PRODUCTION OF

AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS

Jerome G
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
 PAC Course Code - OAT751
SYLLABUS:
• UNIT I - ENGINE COMPONENTS
• UNIT II - TRANSMISSION
COMPONENTS
• UNIT III - BODY COMPONENTS
• UNIT IV - CHASSIS COMPONENTS 9
• UNIT V - TYRES AND ADVANCED
MATERIALS MANUFACTURING
 UNIT 1 – ENGINE COMPONENTS

•Overview - Material selection and Manufacturing methods for the Engine

Components.
•Engine block – Casting– Conventional and expendable pattern.
•Cylinder head – Casting, machining and thermal barrier coating.
•Crank shaft, connecting rod, camshaft–Forging, machining and heat
treatment.
•Piston Gravity, squeeze, die casting, machining and finishing.
•Gudgeon Pin - Machining and Finishing, Valve forging, friction welding,
machining, thermal barrier coating, heat treatment and surface improvement.
•Cylinder Liners, Piston ring -Centrifugal, HPDC, LPDC, machining and
finishing.
•Castings Processes for Oil pan and Carburetors.
•Push Rods, Rocker Arm , Tappets, Spark Plug- Forging, Machining,
Finishing and Heat treatment.
Material selection and Manufacturing methods
for the Engine Components

