ABSTRACT

The main objective of this study is to gain knowledge on advanced materials and processing technologies. There is always a trend to improve the existing material of a component in order to meet their adequate requirements for future. In this study, the material is selected for crankshaft using Cambridge Engineering Selector (CES) and their manufacturing route is discussed. Moreover, an alternate material process is also discussed.

1. INTRODUCTION
In the initial part of the study, the functions, in-service conditions and material characteristics of crankshaft were studied and the material for crankshaft was chosen using CES. Now, the influence of the selected material in the production route, the current manufacturing route which causes microstructural changes to the material and how it affects the material properties described. In addition, an advanced alternate material for crankshaft is chosen and its advantages, limitations and manufacturing route are also discussed.

BASICS OF MANUFACTURING Manufacturing is the process of transforming raw materials into finished products. Manufacturing process may be classified into three major stages Selecting the material Primary processing Secondary processing

Selecting the material

It is the first stage in the manufacturing process. It involves locating and extracting the material or choosing the existing material which are already been found.

Primary processing
It involves converting the material resources into industrial stock, for example: fusing silica sand with additives to obtain glass. The product of primary processing is readily available in the market as cast and it does not undergo any further stages of processing.

Secondary processing
In this the industrial materials are converted into products. This process is done in factories employing people and manufacturing machines. There are six secondary processes, they are Casting and molding Forming Separating Conditioning Assembling Finishing

MANUFACURING PROCESS
Manufacturing process is a series of actions in making a product by changing the shape, size or composition of materials. It involves designing, engineering, producing and service processing. In the material processing, it produces geometrical changes or changes in material properties or both. The examples of manufacturing processes are forging, rolling, powder compaction, casting, turning etc.

CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIALS
Engineering materials can be widely classified into three groups based on their relationships. The three groups are metallic materials, non-metallic materials and composite materials. Composite materials are formed from two or more materials forming a material with newer property. Metallic properties are further divided into

ferrous and non-ferrous materials and the non-metallic properties are sub-divided into polymers, ceramics and glasses.

MATERIALS

METALLIC MATERIALS

COMPOSITE MATERIALS

NON-METALLIC MATERIALS

NONFERROUS METALS

POLYMERS

FERROUS METALS

THERMOPLASTICS

THERMOSETTING PLASTICS

ELASTOMERS

CERAMICS

Diagram 1: Classification of materials

GLASSES

PRODUCTION ROUTE
Based on the result obtained from CES by using the basic material selection criteria, gray cast iron was chosen for its high compressive strength and thermal conductivity and for its low thermal expansion. The suitable manufacturing process for this material is casting.

Gray Cast Iron

Gray cast iron accounts to the highest tonnage among the cast irons. The major composition of gray cast iron is in the range of 2.5 % to 4% carbon and 1% to 3% silicon. The carbon content present makes the iron very fluid when its in a molten state allowing it to cast into intricate shapes. The chemistry leads to the formation of graphite flakes throughout the cast product. There are two advantages because of the presence of graphite flakes in the cast; they are (1) good vibration damping, which is a desirable quality for crankshafts (2) good internal lubrication, which is suitable during machining. The casting of gray cast iron has relatively few shrinkage cavities and low porosity. The various forms of gray cast iron are ferritic, pearlitic and martensitic. Gray cast iron basically have low ductility and moderate strength but high thermal conductivity. The elastic modulus of gray cast iron is lower than steel and nodular cast iron so its nonlinear, but they tend to increase with increase in graphite content. The microstructure of gray cast iron is desirable so that the material could be easily machined.

JUSTIFICATION OF CURRENT MANUFACTURING ROUTE

By using CES chart,the limits such as shape, physical attributes, process characteristics and economic attributes were assigned and the values were mapped with the relative cost index and the best shaping process for gray cast iron was found out. Green sand casting is chosen as the best process for the manufacturing of crankshafts.

Graph 1: Process selection of crankshaft using CES

CASTING
Casting is a process in which the molten metal flows into a mold which then solidifies in the shape of the mold cavity. It is one of the oldest shaping processes which are still followed for making parts of complex shapes like crankshafts. Casting process can be made to any metal which could be heated to the liquid state. Few casting methods are well suited to mass production. Casting includes both casting of ingots and casting of shapes. The term ingot describes that the casting undergoes subsequent reshaping by processes like rolling or forging.

