The Development of The Rotary Engine

Corporation and Agreement
Last Updated on June 10,1996



The photos we show here are belong to "The Rotary Graffiti 1967-1987".
All the documents are written by Kenichi Yamamoto.


People say there is no industry like automobile industry which has a wide vision. Every kinds of technic and creative spirits are gotten together to make a thing called automobile. Especially its engine is an accumulation of high quality technic which include material technic and producing technic.

There are many corporations which develop the design of automobile's component only, and produce them. Their positions are getting higher as it became more internationally and has more variety. However, there wasn't almost no corporation who develop the design and produce when it comes to the engine. It can be said that engine technic equal automobile company.

However, when it become to the parts of it, many special parts maker get help from the specialists in the company or out of it. The engine's finish is depend on how much they got corporation because it is needed very specialistic technic.

It isn't possible to succeed if only the technicians in the research room was working on it without the help from the specialists to challenge a new thing as a rotary engine. Therefore they need a lot of people's corporation but the important thing isn't how many people help but what kind of people. The other company's parts maker has no responsibility to corporate for the people who are out of our company because we had to succeed to work on the rotary engine. Also i wasn't surprise when I hard there is a comment that should they corporate us for such a thing inside the company.

There must be the head of the company's understanding and he must feel the same about innovation as one specialist. We couldn't get real corporation if he didn't feel "I will do it" as one specialist and one professional.
Fortunately, the rotary engine got so many special part maker companyies' corporation. They are companies who produce engine's seals, spark plugs, electronic parts which includes ignitions, fuel, coolers, and even engine oil. There is a some technician who came up with a plan of the method to measure or the tester, and he contribute as other researcher in our company.

Inside our company, in the each special technic section we work so hard every day to do processing the tlocoid's curved surface of the rotor housing, seeking the inspection method, and establishing the technic in its inside's chromium method, a plan of the rotor or the housing's mintage and the method of the processing of the special form of the rotor gas seals. We work as we obsess.

In my mind, each scene is remembered so clearly. Those days were also hard but it was substantial. I could never forget about Mr.Hiratsuka in the development of the carbonabek seals which became the last key to make first rotary engine car to came to the world.

The rotor housing's durability was approximately 5~60,000 km by using the cross hollow style abeks seals. It isn't enough for a automobile engine. We have got the data that carbon is good according to the result of the not metal material exam in the early stage. However, some of therm endured for a long time, and some of other got snapped or became a small pieces and scattered from the exhaust pipe.

It couldn't be used at all as an engine seals. The engines were improved by inside or outside of the company's corporation. Other problems are solved or almost solved, and we were almost there for mass production. But we couldn't get solution for this last problem. We had to get rid of this charter mark, otherwise all the effort would be wasting. I was impatient.

It was 1962, when I hard the news that Japan Carbon developed the new carbon which to use for "Shinkansen"'s pandagurafu. It was such a coincidence when a engineer who was involved with this new carbon's development said to me, "I am your wife's cousin." So, I invited him my house to have some drink with me.

I had an intention. "It wouldn't be any solution if we don't develop the carbon which can endure as a seal. It is depend on you whether you let live or die the rotary engine which is my life work." My persuade was like a threat , but he agree with me. "O.K. I would make the carbon to work and I do that as my life work too." This was an agreement between two engineers.

The special team was settled at the Japan Carbon, and the development 's speed was increasing. We also did the research to make a better breaking, and we developed the inspection method to choose from the finished carbon by not destroying. While we are doing like this, our rotary engine was getting close to be able to endure for a practical use and to be a merchandise. It was heaping the qualifications as an automobile engine.

In 1965, I presented the report about the possibility of its practical use to the development meeting. And In the early 1966, a couple of dozens prot type "Cosmo" was distributed to the dealers all over in Japan. After a while, the policy to sale the first rotary engine automobile had been decided In 1967 May.




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