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VEE DIESELS FOI IRITISH COMMERCIALS

21st February 1964
Page 60
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Page 60, 21st February 1964 — VEE DIESELS FOI IRITISH COMMERCIALS
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At least two forthcoming ranges will fii Cummins oversquare V engines BY ALAN HA

IVI I nst.T.

THE first production applications of diesel engines employing a V configuration of cylinders will be seen in British goods vehicles this year. This news was given to me exclusively by the Cummins Engine Co. Inc., of Columbus, Indiana, when I'visited the company whilst in the United States recently.

Two units will be offered, both of which have been on extensive tests in America for about a year. These are the VAL V6, which develops 140 gross h.p. at 3,300 r.p.m. (170 h.p. at 3,000 r.p.m. when turbocharged) and the VALE V8, which grosses 185 h.p. at 3,300 r.p.m. in normally aspirated form and 225 h.p. at 3,000 r.p.m. with turbocharger fitted. Cummins expect them to be in production in the U.S.A. by about the middle of this year.

Both of these engines are capable of development. Cummins estimate that in future the V6 can be uprated to 150-200 gross h.p. (depending on use of turbocharger); the V8 is reckoned capable of delivering 200-265 h.p. when fully developed.

These engines, which will be manufactured in Darlington, are to go into new ranges to be offered by Dodge Bros..(Britain) Ltd. and another manufacturer of mediumcapacity vehicles, I understand, although no details are being released at this stage by the two manufacturers.

Originally, Cummins produced the first commercially successful oversquare diesels in V form some two years

ago (The Commercial Motor, January 5, 1962). These were the VIM V6 and VINE V8 units; in normally aspirated form the six-cylinder engine of this range produces 200 gross h.p. at 2,600 r.p.m. (255 h.p. at the same revolutions in blown form), whilst the larger engine grosses 265 h.p. at 2,600 r.p.m. without turbocharging and 340 gross h.p.. at the same revolutions when blown. The VIM and VINE are not scheduled, initially at any rate, for production in the United Kingdom. They will, in fact, be manufactured in the U.S.A. by Cummins and in Germany by the Krupp group under a 10-year manufacturing agreement which began in May, 1962.

The smaller VAL and VALE units are derived from the VIM and VINE range and, apart from the U.S.A. and Mexico, will be manufactured only at Darlington, at least for some time to come.

English Production Plans Two factories are in course of erection at Darlington. One, for Cummins Engine Co., will concentrate on manufacture of certain key parts, such as the vibration dampers (Cummins technicians say they have completely overcome the inherent problem of unbalance in six-cylinder V layouts), the fuel-injection system, the air compressor and the turbochargers. The other factory is a joint venture by Cummins and Chrysler Motors. Known as ChryslerCummins Ltd.. the company owning this factory will produce all the engines.

It is expected that production will begin in November, and full production will be in motion by next February. The initial capacity is expected to be 60 engines a day, eventually rising to 160 units a day, a large proportion of which will be for the home market.

My colleague, P. A. C. Brockington, dealt in detail with the advantages Cummins claim for the V engine over comparable in-line units a few weeks ago (The Cointnercial Motor, January 31), so I will content myself by remarking here that the basic theory behind these oversquare units is to limit piston speed so as to increase engine r.p.m., and— by virtue of the cylinder layout—to offer a more compact unit. This configuration, it is claimed, gives a better fuel consumption than an in-line unit of similar output, reduces wear, and gives a good margin of reserve in the design.

The VAL and VALE engines have a bore of 41 in. and stroke of 31 in. and, normally aspirated, the piston speed at 3,300 r.p.m. is 1,925 ft./min. At these figures the b.m.e.p. is 95 lb./sq. in. In their turbocharged form the engines have a rated piston speed of 1,750 ft./min., the crankshaft speed then being (as stated) 3,000 r.p.m. The brake mean effective pressure is then rated at 127 lb./sq. in. The displacements of the two units are, respectively, 352 and 470 cu. in.

Turbocharging forms a much more important part of American operating (because of the greater loads, speeds and operating altitudes encountered) than it does in the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, blown versions of the VAL and VALE engines will be offered here, so it is as well, briefly, to look at Cummins' developments in this field.

They are now quite satisfied with the reliability of their turbochargers, having some 10 years' operational experience behind them. Like everyone else who has worked with turbochargers, they had problems in the beginning, but the answers (they say) are now incorporated in the latest designs.

