861429 Development of the Camshaft with Surface Remelted Chilled Layer ABSTRACT A camshaft for an automobile engine is generally made of chilled cast iron. But, because of increased demand for higher performance engines, a camshaft with many cam-faces has been expected. The cam intervals were necessarily narrow, So it was difficult to manufacture the conventional chilled cast iron camshaft at a moderate price. In the case of a rocker-arm type valve nechanism, higher vear resistance was necessary: After due consideration to solve these problems, development of surface remelted chilled layer camshafts by Toyota's unique manufacturing method has been accomplished. In 1984 Toyota Motor Corporation started the mass-production of this camshaft, first for the new 1.0 liter 1E engine, and then for the 1.3 liter 2E engine: In this paper, the excellent wear resistance, the low manufacturing cost and the characteristic manufacturing method are described. ‘The E-series engine camshaft, used im the new FF STARLET, is the first camshaft of its kind in Japan. It is manufactured by a “remelting treatnent", that is, rapidly remelting the surface of a cast iron chamshaft with a high-density energy source such as the TIC are. The remeited surface portion is solidified rapidly by self- cooling and forms « hardened Layer with fine chill structure which possesses higher wear resistance. So, it is very apparent that the development of these cngines depends on 519 Hideo Nonoyama, Akiyoshi Mor Toshiharu Fukuizumi, and Takeshi Nakakobara ‘Toyots Motor Corp the development of this camshaft. 1, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT The newly developed E-series engines are not anly compact and light- weight, but they also satisfy the requirements for high performance and lox-fuel consumption in a unique manner, The distinctive features of these engines are the incorporation of a new type of valve mechanism, and the use of three valves per cylinder. This yields superior engine performance throughout all speed ranges, fron low to high, At the beginning of this engine development, a three-valve arrangement (employing & large main intake valve, a smaller auxiliary intake valve, and & Single exhaust valve) were introduced to achieve high performance and low fuel consumption, based on improvement of the intake and exhaust efficiency. Also, an end-pivetted type rocker-aTm_ vas introduced ta achieve lower friction of valve mechanism and lighter weight. Big] shows the cross=section view of the E-series engine, a straight four- cylinder type engine with a single overhead camshaft. Fig.2 shows the valve system structure. Tho rockor-arm is composed of high chromium cast iron which was made by using the investment casting method. Fig.3 shows the appearance of this engine camshaft. In order to achieve the above-nentioned features, the intervals of each cam were necessarily narrow. They were merely 3.0 mm.Fig.2 Valve System Fig.3 Appearance of Camshaft‘The manufacturing of this camshaft by the con ventional chilled casting process using a sand-molding method made it extremely difficult to nold the limited mold wall of 5.0 mm. Using another casting process, Such as the shell-molding method to make a single complete mold, the manufacturing cost wauld be too high. On the other hand, in the case of a high frequency induction hardening process, it was empirically clear that the hardened layer made of martensite lacked sufficient scuffing resistance required for a rocker-arm type valve system. And, since the cast iron material for’high frequency induction hardening method is composed of free cementite in the matrix, it has low nachinability. So, the practical application of the surface remelted chilled layer camshaff that we had investigated was strongly needed. After due consider- ation to solve many problens for practical application, Toyota suc- cessfully started mass-production of this camshaft in 1984. a) formation of chilled layer 100.0m Hv700 (b) microstructure of chilled layer Conventional chilled casting Remelting treatment Fig.4 Comparison of Chilled Layer e129 2. CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE SURFACE RENELTED CHILLED LAYER CAMSHAFT Fig.4 points out the characteristic features of this camshaft compared to the conventional chilled cast iron sanshaft. The upper photo. shows a cross-section view of a cam-piece and the lower photo shows the microstructure of the chill layer at the cam-nose portion. Obviously, the chill structure of the surface remelted chilled layer is extremely fine, The surface remelted chilled layer camshaft is manufactured by the so called "remelting treatment”. Fig.3 demonstrates the "remelting treatment" used for the cam-face. The surface of the cast iron camshaft is remelted rapidly by means of the TIG arc. The ted surface then solidifies ly, because of the heavy self- cooling, and forms a hardened layer exhibiting a fine chill structure. Self-cooling allows for significantly higher degree of cooling than the conventional chiller used for casting. Therefore, the chill structure becones finer and’ the hardness increases. -TIG toreh Fig. Remelting TreatmentFig.6 Cross-Section View of Cam-nose Portion (b) martensite hardened portion c) matrix +7 Microstructure of Can-nose Portion (1) Structure of the Surface Hardened Layer Fig. shows a cross-section view of a cam-nose portion, The double layer consisting of the chilled layer and the heat-affected layer is formed in the cam surface area. The upper, or chilled layer is the portion which has been remelted by TIG arc The width of the chilled portion forned at the can-face is more than the width of the contacted rocker-arn. The lover, or heat affected layer is nade mostly of'nartensite. The martensite hardened layer covers the entire cam width in the area of the cam-nose. The outstanding feature of Toyota's surface remelted chilled layer camshaft