director was responsible for tendering, design and manufacture of tooling. He designed and built large resistive and super-conducting magnets and associated equipment for atomic particle and fusion physics research projects throughout the world.
Clen has been involved in many projects in the USA including the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Long Island New York; NAL, Chicago; the super-conducting super collider in Texas and Boeing, Seattle—Starwars program.
Hobbies with a technical slant
Clen has always been making or “improving” things including many relatively simple model engines, both steam and IC. In retirement he had been slowly developing his workshop and enjoying life. Then his wife died very suddenly some four years ago. He says, " I needed something to totally occupy my head for some time, and that is where the Deltic came in. I had been thinking about it for some time!
He is currently completing the restoration/improvement of a 30-year old BMW 30Csi coupe he has owned for 20 years. He has another BMW car and 2 motor-cycles to look after. He also has 2 grandsons to “train.” The next model engine will be another Napier; The Sabre. This is an “H” 24-cylinder, sleeve valve unit. He is working on the design, and it is some challenge!
Learning new technologies
Recently Clen brought us up to date on some more details of how he got into CNC machining. Here is what he had to say:
“I spent most of my working life with pencil and paper, “T” square, log and trig tables and a slide rule. I progressed easily to the calculator but a little more reluctantly to the computer. Towards the end of my working life I couldn't get an engineer to work for me unless I gave him/her a PC on the desk. I was still writing with a pencil and thinking “All this technology has arrived too late for me." Then I thought, “Hang on a minute, non of them are not that bright. It can`t be that difficult.” Surreptitiously I put a PC on MY desk. Word processing; no problem! Then there are was draughting. This CAD is really impressive, but that's beyond my ancient brain. Then I think, “Hang on a minute----”. It didn`t take too long and I was doing that too.
On the shop floor the handles have disappeared from the machines to be replaced by control panels and screens. My God, these kids today are bright! After retirement, I found two Denford educational CNC machines. They had no computers or software, and it became a challenge. I think, “Hang on, etc.” I had to learn the hard way, but the rest is history as they say.”
Software and Hardware used
Clen uses AutoCAD 2000 and tends to draw toolpaths. He then prints off co-ordinates and manually programs them into the Heidenhain 151 controller of the Bridgeport Interact 1. This is a relatively recent addition to his shop. Most of the engine was machined on a Denford Starmill benchtop educational 2.5 axis machine. It had only 170 mm in X travel and 90 mm Y travel, and the tooling was a nightmare according to Clen.
Making the Napier "Deltic" engine
by Clen Tomlinson
Prototype History
The prototype for this model is the NAPIER “DELTIC” opposed piston, 2-stroke cycle, Diesel engine range, used primarily in Naval fast patrol boats and minesweepers today, but also to power two classes of English Electric Diesel-electric locomotives. The engines were produced as 9-cylinder units (3 banks of 3 cylinders) or, as the subject of this model, as an 18-cylinder engine, (3 banks of 6cylinders). The principle has its roots in a German Junkers aero Diesel engine of the late 1920`s-1940`s. This engine was an opposed piston, 2-stroke Diesel with 1 bank of 6 cylinders arranged vertically with two 6-throw crankshafts;1 at each end of the cylinders.
D. Napier & Son Ltd. had a license to develop this unit as the “Culverin” aero engine in 1935 but it was not until after the 2nd world war that a use was found. The project was by then in the hands of the English Electric Group, who were looking for a light weight, high speed marine Diesel engine. This application required a couple of inspirational design leaps. The first was the realization that if one more crankshaft were added, then two more banks of cylinders could be added in the configuration of an equilateral triangle. The second was that if you arranged to rotate one crankshaft in the opposite direction to the other two, then the relative phasing of the whole assembly for port timing “fell into place” This design produced an extremely compact, strong but lightweight unit with almost perfect natural balance.
With 18 cylinders having a bore of 5.125" and a stroke of 7.25" per piston or 14.5" per cylinder, this engine had a swept volume capacity of 5,384 cubic inches or 88.3 liters. There were 3 stages of development from the initial design with engine driven blower for scavenging then being turbo-charged, turbo-charging with charge cooling and finally “Compounding” using an axial turbo-compressor unit within the triangular central void.
The performance ranged from 1,650 bhp at 1,500 rpm for locomotives, to 2,500 bhp at 2,200 rpm “sprint rating” for FTB`s (bmep 92.lbf/in2) both mechanically blown, to 3,700 bhp at 2,200 rpm (bmep 130 lbf/in2) when turbo-charged and charge cooled. Note that the complex “Deltic Compound” prototype reached 5,600 bhp output on test during 1956.
The Model
The working model is an 18-cylinder, opposed piston, 2-stroke, spark ignition engine. The model is based on, that is follows, the design principles, of the NAPIER DELTIC Diesel engine to a 1/8 linear scale. The design was produced from a single cross section drawing of the marine version as published in
The Model Engineer plus the bore and stroke dimensions. This drawing was photocopied and enlarged onto several A4 sheets each with a different scaling factor.