And shape casting involves the production of more complex geometries which is likely to be as the final shape of the product. Sand casting is the widely used casting process. Sand casting is also called as sandmold casting. It is nothing but pouring the molten metal into a sand mold and allowing it to solidify and then breaking the sand mold to obtain the casting. The casting can be then checked to improve its metallurgical properties. As the mold is been broken to obtain the casting, a new sand mold has to be made for each part that is produced.

Core making (if needed)

Pattern making

Preparation of sand

Mold making

Melting (Raw material)

Pouring

Solidifica tion and cooling

Removal of sand mold

Cleaning and inspectio n

Finished casting

Diagram 2: Steps in the production sequence in sand casting

SAND MOLDS
Sand molds are classified as green-sand , dry-sand, or skin-dried molds. Green-sand molds Green-sand molds are a mixture of sand, clay and water. The word green refers to that the mold contains moisture content in it. Green-sand molds have required strength for most of the applications, good permeability, good collapsibility and good reusability. This is the least expensive one of all the other molds and it is the widely used one. But these sand molds have even few problems like the moisture in the sand can cause defects in some castings, depending on the metal and geometry of the part.

Dry-sand mold A dry-sand mold is made by using organic materials rather than clay, and this mold is baked in an oven at a high temperature. Baking the mold in oven strengthens the mold and hardens the cavity surface. Therefore it attains better dimensional control than green-sand mold. Dry-sand molding is more expensive. Skin-dried mold In a skin-dried mold ,the advantages of a dry-sand mold is slightly achieved by drying the surface of a green-sand mold to a depth of 10-25 mm at the mold cavity surface, using heating lamps or other means. Special bonding materials can be added to the mixture to strengthen the cavity surface.

MICROSTRUCTURE
Gray cast iron contains two microstructure constituents causing hard spots, which aggravate machinists. The two constituents are iron carbides and iron phosphides. The figure shows the typical microstructural arrangement of iron carbide and iron

phosphides. Iron carbide is commonly called as steadite. Its a constituent of the eutectic phases between iron and carbon. As it is eutectic they take a long time to solidify. And in case of iron phosphide, a eutectic phase is developed between iron and phosphorous. A tertiary iron-carbon-phosphorus eutectic is found in the microstructure when these two eutectics are combined. The tertiary eutectic formed has a still lower melting point when compared to the individual eutectics. As these eutectics take a longer time to solidify it is present in the form of liquid surrounded by solid in the microstructure of gray cast iron. And this could flow from thin sections to thick sections forming microscopic shrinkage voids in the thin sections. The microscopic shrinkage voids are similar to those of the carbide and steadite constituents.

Microstructure of gray cast iron The resistance to wear of gray cast irons depends on the microstructures, increasing the amount of graphite and ferrite reduces the resistance to wear.

Due to the effect of graphite flakes on crack initiation, the fatigue strength of gray cast iron is lower. The composite structure of gray cast irons and the bonding structure of graphite makes it as the one of the best damping metal. ALTERNATE MATERIAL As the demand increased by automotive industries, the need for alternate materials for the manufacturing of various parts of the system has widely increased nowadays. This led to the development of innovative combinations like composite materials. Composite materials are made up of two or more distinct phases having very good properties which are different from those of the constituent materials. The majority of these materials ate metal matrix composites (MMC) .In these metallic matrices are reinforced with high strength and modulus phases like oxides, nitrides and carbides. The usage of the matrix metal carbides has greater advantages like positive modifications in the strength and structure and improvement in physical properties of the material.Normally matrix metal composites are processed by stir casting and infiltration. In recent times, aluminium matrix composites are attaining higher importance because of its low cost and added advantages like their isotropic properties. It has high strength, specific modulus and good wear resistance than other composites. They are more specific for their isotropic mechanical properties. Depending on the chemical composition of the al-matrix it offers a wide variety of mechanical properties. Normally they are reinforced by Al2O3, SiC and C. TYPES OF ALUMINIUM MATRIX COMPOSITES Depending on the type of reinforcement, the aluminium matrix composites can be classified into four types

Particle-reinforced AMCs Short fibre-reinforced AMCs Continuous fibre-reinforced AMCs

Mono filament-reinforced AMCs

PARTICLE-REINFORCED AMCs These composites contain ceramic reinforcements. Ceramic reinforcements are basically oxides or carbides. These are used for structural and wear resistance applications. They are generally manufactured by solid state or liquid state processes. These are less expensive when compared to other processes and even the mechanical properties are lower than them.

