Process for coating automotive engine cylinders
AssigneeFord Motor Company
InventorsRobert C. McCune, Jr., Michael R. Kim, Ronald W. Smith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for coating the internal cylinder bores of a cast aluminum engine block comprising the steps of casting an engine block of aluminum alloy, thermally spraying a wear-resistant coating onto cylinder walls in the engine block by melting the tip of a rotating iron-based alloy rod with a plasma torch within cylinders in the engine block, and honing the cylinder walls to a chosen size.
Claims15
A method for applying a wear-resistant coating to the inner wall of a cylinder, the method comprising the steps of:
- positioning a transferred arc torch within said cylinder;
- introducing an argon oxygen gas mixture at the rate of approximately 28 liters per minute argon gas and 14 liters per minute oxygen gas for production of a plasma gas;
- striking a plasma arc between said torch and a consumable feedstock rod, such that the arc end of said rod melts;
- rotating said rod to eject molten droplets from said arc end of said rod to said cylinder inner diameter;
- and
- translating said rod and said torch generally along the central axis of said cylinder such that said droplets impact the wall of said cylinder in a molten state to form an evenly distributed coating on said cylinder.
A method for making an aluminum alloy automotive engine block comprising the steps of casting an engine block of aluminum alloy, thermally spraying a wear-resistant coating onto cylinder walls in said engine block by melting the tip of an iron-based alloy rod rotating between approximately 14,000 rpm and 18,000 rpm with a plasma torch within cylinders in said engine block, and boring and honing said cylinder walls to a chosen size and surface finish.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.