“
Nemak, with its prototype center, is in the position to coat any kind of crankcase with a corresponding cylinder
surface and have a capacity of 15,000 units per year in a process that is very close to series production.
”
Iron based, thin bore coating for cylinder blocks. Coating Center in Nemak Dillingen / Germany.
specific engine power( downsizing), the remaining inter-bore cross sections may be exposed to severe thermal and mechanical stress creating the need for further advancements in casting design.
Thermal spray coatings allow the aluminum inter-bore cross section to be maintained. Thin iron based coatings, only 0.15mm thick, are an alternative to cast-in liners and thanks to their dimension and structure they provide technical advantages for reaching future emissions regulations.
To take an active role in this development, Nemak, at its plant in Dillingen, Germany has established a coating center for prototypes and small batch production in order to offer, not only crankcases with cast-in liners, but also thermally sprayed coatings in the bores of the crankcase. Together with the customer the coatings can now already be tested in an early prototype stage. As a first step to establish this process technology, Nemak installed the Plasma Transferred Wire Arc coating center( PTWA) in spring 2011. With the installation and startup of a Twin Wire Arc Spraying system( TWAS), a second facility was integrated into the coating center.
Both technologies, TWAS and PTWA are currently being tested by various automotive manufacturers in their decision for coated aluminum crankcases. First series applications using these coating technologies have been brought to the market for high performance engines. Besides these already existing aluminum crankcases with bore coating, major OEMs have developed strategies to implement these coatings for at least some of their passenger car programs. Nemak, with its prototype center, is in the position to coat any kind of crankcase with a corresponding cylinder surface and have a capacity of 15,000 units per year in a process that is very close to series production.
Nemak engineers are not focusing only on the coating process itself. They develop the complete process and quality chain from the casting to the rough honing of the coating. Currently, Nemak is working on further developing the individual steps before and after the coating process, with the target of optimization of the manufacturing costs.
The fundamental requirement for thermal spraying processes is to minimize the casting porosity of the cylinder surfaces. Having supplied liner-less crankcases for many years, Nemak has already developed the casting technology in order to achieve high mechanical properties and quality of cylinder bores that allow a successful coating process.
With these additional capabilities, Nemak will further excel as the preferred development and production partner for the automotive industry and contribute to further emissions reductions as well as efficiency improvements in modern powertrains. AI
Automotive Industries 45