Maybe real engineers will get involved this time. Might happen if these new guys want a working portable steam generator bad enough. Given their failure to renew their patents, we have to assume Cyclone is no longer adamant about using their own "superior proprietary technology". For all we know the customer might demand and implement a series of changes such as:
* Eliminating the spider bearing
* Reducing the unit to a single cylinder
* Adding a starter (or wiring the alternator to spin things up on demand)
* Changing the steam conditions to something more reasonable, maybe something like 1000 PSI and 900 degrees F
* Lengthen the cutoff and design cams that moderate acceleration forces
* Reduce the plumbing by using only one boiler
* Hire a competent control systems designer to develop good boiler controls
* Bring in heat exchange specialists to develop a good condensing system
* Utilize the talents of a combustion systems engineer
* Test on a good dyno and install a wide variety of data logging sensors to record everything from rpm to instantaneous cylinder pressure.
Heck, it's just a steam engine, you can pick up working examples in this power range from E-Bay. Obviously there are challenges in making it compact, more efficient and user friendly but none of these involves technologies that aren't already highly developed...
We'll see, anything can happen depending on how bad someone wants it.
