Design and Manufacturing
Strategy for the WhisperGen
micro Combined Heat and
Power System.
Dr. Don Clucas
University of Canterbury
WhisperGen Stirling Engine
1st Product
Remote Area Battery Charger, DC
Electric Power: 750 W
Voltage: 12V or 24V DC
Fuel: Diesel, Kerosene, Jet A1
Life: 5 000 hours
First Modern Stirling Engine Prime Mover In The Market
AND IT STILL IS!
2nd Product
microCHP System For Domestic Homes, AC
Electric Power: 1 kW
Grid Connected: 230 V
Frequency: 50 Hz
Fuel: Natural gas
Life: 30 000 hours
Efficiency: ~95% of Fuel
Two Products - 1 Strategy
DC... High Margin, Low Volume
Immediate Business Opportunity.
AC…Low Margin High Volume
Required considerable market
development
1. Produce a prototype
2. Obtain investment
3. Develop and sell a low volume
high margin product
4. Springboard off the low volume
product to develop the high
volume product
5. In market trials and product
development
6. Iterate the design
7. Market it to international
manufacturers
8. Iterate the design
9. Begin manufacture
Whisper Tech Ltd. Time Line
1989 PhD Project at the University of Canterbury
1995 Company formed
1998 DC product released
2010 Low volume manufacture begins in Spain
2011 Christchurch city factory flattened
2011 Christchurch operation closed
2012 Operations continue in Spain
Bugger!
~2008-2014 GFC… Killed the market and operations
end in Spain
Concurrent Product and Business
Development
~15 Registered Patents
Wobble Yoke Transmission
Next Generation
Torq Drive
Some Design and Manufacturing
Observations
Note! The following may not
apply to all businesses.
“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words”
But a working prototype is worth a
million dollars
And a field trial is worth many times
more
Never go to a presentation empty
handed
Concentrate on functionality then
optimise!
Don’t give away trial units
Investors
The Golden Rule applies
• Those with the Gold make the Rules.
• The trick is to ensure they make the right rules for
the business.
• Communication and educating the investor is
essential.
• Investors can bring more than money, for example
skills, market knowledge, strength and credibility.
• Technical experts are not necessarily business
experts or good communicators.
Technical Experts
• Need a sense of humour
• Must show perseverance & preparedness to stay
for the long haul
• Must be prepared to let go control to others with
complementary skills
• Should have the ability to explain technical
concepts to non-technical people
• Should understand commercial realities
Horses for Courses
• Change is a fact of life. Staff good at early
product development stage can struggle when
the company grows
• Some engineers expect the problem to be well
defined and struggle when all the specifications
are not available.
But we were breaking new ground!
Something is needed in the market to learn all
the specifications.
“Hold on it’s not quite ready”
• Most engineers and scientists are rightly
conservative by nature.
• But early stage Start Ups don’t generally have the
cash or time for perfection.
• You can learn much more from a system in real use
than in the lab.
• There will be problems you would never think of in
the office… Find friendly trialists.
• Identify and resolve core technology issues early.
Continuously look for “show stoppers”
• Safety rules!!!
Sweat The Small Stuff!
• The GFC was the most significant cause of
closure
• Close on its heels was a niggling reliability issue
A tiny sensor that detected the flame nearly
destroyed the product
Some Final Tips
• Don’t wait until the product is perfect. It will
never happen
• Don’t waste effort on issues that are not critical to
the “big” market
• Competition is healthy and necessary
• Employ smart people with commercial focus
• Patent if possible for investor comfort
• A little share of something big is often better than
a big share of something small
Keys to Success…
In this order!
P People
M Market
T Technology
Conclusions:
Success or Failure?
We didn’t bring home the bacon $$
But we did succeed in Designing and
Manufacturing the only modern and consumer
useful Stirling Engine system
Questions?