Cylinder Crankcase Cooling Core Alignment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for producing cylinder crankcases with close cylinder arrangements face challenges in ensuring optimal alignment and efficient cooling of web areas between cylinders, leading to potential thermal overstressing and errors in cooling water supply.

Innovation Solution

A device with a web core placed in the casting mold, aligned with the water jacket core, allows for a connection between cooling channels, enabling separate or combined cooling circuits and eliminating position tolerance issues, with the web core being fastened in a form-fitting manner to ensure precise alignment and efficient cooling.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Temperature

If additional bores are introduced into the web area to connect opposing cooling channels, then cooling efficiency is improved, but manufacturing complexity and post-processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecooling efficiencyVSAvoidmanufacturing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
TemperatureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The cooling system is segmented into water jacket cores forming longitudinal cooling channels and separate web cores forming transverse cooling channels. These segmented core components are independently manufactured and then assembled within the mold, allowing each to be optimized separately while simplifying the overall manufacturing process by avoiding complex post-processing operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Temperature

If cores are used to form web cooling channels, then cooling coverage is improved, but alignment precision and positional accuracy deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecooling coverageVSAvoidalignment precision
Core Design Contradiction:
TemperatureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The web core is merged with the water jacket core through form-fitting connections and positive locking mechanisms during mold assembly. This merging ensures precise alignment between the transverse web cooling channels and longitudinal water jacket channels, eliminating accumulation of positional tolerances while maintaining adequate clearance for cooling water flow.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The water jacket core acts as an intermediary element that receives and positions the web core through form-fitting connections. This intermediary relationship ensures accurate positioning of the web cooling channels relative to the cylinder banks while allowing independent manufacturing of each core component.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If separate cooling circuits are used for web cooling and cylinder cooling, then cooling flexibility is improved, but system complexity and connection requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecooling flexibilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The cooling system is designed with universal inlet and outlet connections that can serve both the web cooling circuit and the cylinder cooling circuit. This multi-functionality allows the same connection points to supply cooling water to both separate circuits, reducing the number of additional connections required while maintaining the flexibility of separate cooling paths.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP2636468B1Device for manufacturing a cylinder crankcase
Publication Date: 2021.06.23 KS HUAYU ALUTECH GMBH
  • EP2636468B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2

AI summary

Apparatus comprises a casting mold (12) having a multiple of molded parts (14, 15, 16), at least one water jacket core (22) arranged on two longitudinal sides (24) of at least one mold part (20) forming a row of cylinders, and at least one web core, which is inserted into the casting mold and aligned with the casting mold, where the web core is arranged between the individual cylinders of the mold part forming the row of cylinders.