Here is the drawing upon which Clen based the model.
The internals of the engine are to scale, that is the bore, stroke, connecting rod length, porting positions and dimensions are accurate to within 5%. ( rounding off metric equivalents of inch dimensions) This gives a model capacity of approx 160cc; hence the “Deltic 160” logo on the crank covers.
The following is a list of the major deviations from the prototype design:
1.The cylinder centers have been increased to allow greater cooling volume around each liner.
2.The connecting rods do not have split big ends due to scale space/strength restrictions. This has involved the design of a built-up crankshaft with ball bearing main and big end bearings.
Externally the design has changed to accommodate ignition distributors, spark plugs and multiple oil pumps (1 pressure and 3 scavenge). A great deal of external decoration has also been added.
The engine has 3 banks of 6 cylinders arranged on the sides of an equilateral triangle. There are 3 “V12” crankcase assemblies, one at each corner of the triangle. There are 36 connecting rods and pistons with 6 pistons operating in one set of cylinders and opposed by pistons from the crank at the opposite end of that cylinder block. The exhaust and inlet ports in the cylinder walls are “opened and closed” by the pistons.
Current state of the building program
The model is approximately 90% complete with the major structures in place including; crankshafts, connecting rods, cylinder liners, timing/phasing gearing, scavenge blower, exhaust manifolds, spark plugs, distributors, oil and water pumps.
There are no castings used. The entire model is machined from solid bar stock and “made to look like” castings.
The engine is currently assembled with tight slide fit pistons (without rings) installed to check the accuracy of machining and assembly and to prove that it is possible to assemble the engine with all piston assemblies fitted to the rods. I am happy to report that it does go together and that it rotates freely.
The oil pumps together with the full flow filtration system are complete together with the manifolds for the oil spray to the crankshafts and scavenge return from the two top crank cases. The water pump, with feed and return plumbing is also complete. The scavenge blower together with pressure relief and control regulators is now in place. The current project is the ignition equipment. The 18 spark plugs are fitted and if the engine is to run at the modest speed of 5,000 rpm it will require 90,000 sparks/min. If it were ever to get to 20,000 rpm (it is tiny inside) that would be 360,000 sparks/min! I am building a six-element infra-red optical trigger unit to mount on the end of the bottom crank. Each of these triggers will control one of six CDI modules. The final major project will be the production pistons with the 144 rings; 2 compression and 1 oil control. In practice I may not populate all of the grooves.
Cylinder Block and Liner Assemblies
The cylinder blocks are machined in 3 parts; the centre section, the exhaust and inlet ends. Annular rings around the ports are machined into the mating faces, the exhausts exiting to the outside as per the prototype but the inlets to the inside only.
The cylinder liners are machined from grade 17 cast iron and are of the same design as the prototype with 4 annular grooves machined over the length for cooling water. The two central grooves are inter-connected by a series of axial grooves. At each end of the liners and between each annular groove there is an “O” ring.
Each cylinder liner has a discrete cooling arrangement with water entering via a drilled hole through the block and into the ring to the outer end of the exhaust ports. Water then passes through drillings in the block to the first of the central grooves, and into the second central groove via the axial grooves. From here it has to pass out of the block on the inside face through external “banjo” fittings to pass over the inlet porting and back into the final annular groove then out via a final drilling.
The liners are located in position by threaded bushes through the blocks which also receive the spark plugs. The block assembly is held together by 28 M4 cap head screws threaded into the centre section.
Crankshaft Assemblies
Due to the relatively small scale and lack of space it was not felt safe to have split big ends to the connecting rods. The crankshaft is therefore of the “built-up” design. This has enabled an all ball bearing assembly to be designed. During this process it was not considered practical to press the components together with the required degree of accuracy. The assembly is, therefore, bonded together from slide location fit components followed by threaded and bonded pins at each joint. There are three fitted axially at the main bearing to web joints and two radially at the big ends. Each of the 3 crankshafts is assembled from 118 components comprising:
7 main bearing shafts
6 big end shafts<
12 crank webs
9 main bearing races
24 big end bearing races
36 main bearing locking pins
24 big end locking pins
A relatively simple but accurate indexing assembly fixture was used to sequentially bond the components starting from the drive end and followed by a big end complete with con-rods and the next main from six down to one. On completion the assemblies spin freely in the fixture and the main bearing frames.
A single test assembly was first constructed to test the bond strength. This failed at one big end at a static torque of 17 ft/lb. This is more than adequate to achieve my wildest dreams with regard to power output. With the subsequent addition of the threaded locking pins I am confident about the static strength of the assembly but remain apprehensive regarding the high frequency torsional stresses applied to the relatively long and thin six cylinder shafts.
(Continued)