•Ferrous metals: Carbon, alloy, stainless, and tool and die steels.
•Nonferrous metals: Aluminum, magnesium, copper, nickel, titanium,
super alloys, refractory metals, beryllium, zirconium, low-melting-
point alloys, and precious metals.
•Plastics (polymers): Thermoplastics, thermosets, and elastomers.
•Ceramics, glasses, glass ceramics, graphite, diamond, and diamond-
like materials.
•Composite materials: Reinforced plastics and metal-matrix and
ceramic-matrix composites.
•Nanomaterials, Shape-memory alloys (also called smart materials),
amorphous alloys, semiconductors and superconductors.
 Material Selection
As new developments continue, the selection of an appropriate
material for a particular application becomes even more challenging.
• Properties of Materials – Mechanical, Physical, Chemical,
Manufacturing properties
• Availability - Desired quantities, shapes, dimensions, and surface
texture, reliability of supply
• Service Life – (a) Improper selection of materials, (b) improper
selection of production methods, (c) insufficient control of processing
variables, (d) defective parts or manufacturing-induced defects, (e)
poor maintenance, and (f) improper use of the product
• Material Substitution in Products - (a) Metal vs. wooden handle for a
hammer, (b) aluminum vs. cast-iron lawn chair, (c) aluminum vs.
copper wire, (d) plastic vs. steel car bumper, (e) plastic vs. metal toy
 Manufacturing Methods
• CASTING – Engine Block, Cylinder Head, Piston, Piston
ring, Oil pan, Carburetor
• MACHINING – Engine Block, Cylinder Head, Piston, Crank
shaft, Connecting rod, Camshaft, Piston Ring
• FORGING – Crank shaft, Connecting rod, Camshaft
• FINISHING – Push Rods, Rocker Arm , Tappets, Spark Plug
• HEAT TREATMENT – Valve, Push Rods, Rocker Arm ,
Tappets, Spark Plug
 Engine Block - Casting
One of the oldest processes is casting, which basically
involves pouring molten metal into a mold cavity.
Upon solidification, the metal takes the shape of the
cavity.
• Process – Conventional and Expendable pattern
 Engine Block - Casting
l. Conventional / Permanent molds:
• Molds are made of metals that maintain their strength at high
temperatures.
• Used repeatedly and are designed in such a way that the casting
can be removed easily and the mold used for the next casting.
• Metal molds are better heat conductors than expendable
nonmetallic molds, hence, the solidifying casting is subjected to
a higher rate of cooling, which in turn affects the microstructure
and grain size within the casting.
 Engine Block - Casting
2. Expendable molds:
• Molds are made of sand, plaster, ceramics, and similar materials and
generally are mixed with various binders (bonding agents) for improved
properties.
• A typical sand mold consists of 90% sand, 7% clay, and 3% Water.
• These materials are refractories (that is, they are capable of withstanding
the high temperatures of molten metals).
• After the casting has solidified, the mold is broken up to remove the
casting.
• The mold is produced from a pattern; in some processes, such as sand and
shell casting, the mold is expendable, but the pattern is reused to produce
several molds. Such processes are referred to as expendable-mold,
permanent-pattern casting processes.
• Investment casting consumes a pattern for each mold produced; it is an
example of an expendable-mold, expendable pattern process.
Engine Block - Casting
 Engine Block - Casting
EXPENDABLE PATTERN: Evaporative-pattern Casting (Lost-foam Process)
• The evaporative-pattern casting process uses a polystyrene pattern, which
evaporates upon contact with molten metal to form a cavity for the casting.
• In this process, polystyrene beads containing are placed in a preheated die that is
usually made of aluminum.
• The polystyrene expands and takes the shape of the die cavity.
• The die is then cooled and opened, and the polystyrene pattern is removed.
• The pattern is coated with a water-based refractory slurry, dried, and placed in a
flask. The flask is then filled with loose, fine sand, which surrounds and supports the
pattern and may be dried or mixed with bonding agents to give it additional strength.
• The sand is compacted periodically, without removing the polystyrene pattern; then
the molten metal is poured into the mold.
• The molten metal vaporizes the pattern and fills the mold cavity, completely
replacing the space previously occupied by the polystyrene.
• The molten metal cools faster than it would if it were poured directly into an empty
cavity.
Cylinder Head - Casting
Crankshaft, Connecting Rod, Camshaft
 Piston
• The basic piston shape is manufactured by a single
piston-forming process; by gravity die casting or
squeeze die casting methods in which molten metal is
gravity fed to an open die, the die then being closed
and the metal solidified under a force of many
tonnes.
Gravity die casting
• Gravity Die Casting is a permanent mould casting
process, where the molten metal is poured from a
vessel or ladle into the mould. The mould cavity fills
with no force other than gravity, filling can be
controlled by tilting the die.
• Pistons can be produced easily and cheaply
• Incorporation of inserts can be readily accomplished.
Not particularly resistant to the elevated temperatures
often found at the crown end of a piston, particularly
where that piston is for a diesel engine.
 Piston
Squeeze die casting
• Molten metal is poured into the bottom half of a pre-heated die.
• As soon as the metal starts solidifying, the upper half of the die closes and starts
applying pressure during the solidification process. The extent of pressure applied
is significantly less than that in forging.
• Parts of great detail can be produced.
• Coring can be used in tandem with the process to form holes and recesses.
• The high pressure and the close contact of molten alloy with the metal die surface
results in minimum porosity and improvised mechanical properties. This process
can be used for both ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
• Piston has a more uniform structure than gravity cast pistons, with an absence of
voids. This makes the piston mechanically stronger as well as improving generally
the properties of material.
• More expensive and time-consuming than their production by conventional gravity
die casting.
• In addition, while the improved properties are desirable or necessary in certain
parts of the pistons, such as the crown region, they are not as desirable or
necessary in other portions of the pistons, such as the lower skirt region.
 Piston
Machining and finishing:
• At this stage of the piston manufacturing process the casting has the
gudgeon pin hole roughly machined and the locating bung machined. It is
a process where the casting is machined on the base to allow placement of
the casting in other machines. This is carried out on a simple lathe. Pin
boring is done in conjunction with the bung turning, as one casting is
removed from having the bung face machined it is placed on the pin borer.
The pin borer is only a rough machining process which allows the reamer
to enter the gudgeon pin hole later
• After the piston is machined it is removed from the lathe and the part
number stamped on the crown of the piston. The piston is now ready for
the finishing processes. The first stage of finishing process includes
drilling, slotting, valve and crank relieving, all done in the respective
machines. Cam grinding process involves making the final size of the
piston. Only the pin boring process is rough and it is necessary to ream the
pin bore a number of times to achieve the surface finish and size required.
At this stage the piston is cleaned, fitted with the appropriate gudgeon pin,
stamped with the pistons size and any other markings, and then sent to
despatch.
 Gudgeon Pin
• Piston pins are made of various materials - the most common
material used in the production of piston pin is steel. Steel is
casted into steel wires and steel bars which is then used in
manufacturing of piston pins.
• With the help of various machines they are turned, hardened
and grinded.
• The final product must be with a tolerance below 0.003
millimeters and must also have a very high surface quality
with a perfect shape. If it is not shaped accordingly then it can
result in friction and this can create problems during the
production process.
• Piston pins which are used in high stress level and pass
through high revolution and combustion must cover
themselves with an extra ultra-hard DLC layer. This layer
helps them maintaining their quality and protects them from
wear and tear during the manufacturing process. Since a piston
pin has to be of the correct size therefore even a little wear and
tear can affect the manufacturing process to a very large
extent.
 Valve
•An I.C. Engine contains generally two types of
valves i.e. inlet valve and exhaust valve. Valves are
again classified into two types. One is mono metal and the
other one is bi-metal.
•Mono meta l valve is made by using only one metal. Bi-metal valve is
made by two types of metals.
•Any valve is divided into two portions, one is head portion and the other
one is stem portion.
•In bi-metal valve head and stem portion are made of different metals.
•Two different types of metal bars are joining by the process of friction
welding.
•Friction welding is the process of joining two solid pieces by welding, in
which heat is generated by friction between stationary and rotating work
piece.
• After friction welding operations are bar grinding and forging.
 Cylinder Liner, Piston Ring
Centrifugal Casting :
• In this process a cylindrical metal die is first heated
and then rotated at high speed (typically in the region
of 1400-1800 rpm).
• Metal is poured into the die at one end and the
centripetal forces transfer the metal evenly along the
length of the die, building up a wall thickness.
• The metal solidifies whilst continuing to be rotated,
forcing lighter nonmetallic inclusions, such as slag,
towards the inner surface of the casting, where it can
be subsequently removed by machining.
• For the production of cylinder liners the hot die is
usually coated with a refractory coating.
• This coating provides a barrier between the metal die
and the casting, beneficially affecting heat transfer,
protecting the die from the liquid metal, acting as a
release agent when removing the casting and
influencing the surface texture of the casting.
 Cylinder Liner, Piston Ring
High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC)
• One half of the die is attached to a fixed machine
plate and the other to a movable one on a die-casting
machine that is horizontally aligned.
• Because of the high pressure used when pouring – up
to 1,200 bar – the bolts holding the two halves of the
die together must have a high locking force.
• As these have a relatively high melting point, cold-
chamber die casting machines are mainly used for
aluminium alloys.
• Here, the casting assembly is located outside the
melt. The molten metal is fed to a shot chamber, from
where a piston drives the metal into the die.
• Once the metal has cooled and solidified, the two
halves of the die are opened and the casting is
automatically ejected from the die by ejector pins

