finally someone creates a "better" engine...

[Mikes2nd]

this is nuts and not a joke...

The spherical genius of the Hüttlin Kugelmotor

even deflects energy on the downstroke to build electricity...

Less moving parts but that titanium is going to cost but its needed.

20 years of work for some guy...

[nodoze]

that is awsome , wish i could get a few of my prototypes to that stage i dont think mine would be as efficient as his looks like it MIGHT

[GTOJOE]

Too much friction involved. And I can't see those balls lasting very long. Great idea but will it last as long as a traditional piston engine? Mind you with 180 less parts it's probably much cheaper to make.

[IPD]

i'm still waiting for quasiturbine engines to debut on production cars. i won't hold my breath on this.

[VR-4ever]

AMW - One Stroke for mankind

[IPD]

anything with a circular action instead of a reciprocating action will provide better efficiency, imho.

[green-lantern]

I'm skeptical but open to learn more about it. They do a pretty sorry job explaining it and showing some kind of superiority over a piston engine. The rotary engine was going to replace the piston engine ya know.

[AdamVR4]

Too much friction involved. And I can't see those balls lasting very long. Great idea but will it last as long as a traditional piston engine? Mind you with 180 less parts it's probably much cheaper to make.

Yes and no. Traditional piston engines have simple to cast/machine parts. This Kugelmotor, while awesome, appears wildly complex to manufacture and service/repair. Unless I'm missing something, I don't understand how they'll machine/grind some of these surfaces without custom machinery...?

[UTRacerX9]

Yes and no. Traditional piston engines have simple to cast/machine parts. This Kugelmotor, while awesome, appears wildly complex to manufacture and service/repair. Unless I'm missing something, I don't understand how they'll machine/grind some of these surfaces without custom machinery...?

Which parts are you referring to? The pistons have a curved shape, I don't see why they can't be cast just like a regular piston. I think the piston rings might be an issue, from the design, it looks like a lot more outward force would be generated on the outside of the piston (outer circle) than the inner circle.

Also interesting that for 4 pistons, it uses two sparkplugs. I wonder what kind of compression that engine is operating under.

What I like the most though, is how easy you could design a car around it. You could mount the engine in almost any possible configuration, especially if its the "no drive shaft, electrical only" version.

[AdamVR4]

Looking at the labeled section view you can see for about half a second in the video, it's either the "Curve-Element" or the combustion chamber. From what I recall (can't watch this video again), it was a ring or semi-spherical part with curved, high precision internal features. I'm not a machinist, but those aren't features I'd try to design into parts.