Federal-mogul World Wide, Inc.

Federal-mogul Corporation

Tenneco Gmbh

James Robert Toth

Troy Kantola

Brian L Bank

Robert Reuven Aharonov

Michael D Lytwynec

Daniel E Dugan

Miguel Azevedo

Paul Matthew Ovares

Matt Pedigo

Mitchell T Marsh

Barry Schwab

A wear resistant coated piston ring for an engine is provided. The piston ring includes a coating disposed on a ring body. The coating includes initially includes alternating first and second layers, wherein the first layers include trivalent chromium, and the second layers include nickel and phosphorous. The first layers are applied by depositing a trivalent chromium electrolyte, specifically Cr3+ electrolyte. The second layers are applied by electroless deposition. The coating is left in the as-is condition and is not heat treated before being disposed on a piston and then in an engine. The coating is naturally exposed to heat while the engine is running, and this heat causes the chromium, nickel, and phosphorous of the layers to diffuse and form a surface layer on a compound layer. The surface layer includes trivalent chromium, and the compound layer includes a ternary compound of chromium, nickel, and phosphorous.

Piston ring with wear resistant coating

A wear resistant coating is applied to the thrust surfaces and bore surfaces of a connecting rod. The wear resistant coating includes a polymer matrix, such as polyamide imide (PAI), solid lubricant, and hard particles including FeO. The wear resistant coating is typically applied by spraying or rolling. The wear resistant coating adheres well to metal and provides lubrication. Thus, the wear resistant coating can reliably reduce wear, scuff, and seizure along the surfaces of the connecting rod as the piston reciprocates and crank shaft rotates during operation of the internal combustion engine. The likelihood of engine contamination caused by metal shavings from wear of the connecting rod is reduced, and the life of the connecting rod and engine is increased.

Wear resistant coating applied to connecting rod surfaces

A piston ring including a base coating, for example a chromium-based material with an intentionally etched crack network is provided. The cracks of the base coating are filled with a sliding material, which is expected to improve scuff resistance. The sliding material includes polyamideimide (PAI) and FeO. The sliding material can also include solid lubricant and hard materials. Alternatively, the base coating is formed of diamond-like carbon and applied to the piston ring by physical vapor deposition (PVD). In this case, the base coating includes protuberances or bumps, and the sliding material is disposed between protuberances of the base coating.

Polymer coating in cracked piston ring coating

A sliding element, such as a piston ring, including a substrate, base coating, and relatively thin sliding coating is provided. The base coating is typically applied to a running surface of the substrate by PVD, CVD, galvanic deposition, electrodeposition, or a thermal spray process. The sliding coating includes a polymer matrix and hard particles disposed throughout the matrix. The sliding coating is applied to the base coating when the base coating is still in its as-applied condition and has a surface roughness of at least 4.0 &#x3bc;m. During use of the sliding element, the thin sliding coating acts as a sacrificial run-in layer. In addition, as the polymer matrix of the sliding coating wears away, the hard particles polish the rough surface of the base coating. Thus, polishing or lapping of the as-applied base coating prior to use of the sliding element is not required.

Coated sliding element

A piston ring is provided having a bottom surface, a top surface, an inner diameter surface and at least one running surface. A wear protection coating substantially entirely of cobalt is applied to the at least one running surface to protect the base material of the piston ring. Specifically, during operation of an engine, the more durable cobalt wear resistant coating, not the base material which may be steel or cast iron, is in sliding contact with a cylinder wall. The cobalt coating may be applied through, for example, electrodeposition or plasma spraying.

Piston ring with a wear-resistant cobalt coating

A process and apparatus utilizing at least one conformable anode () in a plating process to apply a plating to an article (). A wire or other material suitable for an anode is shaped to conform to the approximate shape of a region of the article to be coated. The anode is powered by an electrical power source (), and the article serves as the cathode. The anode and article are both immersed in a plating bath (). The article and anode are rotated relative to one another about a central axis () of the article. The relative movement between the anode and the article causes a uniform plating () to be applied to selected regions of the article that pass the anode. Another anode () can be arranged in fixed relation with the article to cause plating to a separate selected region of the article concurrently with the other anode.

