GB2145945A

GB2145945A - The manufacture of pistons

Info

Publication number: GB2145945A
Application number: GB08421569A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Gowen Collyear; David Alec Parker; Michael Ledsham Price Rhodes
Original assignee: AE PLC
Current assignee: AE PLC
Priority date: 1983-09-06
Filing date: 1984-08-24
Publication date: 1985-04-11
Also published as: JPH01152046U; BR8404457A; US4752995A; GB2145945B; AU3277284A; ZA846992B; IT8422551A0; JPS60156957A; KR890003454B1; FR2551375B1; GB8323843D0; DE3432369C2; FR2551375A1; HK47588A; MX160866A; AU568678B2; GB8421569D0; CA1247474A; KR850002058A; JPH0216046Y2

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a piston 10 having a skirt 11 on which are formed a plurality of bearing surfaces 12, 13, each bearing surface being spaced outwardly of the skirt to a required radial dimension and extending around the skirt with a required circumferential dimension. First a plurality of projections are formed on a skirt of the piston with each projection being at an axial position in which a bearing surface or surfaces are to be located. The radial and/or circumferential dimension of the projection exceeds the required corresponding dimension or dimensions of the bearing surfaces. The projections are then machined to form bearing surfaces of the required dimensions. A second form of piston (Fig. 6) is formed with cylindrical portions 35a, 35b which are alternately offset to one side or the other of the piston axis to form, on each side of the piston, alternate projecting bearing surfaces 37, and recessed skirt portions 38. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION The manufacture of pistons The invention relates to the manufacture of pistons having a skirt on which are formed a plurality of bearing surfaces for transmitting lateral thrust from the piston to an associated cylinder or liner, each bearing surface being at a predetermined axial position on the skirt, being spaced outwardly of the skirt to a required radial dimension and extending around the skirt with a required circumferential dimension, hereinafter called "a piston of the kind referred to".

It has recently been discovered that improved lubrication and reduced friction between the piston and an associated cylinder or liner can be achieved by replacing the conventional generally cylindrical skirt with such individual bearing surfaces. The bearing surfaces are provided on both the thrust side and the counter-thrust side of the piston, which lie on opposite sides of the plane including the piston axis and the axis of a gudgeon pin bore of the piston. Two or more bearing surfaces are provided on each side and can be arranged in various configurations to give optimum performance. The bearing surfaces extend radially outwardly of the surrounding skirt portion by, in general, as little as 25 microns and are connected to the surrounding skirt by sloping ramps.In addition, the circumferential extent of each bearing surface is, in general, 15 or 20".

It will be appreciated that the small distance by which the bearing surfaces are spaced outwardly of the surrounding skirt and the limited circumferential extent of the bearing surfaces make the manufacture of such a piston more difficult than the manufacture of conventional pistons, which can be made by a conventional turning operation using conventional machine tools. In general, such machine tools do not, however, have sufficient flexibility to machine pistons of the kind referred to above at commercial rates of production.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a piston of the kind referred to, comprising forming the skirt with a plurality of projections, each projection being at an axial position at which a bearing surface or surfaces are to be located but having a radial and/or axial dimension which exceeds the required corresponding dimension or dimensions of the bearing surface or surfaces, and then machining the projections to form bearing surfaces of the required dimensions.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a piston of the kind referred to comprising machining a piston blank alternately about one or other of two axes which are parallel to the piston axis but which are spaced on opposite sides of the piston axis, to form a succession of radially staggered generally cylindrical portions each of which, relative to the adjacent portions, projects to one side of the piston and is recessed to the other side of the piston, the projections forming the bearing surfaces and the recesses forming the skirt.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a piston for an internal combustion engine of the kind referred to formed below the ring band with two sets of generally cylindrical portions with one set of said cylindrical portions having a common axis parallel to but spaced from the piston axis and a second set of said cylindrical portions alternating with said one set and having a common axis parallel to but spaced from the piston axis on the opposite side of the piston axis from the axis of said one set, the two sets forming a succession of radially staggered generally cylindrical portions each of which, relative to the adjacent portions projects to one side of the piston and is recessed to the other side of the piston, the projections forming bearing surfaces for the transmission of lateral thrust from the piston to an associated cylinder or liner, and the recesses forming a skirt.

The following is a more detailed description of some embodiments of the invention, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa side elevation of a piston for an internal combustion engine showing three bearing surfaces, Figure 2 is a schematic cross-section of part of a piston of the kind shown in Figure 1 during manufacture and showing projections on the piston and their subsequent machining, Figure 3 is a schematic element and cross-section of a piston of the kind shown in Figures 1 and 2, machined to provide the bearing surfaces of partelliptical shape, Figure 4 is a schematic elevation and crosssection through a piston of the general type shown in Figure 1, during manufacture, and showing the machining of axially staggered projections on opposite sides of the piston, Figure 5 is a side elevation of a further piston of the general type shown in Figure 1, during manufacture, and showing three projections extending around the piston prior to their machining, and Figure 6 is an elevation and section of an alternative form of piston operating on the same principie as the piston of Figure 1.