Good Life

A lire of 300,000 miles is now considered commonplace for Cummins turbochargers, and it has been found that up to an upper limit of 150 h.m.e.p. the response and torque curves present no problem. Experience has shown the units are most efficient, however, at 130/135 b.m.e.p.

Will they be needed in this country? The company's top technicians feel the answer is: "Yes ". Higher gross weights and vehicle speeds, particularly with more motorway working, will develop a need for turbochargers, which will also prove beneficial in solving smoke problems.

Developments have almost halved the number of working parts and weight of the latest Cummins units, as can be seen by this table:—

So much for the engines themselves. What of Cummins? As a company they are not all that well known to operators in this country. Yet they dominate the American diesel engine market, and they rival our own Perkins company in terms of production and world market penetration. They have, of course, been established in this country since 1956. Their Shotts, Lanarkshire, factory went into production the following year. Here, the long-established H and NH in-line engines are produced in gross-horse-power ranges of from 130 to 400 hp. Their production is not affected by the new plans for the VAL and VALE engines.

Scottish Factory A very large part of the Shotts production is for export from Scotland. For instance, all the Cummins NH engines used in Canada come from Shotts. The Canadian Government requires a 40 per cent Commonwealth content in vehicles produced there by foreign (including the U.S.A.) manufacturers. It is, therefore, more feasible to make the engines in Scotland and ship them 3,000 miles to Canada than it is to make them in Columbus and send them roughly a third of that distance to the Dominion.

Established in 1919, Cummins now supplies much more than 50 per cent of the total U.S. production of diesel engines for on-highway vehicles, its nearest rivals being a very long way behind. At the end of 1962 Cummins were producing 53.4 per cent of all the United States-built diesel engines. Mack produced 21-9 per cent and Detroit Diesel (General Motors) 15.8 per cent. I understand that current figures put Cummins closer to 60 per cent of the market.

Cummins' growth has been quite phenomenal, especially as (nit has to bear in mind the fact that the diesel engine, so far as the medium-weight American vehicle is concerned, is barely out of the " novelty " stage; and although the diesel dominates, it by no means monopolizes the heavy truck field.

Total U.S.A. truck production in 1962 was 1,254,220 vehicles. How many were diesel-powered? Exactly 43,800!

However, even bearing in mind this small proportion of c26 diesel to petrol engines, the Cummins record still merits great respect. Net sales in 1949 were $23,281,945. By 1952 they had passed the $54m. mark. Net sales rose to $81m. in 1955, and by 1958 had reached $1081m. In 1961 the figure was $129,297,851. It spurted to $167,345,860 in 1962, and in 1963 is expected to have exceeded $190m.

The future obviously does not bother the Cummins chairman. Last year he told American investors: "These engines (the new V diesels) will permit the company in the years immediately ahead to enter new markets which are quite as large as all the -company's present markets, and which are now occupied almost exclusively by the gasoline engine

American Market Potential Obviously, in view of the as-yet limited potential of the American market, this remarkable growth has come from exports. This is. in fact, the case. The company's proud claim is that Cummins engines are now sold in every country in the world. Manufacturing operations outside the U.S.A. are conducted in Scotland, West Germany, India, Japan. Australia, Mexico and Brazil. Negotiations are in hand for manufacturing facilities to be set up in other countries as well. In addition, there are nearly -250 foreign sales and service locations throughout the world. Control of this world-wide network is through Cummins Diesel International Ltd., which is located at Lausanne, Switzerland, but will, I gather, be moving to London.

To some extent, the company is remarkable for its continued " family " ownership. The name came from one of the co-founders, Clessie L. Cummins, who was financed by a Columbus industrialist and banker, William G. Irwin —for whom Clessie had once worked as a chauffeur. The present chairman, J. Irwin Miller, is a nephew of William Irwin. As is often the case when a major industry blossoms in a comparatively small community, Cummins plays a major part in the life of Columbus. In the past five years some $500,000 has been given to charitable and civic activities.

Cummins, like all successful manufacturers, employs an active research and development division. Their work on forms of power which could possibly replace the diesel has indicated "some challenging theoretical possibilities ", said Mr. Miller.

He added: "We are taking a very serious look at all these possibilities, the most important at the moment being the gas turbine, the fuel cell, the free-piston engine, the compound engine and the rotary-type engine ".


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