is that the martensite hardened Layer is formed without preheating the cast iron camshaft, Consequently, the manu- facturing cost was lowered. Fig.7 shows the microstructures in a cam-nose cross-section. Fig.8 shows the relation between the depth under the remelted surface, and hardness at the point of the cam: g g g Herdness Hy (load 500g) (mm) ‘the Depth under the renelted surface Fig.8 The Relation between the Depth under the Remelted Surface, and Hardness(2) Machining of Camshaft Fig.9 shows the camshafts, before and after the remelting treat; First, the con-face is removed, by machinifg, toa depth of approxi~ mately 1.5 mm, The rough-nachined cam-face is cleaned, and then the surface remelting treatment is per- formed, Finally, the hardened layer formed’ on the cam-face is machined to a depth of approximately 0.5 nm, so as te remove the aforementioned bead and te provide a smooth cam surface, LU rough-machining Ras remelting treatment TERRES Secs final-polishing Fig. 9 Appearance of Camshaft, before and after Remelting Treatment 3. EVALUATION OF WEAR RESISTANCE The wear resistance of the surface renelted chilled layer camshaft was evaluated using Toyota's wear re- sistance evaluation test, To evaluate wear and scuffing resistance, the camshafts were tested for 200 hours running with 1000 rpm engine speed, which was as severe a condition as’ the endurance test of the cam-face. On the other hand, to evaluate pitting re- sistance, they were tested for 500 hours running with 2000 rpm engine speed, using a valve spring with a 50% higher load than the design speci~ fications. In these evaluation tests, a low viscosity engine oil was used to eu avoid the formation of any oi] fim. No surface treatments were perforned on either the camshaft or the Tocker- arn. Fig.10 shows the result of the scuffing resistance evaluation test. The scuffing resistance of the E-type engine is better than that of engines installed with a chilled cast iron camshaft, It is supposed that the fine chill structure has excellent wear reisitance, better than twice that of chilled’cast iron. For reference, Fig.11 shows the result of pitting resistance evalu- ation test. The pitting evaluation yalue is equal to other chilled cast iran camshafts, But, the dimensions of the pitting are significantly smaller than those of conventional chilled cast iron. ‘The forms of the pitting are very fine and the maximum depth is sbout 0.015 mn, In the case of the chilled cast fron, the maximum depth at the same pitting degree is about ten times as deep as the remelted chill. Tom | Beoee ol ecuing | Wear A re (ons oot Tig felt ae oo | Notes; Wear A is an index number which assumes average wear of the Weengine type is 1008 Fig.10 Result of Scuffing Resistance Evaluation Test egne | _Destee of pling Wear type |B Good Gam ee ree wep wt —| & w | Fig.11 Result of Pitting Resistance Evaluation Test4. LOW MANUFACTURING COST One of the reasons that Toyota started the mass-production of this camshaft was the low manufacturing cost, The main factor of the low manufacturing cost cones from improvement of the casting process. The chart in Fig.12 shows the nanufacturing process of the con ventional chilled east iron canshaft, In the manufacturing of the surface remelted chilled layer camshaft, the bold flames of the conventional chiller are mot required. Fig.13 shows the factors and the substances for low manufacturing cost. ‘The machining cost becomes inversely high in order to add the Tough-machining process to the cam- face and the remelting treatmen: process by TIG arc. But, all things considered, the manufacturing cost of this camshaft becones lower by at least 104 than that of the conventional chilled cast iron camshaft. Fig.12 Casting Process Chart for Conventional Chilled Cast Iron Camshaft eer Conealoel Temeltad chin lehitier _ needed [Personnel of chiter—| "5g man [selling and screening |Camshalts per mold) 5 a a ict rote aaa | somes tetany lof trimming 100% 30 ae OF rabecrticn 100% a0 Pig,13 Low-Cost Manufacturing Substances 5. TOYOTA'S UNIQUE MANUFACTURING METHOD What makes Toyota's method of manufacturing this camshaft unique is a renelting treatment without preheating. Previously, when the surface of a gray cast iron camshaft without Dreheating was remelted by high-density energy source such as TIG arc, there had been a problen that blowholes generated by the process lowered its quality. After due consideration of this problem, Toyota developed a new cast iron naterial which effectively depressed blowhole generation. Fig.14 shows Blowholes in the remelted chilled layer, Fig.15 shows a schematic view of the practical manufacturing Line. There are na preheating stations o¥ maintenance stations at constant temperature, Toyota's manufacturing process has only several cooling stations, The temperature of the camshaft is lowered to about room temperature by mean of the cooling system. Accordingly, the manufacturing process is simplified, and its initial and running costs are’ reduced Fig.l6 shovs a View of the actual manufacturing line. Fig,14 Blowholes in Renelted Chilled Layer‘Control box ‘Atler cooling station Fig.15 Schematic View of Practical Manufacturing Line Fig.16 View of Actual Manufactruing Line 6. CONCLUSIONS In order to develop a canshaft with higher performance and lower manu- facturing cost, we have investigated the manufacturing method of a canshaft With a surface remelted chilled layer. AS a Tesult, Toyota's unique manu- facturing method for the camshaft has been developed. The first practical application of the camshaft for E-series engines was quite successful, and the camshaft is being mass-produced today, The significant advantages are as follows; (1) Excellent wear resistance (at least 50% of the wear conpared with conventional chilled cast iven camshaft) (2) Reduced manufacturing cost (at least 10% less compared with chilled cast iron camshaft)