Process and apparatus for plating articles

A multilayer sliding bearing includes a rigid metal backing having a metal bearing liner attached thereto. The metal bearing liner includes a metal bearing liner layer which is attached to the bearing surface of the metal backing layer and at least one metal overplate layer deposited over an outer surface of the metal bearing liner layer. The metal bearing liner layer has a layer of hard particles embedded in an outer surface thereof which is adjacent to the inner surface of the at least one metal overplate layer. The bearing may also include a barrier layer interposed between the metal bearing liner layer and the metal over plate layer to inhibit diffusion therebetween and/or promote adhesion of the metal over plate layer to the metal bearing liner layer. The invention may also include a thin metal protective coating layer over the outer surface of the bearing liner and backing layer. The invention also includes a method of making a multilayer sliding bearing which includes the steps of fabricating a metal backing layer having a bearing surface, attaching a metal bearing liner layer having an outer surface to the bearing surface of the metal backing layer, embedding a layer of hard particles in the outer surface of the metal bearing liner layer and depositing at least one metal overplate layer over the outer surface of the metal bearing liner layer. The method may also include a step of depositing a barrier layer over the outer surface of the metal bearing liner layer prior to depositing the metal overplate layer.

Bearing having embedded hard particle layer and overlay and method of manufacture

Multiple layer powder metal bearings

A multilayer engine bearing ( ) includes a steel backing ( ) having a liner ( ) of bearing metal of either copper-lead or aluminum alloys formed on the backing ( ). A multilayer overplate ( ) is formed on the base lining member ( ) and includes at least a first layer ( ) electrodeposited from a bath at a first current density to a desired thickness, and at least one additional layer ( ) electrodeposited from the same bath but at a different current density and to a desired thickness to yield a composite lamellar overplate structure having layers with differing deposit characteristics, such as hard and soft layers, generated from the same bath at different current densities.

Bearing having multilayer overlay and method of manufacture

A multilayer engine bearing (,) includes a steel backing (,) having a liner (,) of bearing metal of either copper-lead or aluminum alloys formed on the backing (,). A multilayer overplate (,) is formed on the base lining member (,) and includes at least a first layer (,) electrodeposited from a bath at a first current density to a desired thickness, and at least one additional layer (,) electrodeposited from the same bath but at a different current density and to a desired thickness to yield a composite lamellar overplate structure having layers with differing deposit characteristics, such as hard and soft layers, generated from the same bath at different current densities.

A multilayer engine bearing (,) includes a steel backing (,) having a liner (,) of bearing metal of either copper-lead or aluminum alloys formed on the backing (,) to define a base lining member (,) of the bearing (,). A multilayer overplate (,) is formed on the base lining member (,) and includes multiple lead-free soft layers (,) separated by lead-free hard layers (,). The relative thicknesses of the overplate layers may be controlled to provide a macro hardness gradient across the thickness of the overplate (,) such that, for example, the overplate (,) may be softer near its top region (,) as compared to its bottom region (,).

Sliding bearing having multilayer lead-free overplate and method of manufacture

A multilayer engine bearing (,) includes a steel backing (,) having a liner (,) of bearing metal of either copper-lead or aluminum alloys formed on the backing (,) and a thin layer (,) of either copper or nickel plated on the liner (,) to define a base lining member (,) of the bearing (,). A multilayer overplate (,) is formed on the base lining member (,) and includes an underlayer (,) of a lead-tin-copper alloy having a thickness of about 10 &mgr;m and an overlayer (,) of tin having a thickness of about 5 &mgr;m. The multilayer overplate (,) exhibits exceptional fatigue resistance under high dynamic loading conditions and retains good conformability and embedibility characteristics.

Multi-layer engine bearings and method of manufacture

A multilayer engine bearing (26) includes a steel backing (36) having a liner (38) of bearing metal of either copper-lead or aluminum alloys formed on the backing (36) and a thin layer (44) of either copper or nickel plated on the liner (38) to define a base lining member (40) of the bearing (26). A multilayer overplate (46) is formed on the base lining member (40) and includes an underlayer (48) of a lead-tin-copper alloy having a thickness of about 10 .mu.m and an overlayer (50) of tin having a thickness of about 5 .mu.m. The multilayer overplate (46) exhibits exceptional fatigue resistance under high dynamic loading conditions and retains good conformability and embedibility characteristics.

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Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

James Robert Toth