Referring first to Figure 1, the piston 10 shown therein is an example of a piston having a skirt 11 on which are formed a plurality of bearing surfaces in the form oftwo upper bearing surfaces 12 and a lower bearing surface 13. Each bearing surface 12, 13 is spaced outwardly of the surrounding skirt 11 by, for example, 25 microns with axially and circumferentially extending ramps 14, 15 connecting the bearing surfaces 12, to the surrounding skirt 11. The ramp angle may be no more than 2". The upper bearing surfaces 12 are axially aligned and are disposed symmetrically on opposite sides of a plane including the piston axis 16 and normal to the axis 17 of a gudgeon pin bore 18 of the piston.The circumferential extent of each upper bearing surface is approximately 15".

The lower bearing surface 13 is disposed about this plane and has a circumferential extent of approximately 30".

Similar bearing surfaces are also provided on the portion of the skirt 11 of the piston 10 to the opposite side of a plane including the piston axis 16 and the gudgeon pin bore axis 17. The arrangement of these bearing surfaces may be the same as on the side shown in Figure 1 or may be different. It may be advisable to have a different arrangement on the opposite side because of the different lateral forces generated on the piston during the compression and expansion strokes of the piston.For this reason, the area or number of bearing surfaces on the thrust side of the piston (i.e. the side which bears against the associated cylinder or liner during the expansion stroke) may be greater than the number or area of the bearing surfaces on the counter-thrust side of the piston (i.e. the side of the piston which bears against the associated cylinder or liner during the compression stroke).

In use, during reciprocation of the piston 10 in an associated cylinder or liner, an oil film left on the associated cylinder or liner by piston rings (not shown ) is forced up and over the bearing surfaces as a result of the hydrodynamic wedge action between the ramps 15 and the cylinder or linen This ensures that there is constant hydrodynamic lubrication over the bearing surfaces in circumstances where otherwise, due to the reduced thrust transmitting area provided by the bearing surfaces, in comparison with a conventional skirt, mixed or boundary lubrication might occur with consequent disadvantageous effects. The hydrodynamic lubrication over the reduced areas of the bearing surfaces ensures that the hydrodynamic friction is minimised, so reducing piston friction.

The following description relates to methods of manufacturing bearing surfaces of the general kind described above with reference to Figure 1 although it will be appreciated that the methods to be described may be used for producing any required configuration of such bearing surfaces.

Referring first to Figure 2, a piston blank 19 is prepared which has a number of projections 20 on its surface. These may be produced by a casting process, such as a squeeze casting process or may be produced by machining from a cylindrical casting. Each projection has an outer surface 21 whose radial dimension R1is greater than the required radial dimension of the bearing surface which it is to form. The circumferential dimension of each projection, as represented by the angles 81, is equal to the required circumferential dimension of the associated bearing surface.

The thus formed piston is then mounted on a machine tool where the radial dimension of the projections 20 is reduced by cutting along the lines 22 in Figure 2 to the required radial dimension R2 of the bearing surfaces, so forming the bearing surfaces.

The machining may be by use of a machine tool or by use of a milling or grinding machine. The tool may be rotated about an axis co-axial with the axis 16 of the piston. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 3, the tool 30 may be rotated about an axis inclined at an angle to the piston axis 16. This produces, as shown in the cross-section of Figure 3, bearing surfaces 12, 13 whose surfaces are part-elliptical. By varying the relative inclination of the axes, the degree of ellipticallity can bevaried.

Referring next to Figure 4, the machining step can be simplified if the projections 20' on one side of the piston are axially staggered relative to the projections 20" on the other side of the piston. This allows the projections 20' on one side of the piston to be machined by movement of a tool in a circular path about an axis 23 which is offset from the piston axis 16 and which has a required radius R2,. The other projections 20" are machined by a tool moving in a circular path about an axis 24 which is offset from the piston axis by the same amount as the axis 23, which is diametrically opposite the axis 23, relative to the piston axis 16 and which has a required radius R2". As shown in Figure 4, the tool 30 is stepped between these axes during machining in order to machine each side alternately.In this way, both sides of the piston are machined in a single pass by a simple circular machining operation.

It need not be the radial dimension of the projections which is varied relative to that required in the finished bearing surfaces in order to ease production. Additionally or alternatively, the circumferential dimension of the projections could be so varied, and an example of this is shown in Figure 5.

Referring to Figure 5, a piston is formed with three axially spaced circumferentially extending projections 25. The surfaces of the projections have a radial dimension which, in the zones where bearing surfaces are to be formed, have the same radial dimension as the required radial dimension of those surfaces.

This initial configuration may be produced in any one of a number of ways. For example, a piston blank could be machined to have a required surface profile and then have two circumferential grooves 26 formed therein in order to define the projections 25. The grooves may be formed by cutting, milling or grinding. Alternatively, the projections 25 could be cast on to the piston and then the surfaces of the projections machined to a required radial dimension. The casting process may be a squeeze casting process.

The next stage in the method is to machine away the portions 27 in order to produce seven bearing surfaces 28 having the required circumferential dimension. This machining may be by use of a milling cutter or may be by grinding.

