One of the direct and effective ways to save fuel is to reduce the weight of the car body, and the engine is the heaviest assembly in car parts. With this in mind, European researchers have now created a plastic camshaft module that not only significantly reduces the weight of the fuselage, but also has many advantages.
This prototype part was designed by the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology in Germany, the auto parts manufacturer MAHLE Group, Daimler Automotive, the Belgian plastics manufacturer SHPPP / Vyncolit and the French plastics company The Georges Pernoud Group.
This new module does not use common die-cast aluminum, but is made of fiber-reinforced thermosetting polymer. The finished camshaft module is indeed lighter than similar aluminum products. Considering that it is located on the top of the engine, this is a particularly important consideration because it reduces not only the total weight of the engine, but also the center of gravity of the engine.
In addition, it is said that plastic modules are better than aluminum products at absorbing noise and vibration, require less energy during manufacturing, have longer life of molds used in production, and require more finishing work after the casting process is completed less. More importantly, it can be produced in one piece, reducing assembly time.
It should be noted that the hardness of fiber-reinforced thermosetting polymers is only a quarter of that of aluminum, although the design of the camshaft module claims to compensate for this deficiency. According to reports, after 600 hours of bench testing, one of the prototypes "exhibited flawless function in the most advanced internal combustion engine."
The module claims to be able to withstand the high temperature and mechanical and chemical pressure of the engine well. However, the team also plans to conduct more tests to understand how the gas forces generated during combustion affect its noise reduction characteristics.