CERATIZIT Cermet pistons have what it takes: 30 strokes per second under high pressure
Why automotive subcontractor Schumag buys products from carbide specialist CERATIZIT
download original picture | picture with 300pxQuality control of ground valve pistons.
download original picture | picture with 300pxAutomotive specialist Schumag produces precision valve pistons made from CERATIZIT Cermet pistons.
download original picture | picture with 300pxValve pistons must be precision-ground so that they are able to apportion fuel injection exactly.
download original picture | picture with 300pxJohannes Cappel, sales manager for precision parts at Schumag: “CERATIZIT is a specialist in the field of hard material and has a unique sales proposition: CERATIZIT is capable of processing orders of very high volumes. We are talking about ten million parts per year, for example.” Pictures: CERATIZIT
CERATIZIT S. A., Mamer, Luxemburg (headquarters), January 2010
For the production of valve pistons used in common rail diesel engines which open the inlet metering valve of the injector, automotive specialist Schumag relies on CERATIZIT. Carbide specialist CERATIZIT supplies pistons as Cermet blanks which are finish-ground at Schumag. The small Cermet parts of excellent quality come from the CERATIZIT competence centre for hard materials in Luxembourg. These pistons are mounted throughout the world in piezo-controlled common rail engines.
Schumag (Aachen, Germany) manufactures precision parts which are mainly delivered to the automotive industry. The product range in the automotive sector includes pistons, shafts, bolts and pins for the engine management, automatic transmissions, diesel injection pumps and common rail injectors. In this field Schumag is the supplier of well-known companies like Bosch, Continental VDO, Caterpillar, Delphi Diesel Systems and Cummins Scania.
Interview with Johannes Cappel, sales manager for precision parts at Schumag
Why are valve pistons in Cermet now preferred to HSS?
Cappel: The boundary conditions are specified by the automotive industry. The engines have to work flawlessly under the hardest conditions (in case of a cold start at 40 degrees centigrade below zero up to a fast run on the motorway at a temperature of 190 degrees centigrade) and the injection pressure is continuously increasing. At the same time engines should become ever cleaner and fuel efficient, thus becoming more environment-friendly - for this purpose the stroke precision during fuel injection has to be improved. The stroke precision of the valve depends highly on the thermal expansion coefficient of the material, for HSS the length increase amounted to almost 20 µm. Thanks to the application of CERATIZIT piston valves this change in length could be reduced to around 5 µm while ensuring high hardness combined with extremely good wear resistance and good geometric accuracy.
What does that have to do with the environment?
Cappel: The more precisely a valve piston works, the more exact is the fuel injection. The more precise the injection mechanism, the exacter the fuel can be apportioned. In this way it is possible to increase performance while decreasing the quantity of fuel consumed.
How do valve pistons work?
Cappel: Currently common rail engines work with an injection pressure of around 2,000 bar, in the case of trucks even between 2,000 and 2,500 bar – with an upward trend. The injector works in the millisecond range, so the CERATIZIT piston has to operate around 30 times per second at 3,600 revolutions per minute.
How did the partnership with CERATIZIT start?
Cappel: One of our strengths is precision grinding of small parts. CERATIZIT got in touch with us concerning a grinding order, and that was our first contact. When the automotive industry decided that pistons should no longer be made from HSS but from Cermet, we referred to CERATIZIT as we were aware that CERATIZIT is a specialist in the field of such materials and parts.
How would you describe the relationship with CERATIZIT?
Cappel: CERATIZIT is a reliable partner who supplies the requested quality and guarantees on-time delivery. The unique sales proposition: CERATIZIT is capable of processing orders of very high volumes. We are talking about ten million parts per year, for example. All in all, we couldn't wish for a better partner than CERATIZIT.
Info box Schumag AG
Foundation: 1830 – as a needle manufacturer
Number of employees: around 600
Sales: over 60 million euros in 2008
Product range: 700 different precision parts are in permanent production, some of them are also in stock (according to customer agreement)
Well-known customers: Caterpillar, Bosch, Continental VDO, Cummins Scania, Delphi Diesel Systems, Rolls-Royce Germany (BMW)
Schumag on the Internet: www.schumag.de
The carbide specialist CERATIZIT is synonymous with “hard material matters”
CERATIZIT S. A. – is a pioneer and global player in sophisticated hard material solutions. The company operates from Mamer, Luxembourg. CERATIZIT is the world market leader in unique and consistently innovative hard material products for wear protection and cutting tools and is present in more than 50 countries worldwide. CERATIZIT provides hard material solutions to customers in selected industrial sectors including the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, oil industry, medical systems, electronics as well as mould and die making. With more than 400 active patents, a sales volume of 600 mill. EUR and over 4000 employees, CERATIZIT is your strong partner worldwide.
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