Electric starter for KJ66 and similar Jet Engines

Since business is a little draggy these days I decided to build my own electric
starter for my Behotec model aircraft turbine engine rather than buying a readyto-use one. If I take the time into accout that it took to make the starter so far, it
definitely isnt a bargain. But if this were a concern, I would probably have
chosen watching TV as a hobby and not gas turbine engines...
I still had a suitable DC motor available from another project. It is of the Speed
300 size but its a Sagami brand with a lot more power and ball bearings. If I
remember correctly Multiplex sells these motors (brand name: Permax 280BB).
I also didnt want to have the whole clutch mechanism suspended on the motor
bearings alone because I heard of some fellow enthusiasts having problems
with shaft resonance at high speeds due to the relatively thin motor shaft and
the considerable weight of the clutch mechanism attached to it. So I decided to
use two additional miniature ball bearings to support the clutch engagement
shaft directly. And here are some pictures of the components:

On top theres the motor, below from left to right: Starter case, Clutch member
with engagement helix, M2.6 screws that bolt the case to the motor, clutch Oring (a different one will be needed when the starter is attached to the engine),
clutch engagement pin (in the centre of the O-ring), two bearing spacers, motor
shaft extension and two 9mm*5mm*3mm (od*id*width) ball bearings.

Heres a closeup of the

starter case. This
component required
quite some machining
work. It doesnt only
adapt the starter motor
to the turbine intake
but it also aligns the
additional bearings
with the motor shaft
and the shaft
extension. Thus it
needs to be made to
very high precision,
especially the surface
that seats the
bearings.

Here the moving clutch

member is shown. You
can clearly see the
helix that is milled into
the guiding area of the
bore. This helix was
milled on a four-axis
CNC mill. Theres
certainly another way
to machine the helix
with more common
tools but since Ive got
the mill, why shouldnt
I use it ;-) ?
The bore just left to the
recess accepts one
end of the recoil
spring. I considered
using a magnet to hold
the clutch in the
withdrawn position
when the starter is not in use, but this would have meant glueing a magnet
and a ferromagnetic backplate to the starter components and I just didnt feel

too well with this idea. Especially as there arent many adhesives that will
reliably stick to aluminium.

Here you see the

clutch member again
as well as the recoil
spring. I made this
spring from 0.25mm
diameter steel spring
wire. One end sticks
through the bore in the
clutch member and is
just bent around on the
other side to keep it
from slipping back.
The other end projects
through a concentric
bore in the clutch
engagement pin that is
located in the extension shaft. This way the spring will always exert a small
torque on the clutch member to hold it in the withdrawn position. Yet the torque
is low enough to allow the motor to engage the clutch when it accelerates
rapidly.

Heres the motor with the shaft

extension pressed in place. The
motor itself has got a corrugated
shaft of slightly less than 2.0mm
diameter. So drilling of a truely
concentric hole in the shaft extension
that will accept the motor shaft with a
press fit wasnt easy you bet. It took
three attempts to get it finally right.
The bearings and the spacers are in
place as well, as is the clutch
engagement pin. This pin is glued in
a bore in the shaft extension with
Loctite 648. This way it should never
come out if it isnt forced to. The bore
through the pin is also visible, here
one end of the recoil spring will be
located.

The clutch mechanism

is preliminarily
assembled to check
its working smoothly
and without binding.
Everything looks nice
so far and final
assembly is getting
closer...

And thats what the

finished starter looks
like (so far...). Ill still
need to make a cover
for the whole
assembly, but thats
just for the look of it. Ill
probably use black
POM plastics for this
cover since thats lightweight, easy to
machine and it looks
quite nice. The starter
works very well so far,
the clutch flips in and
out very quickly and
should really be up to
the task. Next will be
adapting the turbine
intake section to
accept the starter.

