Zenith Sintered Products, Inc.

Gkn Sinter Metals Gmbh

Gkn Sinter Metals-germantown, Inc.

Terry M Cadle

Joel H Mandel

Carl J Landgraf

Timothy E Geiman

Lawrence E Eckstein

Donald J Phillips

Susan M Cadle, Legal Representative

Peter C Butler

Michael S Gray

Georgia M Mayer

Paul R Roskopf

A high performance main bearing cap has particular surfaces densified for improved fatigue crack resistance. The surfaces densified are the bolted face inside of a perimetral margin and outside of bolt head interface areas around the main bolt holes, the surfaces of the main bolt holes and the side bolt hole threads. Preferred methods of densification are single needle programmable pattern peening of the bolted face peened area, over-burnishing of the bolt holes, and forming the threads rather than cutting them for the side bolt threads.

Method of surface densification of a powder metal component

A main bearing cap (A&prime;) made of powder metal has a body portion (Y) made from one powder metal material (Q), and a bearing arch portion (H), foot joint face portions (S) and/or wings (W) made of a different powder metal material (P). The material (Q) of the body portion (Y) is harder than the material (P) of the other portions (H, S, W), and the material (P) of the other portions (H, S, W) is relatively machinable. For the bearing arch portion (H), the machinability of the material (P) approximately matches the machinability of the bearing support structure (B) to which the bearing cap (A&prime;) is assembled to produce a good quality bore and longer tool life during line boring. The bearing arch material (P) may be a bearing material.

Duplex powder metal bearing caps and method of making them

A powder metal main bearing cap has integral dowels at its adjoining face around bolt holes and tooth projections surrounding the dowels. The dowels are force fit into counterbores in the engine block and the teeth bite into the metal of the block around the bolt holes to inhibit fretting wear. Elongated bolt holes can be formed in the main bearing cap to accommodate a splayed joint, with the bolt head supporting face of the cap at an oblique angle to the hole. The bearing cap can be first pressed into the engine block so as to assure indentation by the teeth and insertion of the dowels, followed by bolting.

Side-bolt bearing caps

A sintered powder metal (P/M) component has an integrally formed tapered boss surrounding its bolt hole which extends into counterbores in a component to which it is assembled and produces plastic conformance between the boss and the counterbore when the boss is seated in the counterbore. The P/M component can then be removed from the other component and reassembled to it, with the boss fitting perfectly back into the bore with the plastically deformed surfaces fitting back together precisely to determine the relative positioning of the two components. The boss is tapered, a moat may surround it, and the boss may be provided with axial splines and/or be oblong in the axial direction. Bosses such as these may be applied to two components in general, at least one of which is powder metal, such as a main bearing cap, a sensor ring for measuring the timing of an internal combustion engine and a connecting rod bearing cap. Such bosses may also be applied to a casting insert in which the boss is crushed when the die is closed so as to seal off the surrounded hole during casting.

Precisely repositioning powder metal components

A sintered powder metal part is prepared for machining by injecting grease into the surface of the part to be machined to a depth at least equal to the depth of machining. The grease is injected under very high pressure using repressing tooling by applying a certain volume of grease between the surface to be machined and the mating tool surface and applying pressure sufficient to uniformly inject the grease into the surface. A rim may be formed in the part adjacent to the surface which acts as a seal during grease injection and is compressed into the part.

Machinability of powder metal components

A method for high density long fill compaction of metallic powders uses a precisely temperature controlled mold and a dry sprayed lubricant which has the characteristic of softening on contact with the mold and smearing on the mold wall during compaction, yet on ejection not causing powder adherence.

Dry die wall lubrication

Duplex sprocket/gear construction and method of making same

Precisely repositionable bearing cap

Surface densification of machine components made by powder metallurgy

Inner or outer cylindrical worked surfaces of powder metal components are bearingized by orbiting tapered rollers against them using a tapered mandrel having points for impacting the rollers against the worked surface.

Progressive densification of powder metallurgy circular surfaces

A bearing insert for being cast into an aluminum alloy engine block is made by a ferrous powder metal sintering process to make a skeleton structure which is permeable to the molten aluminum alloy in the block casting process. The insert is made of a material having a similar composition as the bearing cap so as to equalize machining and thermal expansion properties of the cap and block so as to provide improved roundness of the bearing in the machining operations for forming the bearing support and in operation of the engine.

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Wauwatosa, WI, United States of America

Terry M Cadle