It will be appreciated that in all the embodiments described above the use of a two-stage piston forming method allows the complex shapes of the bearing surfaces to be produced using non-complex machining methods and non-complex machines such as numerical controlled machine tools or rotating cats-head machines. Although at least two operations are required, they can be performed at commercial speeds and thus can be used to produce such pistons at commercial production rates.

It will be also be appreciated that the pistons of any of the embodiments described above may have any required shape. They may be oval or elliptical in cross-section and/or of varying cross-section along their axis. They may be barrelled. In addition, the bearing surfaces themselves, can have any required shape, they need not be part-cylindrical, they could be part elliptical or oval and may be curved in planes including the piston axis. All of these required shapes can be produced by suitable arrangement of the piston forming methods described above with reference to the drawings.

Referring next to Figure 6, the alternative form of piston comprises a crown and surrounding ring band (not shown). Below the ring band, the piston is formed with two sets of generally cylindrical portions 35a, 35b. One set of portions 35a has a common axis 36a parallel to but spaced from the piston axis 16. The second set of such portions 35b also have a common axis 36b parallel to but spaced from the piston axis 16 but on the opposite side of the piston axis 16 to the first axis 36a. In this way, there are formed a succession of radially staggered generally cylindrical portions 35a, 35b each of which, relative to the adjacent portions projects to one side of the piston and is recessed to the other side of the piston. The projections form bearing surfaces 37 and the recessed form a skirt 38.

It will be appreciated that the offsets are exaggerated in Figure 6 for the sake of clarity. In practice, the offsets may be of the order of only a few microns, for example 25 microns or up to 125 microns.

The piston of Figure 6 is manufactured as follows.

A generally cylindrical piston blank is machined alternately about one or other of two axes 36a, 36b which are parallel to the piston axis 16 but which are spaced on opposite sides of the piston axis 16. The tool 30 travels in a circular path and is stepped from one axis to the other after predetermined amounts of axial travel.

Claims

1.A A method of manufacturing a piston of the kind referred to, comprising forming the skirt with a plurality of projections, each projection being at an axial position at which a bearing surface or surfaces are to be located but having a radial and/or axial dimension which exceeds the required corresponding dimension or dimensions of the bearing surface or surfaces, and then machining the projections to form bearing surfaces of the required dimensions.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the projections have the same circumferential dimensions as the bearing surfaces which said projections are to form but have a radial dimension which exceeds that of the corresponding bearing surfaces, the projections then being machined to the required radial dimension to form said bearing surfaces.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the machining step comprises rotation of a tool around a piston in a circular path whose axis is parallel to but spaced from the piston axis and which cuts the projections to the required radial dimension.

4. A method according to claim 3 and in which the piston is to have bearing surfaces on opposed thrust and counter-thrust sides of the skirt lying on opposite sides of the plane including the piston axis and the axis of the gudgeon pin bore of the piston, the method comprising forming the projections of one of said surfaces in axially staggered relationship to the projections on the other of said surfaces, then rotating a tool in a first circular path to machine the projections of one side, the projections of the other side are not machined, and then rotating the tool in a second circular path to machine the projections of said other side, the projections of said one side not being machined.

5. A method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the projections are formed by a casting process, preferably a squeeze casting process.

6. A method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the projections are formed by an initial machining step.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the projections have the same radial dimension as the bearing surfaces which the projections are to form and have a circumferential dimension which exceeds that of the corresponding bearing surfaces, the projections being machined to the required circumferential dimension to form said bearing surfaces.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein each projection is formed to extend circumferentially around the whole piston, the machining step comprising the removal of circumferential lengths of each projection to form therefrom at least one bearing surface.

9. A method according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the projections are formed by machining circumferential recesses around a piston having a skirt portion with a surface at the required radial dimensions of the bearing surfaces.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the machining is by cutting, milling or grinding.

11. A method according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the projections are formed by a casting process, preferably by a squeeze casting process.

12. A method of manufacturing a piston of the kind referred to, comprising machining a piston blank alternately about one or other of two axes which are parallel to the piston axis but which are spaced on opposite sides of the piston axis, to form a succession of radially staggered generally cylindrical portions each of which, relative to the adjacent portions, projects to one side of the piston and is recessed to the other side of the piston, the projections forming the bearing surfaces and the recesses forming the skirt.

13. A method of manufacturing a piston of the kind referred to, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 or to Figure 3 or to Figure 4 or to Figure 5 or to Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.

14. A piston when made by the method of any of claims 1 to 13.

15. A piston for an internal combustion engine of the kind referred to, formed below the ring band with two sets of generally cylindrical portions, one set of said cylindrical portions having a common axis parallel to but spaced from the piston axis and a second set of said cylindrical portions alternating with said one set and having a common axis parallel to but spaced from the piston axis on the opposite side of the piston axis from the axis of said one set, the two sets forming a succession of radially staggered generally cylindrical portions each of which, relative to the adjacent portions projects to one side of the piston and is recessed to the other side of the piston, the projections forming bearing surfaces for the transmission of lateral thrust from the piston to an associated cylinder or liner and the recesses forming a skirt.

16. A piston for an internal combustion engine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.