SHORT FIBRE-REINFORCED AMCs Short fibre-reinforced AMCs is the first and the famous one to be developed and used in pistons. The mechanical properties are better than that of particle or short fibre reinforced composites. The characteristics are similar to that of continuous fibre and particle reinforced AMCs

CONTINUOUS FIBRE-REINFORCED AMCs In continuous fibre-reinforced AMCs the reinforcements are in the form of continuous fibres. The fibres can be parallel to the production of the composite. These composites are produced by pressure infiltration route.

MONO FILAMENT-REINFORCED AMCs

Mono filament-reinforced AMCs are usually of larger in diameter and are produced by chemical vapor deposition. Directionality is the important aspect of these composites. The reinforcement is done to strengthen the material by preventing matrix deformation. Now for the manufacturing of crankshaft we are choosing Al-SiC because of its high specific strength and stiffness, temperature resistance, low thermal expansion co-efficient, wear resistance and thermal conductivity. The material requirements for crankshaft are satisfied by this material.

ADVANTAGES OF ALUMINIUM MATRIX COMPOSITES The major advantages of aluminium matrix composites are

The aluminium matrix composites have greater strength comparatively. There is a tendency of the composite to provide improved stiffness. The weight of the composite is reduced. The temperature properties of the composites are higher. The thermal expansion coefficient is possible to be controlled. Enhanced thermal/heat management. Electrical performance of the composites. Wear resistance is high. The mass could be controlled during reciprocating applications. The damping abilities are high. The processability of the composite is better.

LIMITATIONS Even if there are a plenty of advantages in using aluminium matrix composites, as this is an innovative and distinct process it may have few limitations in the manufacture of crankshafts. They are The reuse of the composite materials is not possible. Due to the light weight of the aluminium matrix composites the density properties are quite low. The cost of the composite is high. The fabrication of aluminium matrix composite is tedious. As new technologies are involved in this process it is immature. The service experience of aluminium matrix composite crankshafts is limited.

MANUFACTURING OF CRANKSHAFT BY USING Al-SiC

By using CES chart , the properties of Al-SiC were taken as the limits and the desirable manufacturing process was chosen based on the relative cost index. Hot closed die forging is the best manufacturing process for making crankshafts.

Graph 2: Process selection of crankshaft by using CES for advanced material

FORGING Forging is a process in which the work is compressed between two dies using either impact or pressure to form the part. It is one of the oldest metal forming process. It is one of the most important processes to make high-strength components for automotive, aerospace and other applications. Forging is carried out in different ways. One way is to classify by its working temperature. Most of the forging operations are hot which leads in decreasing strength and increasing the ductility of the metal. On the other cold forging process increases the strength of the metal.

MANUFACTURING ROUTE FOR Al-SiC Al-SiC is manufactured by hot closed die forging. In hot closed die forging a heated blank is formed by means of a single compressive stroke by hammer or press using closed dies. There are two dies in-between the work piece, the upper and the lower die. Normally a succession of a dies is used to achieve the final or near final shape. Hot forging could be performed when the temperature is higher than the the recrystallization temperature. Hot forging leads to have components with good mechanical properties and structural integrity due to the grain refinement, reduction in porosity and break up of inclusions.

Hot closed die forging

The process results in highly oriented grain flow and anisotropic mechanical properties which can be aligned to give improved mechanical properties in the direction of principal service stresses. The process is capable of relatively tight tolerances. Closed die forgings may be intricate but are limited in size. There is a number of variants which can be distinguished mainly by how close-to-form the final product is. Variants include blocking, precision forging, close-to-form forging and precise form forging. CONCLUSION In this report the manufacturing route of the material that is chosen by using CES chart is justified and the process is explained. The microstructural changes in the material during the manufacturing process areanalyzed and the change in the material properties is indicated. Moreover an advanced material for the manufacturing of crankshaft is selected and their advantages and limitations are discussed. The manufacturing route of the advanced material is then justified by CES chart.

REFERECES Groover, Mikell P. 2007 Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing. 3rd Ed. United States of America: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Thompson, R. 2007 Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals. London: British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication data Kalapakjian, Schmid, S. 2006 Manufacturing Engineering and Technology. 5th Ed. Singapore: Pearson Education South Asia Pvt Ltd. MICHAEL F.ASHBY, 2011. Materials Selection in Mechanical Design. 4th Ed.

Oxford,UK: The Boulevard Journal of Minerals & Materials Characterization & Engineering. <http://www.imp.mtu.edu/jmmce/issue8-6/issue8-6P455-467.pdf> [18-oct-2011] [Online]