Product category:
Materials and components
News Release from: Bekaert Advanced Coatings
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 23 May 2006
Automotive valve coating proves popular
Bekaert Advanced Coating has just delivered the 500,000th automotive valve train component from its Bons-en-Chablais site.
Bekaert Advanced Coating has just delivered the 500,000th automotive valve train component from its Bons-en-Chablais site Beginning 2005 Bekaert entered the automotive sector with Dylyn Plus automotive coatings, offering the lowest friction coefficient available on the market
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 21 Jun 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Coating cuts valve train friction levels
Recently performed bench tests show that coating valve train components with the diamond like carbon coating Dylyn Plus can save up to 30% in valve train friction levels.
The formula for Dylyn Plus, a diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating, is drawn from Bekaert's bestselling DLC Cavidur coatings for racing engine applications.
Years of reliable performance have earned Cavidur a proven reputation in Formula 1, Nascar and rallying.
Dylyn Plus is optimised for the coating of various valve train parts, including camshafts, finger followers, tappets, and lifters.
Bekaert began coating valve train components for serial applications at its recently expanded site in Bons-en-Chablais, France.
The valve train enables the engine to "breathe", which, in an engine, means controlling the inlet of a mixture of air and fuel into the cylinder, and letting the exhaust gases out.
The better an engine breathes, the more efficient it becomes.
Coating with Dylyn Plus leads to the reduction of friction in the valve train system, adding wear resistance to the component, extending its life time and allowing the car manufacturer to produce engines with reduced fuel consumption and emissions.
"We are very pleased to have reached our 500,000th coated component and I am looking forward to coating millions more components at Bons-en-Chablais", remarked Michael De Maegt, General Manager DLC at Bekaert.
"I am particularly happy that our components have achieved a 0% complaints rate".
The coating usually takes place at one of Bekaert's sites like Bons-en-Chablais, with the option of placing a coating machine on location at the car manufacturers.
Where parts lack the necessary surface finish, Bekaert can perform the surface engineering prior to the coating process.
As part of the introduction of high-volume production in Bons-en-Chablais, Bekaert introduced a quality system, receiving full ISO 9001 certification in 2005.
From operation start-up until the present day, Bekaert has achieved a rate of 0ppm field complaints for its coated parts.
Plans are now under way to increase the coating capacity at Bons-en-Chablais in order to reinforce this centre as one of the major automotive sites of the Bekaert DLC division.
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