And here you can download two larger JPEGs of the drawings of the starter
components. The first one is an axial section (upper half shown only). It should
give an approximate idea of how the components are machined. The second
image is a developed view of the helix. Since the diameter of the recess the
helix is milled into is 9mm, the distance of 14.137mm between the two slots
means that they are exactly opposing each other. The slots are to be milled with
a 2.0mm end mill. Please click below to view the pictures:
Section

Helix

If you need further information or DXFs of the drawings, please feel free to drop
me a line:
Contact

07/28/2002
Yesterday I finished the mounting parts for the starter and drilled the
corresponding bores in the intake nozzle of my Behotec engine. As well the
starter motor cover was made.
So heres the picture of
the finished starter
assembly as mounted
to the engine. The
photo disturbs a little
the correlation in size
of the starter and the
engine. Please
disregard the mess in
the background ;-).
I tested the starter on a
six-cell NiCd and the
current drain was
tremendous for such a
small motor. It draws
about 25A initially
which drops to about
16A when the speed
settles. Consequently the motor gets really hot in no time. Maybe Ill need a
different motor with more turns, but maybe it will do just fine because it is only
needed for a few seconds each start. I ll probably just have to try. But prior to
this comes finishing of my miniature HT ignition box (details to be published
soon).
Addendum concerning the shaft and bearing arrangement: If I were to build
another one, especially with a cheap motor (journal bearings), I would arrange

the shaft extension differently. I machined my shaft from 6mm precision-ground

silver steel and took off 1mm in diameter for the most of it. This was required to
get the shim at the end that will prevent the shaft from slipping out of the
bearings towards the turbine engine. Yet this required some really nasty surface
finishing work because the 5mm part of the shaft extension needs to match the
bearings as well as the clutch member precisely. Now I would immediately use
a 5mm precision ground shaft and shrink a tube to it instead of the bearing
spacer. This also eliminates any axial loading to the motor bearings. My current
arrangement requires the rear motor bearing to carry the axial load during
starting, which isn't a problem as long as a ball bearing motor is used. I hope I
could make clear my concern...

07/29/2002 - The Zapper

Today I decided to build something really nasty :-), namely the ultimative model
turbine engine ignition. I already had a try at someting similar using a 555 timer
as the oscillator but its output has way to little power to drive a MOSFET power
switch fast enough. My main objective at this design was to use only readily
available parts, especially no custom-made inductors. It turned out that xenon
flashlamp trigger coils are well capable of producing several kilovolts of AC for a
prolonged time if they are switched fast enough. What I turned up with is shown
below.

Here the complete ignition exciter is shown. The spark gap is about 3mm wide
in this photo, but the circuit will be capable of throwing much longer sparks (up
to 8...10mm). Yet it is required to cover it in resin or the high voltage will break
down the PCB due to the small size. The Euro coin isnt the price of the unit but
for a reference in size (at least to those who are familiar with the new European
currency...). The total expense for the components is about 15 Euros (or Dollars
US) less the PCB. The PCB is so simple that it could be made by vitually every
hobby electronician. You can download TIFF files of the schematic and the PCB
below.

Schematic

Placeplan

PCB Layout

Bill of Materials

A word of warning: Though I dont think that an electric shock by this device
would be fatal, it will definitely be very painful. So if anybody is going to build the
ignitor to my specifications or similar, please be very careful when operating it.
There might be high voltage present at the output terminals for some time even
if the unit had been de-energised. And most important, I wont be liable for any
damage or injury caused by a device built to this construction information.
And now some specifications:
Operating voltage: 7-12V, lower limit mainly depending on the gate threshold
voltage of the MOSFET
Input current: ca.1A at 8V
Output voltage: up to 10kV, depending on the particular ignition coil used and
the rating of the HT diodes and capacitors. The voltage needs to be limited by
the spark plug. Dont used with open output terminals.
Switching frequency: ca. 50kHz
Operating mode: Intermittent, 30s on, 3 minutes off maximum
Physical size: 43*23*15mm approx., less terminals
Heres the Zapper
enclosed in epoxy
resin, shown together
with the micro spark
plug that Im going to
use in my Behotec
engine.It turned out
that this unit will even
light kerosine directly
as long as its
atomised to a fine mist.
Maybe now its time for
a torch ignitor for a
model jet engine to do
away with the
propane/butane
preheat.