HPDC
 Cylinder Liner, Piston Ring
Low Pressure Die Casting (LPDC)
• As with high-pressure die casting, here too the halves
of the die are attached to a fixed and moving machine
plate, but the machine is aligned vertically.
• The holding furnace for the molten metal is located
beneath the fixed plate. Applying pressure of up to
max. 1 bar to the furnace pushes the molten metal
(usually aluminium, but also magnesium) up through
an intake port into the die chamber – usually a
permanent mould, although sand moulds are also
possible.
• The upward movement of the molten metal is against
gravity.
• After filling the die, the pressure is maintained as the
metal cools to enable the addition of further molten
metal to counter any volume deficits (shrinkage
cavities) as the metal passes from its molten to solid
state.
• This naturally ensures solidification that is as even as
possible from top to bottom. LPDC
 Cylinder Liner, Piston Ring
Machining and Finishing
• The rings are then machined or semi-machined.
• Desirable to finish machine the flat edges of the ring,
bore it, turn the periphery and cut the gap and then reheat
the ring to a 5 degree lower temperature than that of the
draw but above the temperature to which the rings may be
subjected to use in an internal combustion engine.
• This last or secondary heating operation is preferably
performed at a temperature between 500° F and 8000 ° F.
The secondary heating tends to relieve the strains and
stresses which may have been set up in the ring during
the machining operations and it also improves somewhat
the tension of the ring.
• Finishing operation is to turn the periphery of the ring,
though this operation may be performed prior to the
secondary heating operation.

LPDC
Oil pan, Carburetor
Push Rods, Rocker Arm , Tappets, Spark Plug