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India Pistons Limited
India Pistons Limited (IPL) is the oldest and one of the largest producers of
Pistons, Piston Rings, Gudgeon Pins & Cylinder Liners and allied components in
India.
Anticipating the auto-component revolution in India, IPL was formed by the
late Visionary Mr. S. Anantharamakrishnan way back in July 1949. IPL not only
became the First and exclusive auto-ancillary production house in India, but
continues to maintain its pre-eminent position by working in close collaboration
with domestic OEMs, helping them set a firm footing in their engine development
initiatives.
India Pistons is one of the flagship companies of the highly successful
Amalgamations Group. The company maintains its leadership position in the
domestic automotive market and expanding its customer base by consistently
scaling up its engineering prowess and performance standards. IPL continues to be
the 'top-of-the-mind' choice of majority of domestic OEM's due to its Pathbreaking
innovations in product design and need-specific enhancements in
production processes.
In its successful journey spanning over 6 decades, IPL has established worldclass
benchmarks of engineering excellence, robust adherence to quality-oriented
processes, wide range of application-specific products, application of cutting-edge
technologies and maintaining enduring customer relationships by consistently
delivering value.
1
IPL's major OEM customers include Hyundai Motor Company, Maruti,
Ashok Leyland, TATA Motors, Eicher Motors, Simpsons & Co., TAFE, Mahindra
& Mahindra, Greaves, KOEL, Hindustan Motors, Indian Railways, etc.,
In addition to the OEM segment, IPL continues to be a leading company in
the domestic Replacement market. IPL products are the preferred choice of the
most of the re-conditioners in India. IPL continues to make impressive strides in
the export market and is among the top exporters of auto components in the
country.
IPL and its subsidiary companies have posted a combined turnover of over
$350 Million USD during 2010-2011 and is poised for an exponential growth.
1.2 Group Overview
An amalgamation is a huge conglomerate comprising of 52 companies and
20,000 strong workforces with offices and manufacturing facilities spread across
the country. The Amalgamations group is one of the India's largest light
engineering groups with established presence in diverse businesses such as auto
components, engines, tractors, cutting tools, paints, agricultural implements,
distribution and variety of service industries and exports, plantations, batteries,
security printing, book selling, pesticides, advertising and communication,
warehousing and goods transportation, bus body building, retreating and a range of
trade and distribution services.
Through their diverse product and service portfolio, the group touches
millions of people every day ranging from farmers to business tycoons. What
started off with Simpsons & Co, today, Amalgamations is a huge conglomerate
comprising of 52 companies and 20,000 strong workforces with offices and
manufacturing facilities spread across the country.
2
The group is known for its devotion to values, strict adherence to highest
quality standards in their products and services, responsible corporate governance
and business ethics.
1.3 Mission Statement
To be a Technology Leader, delivering to our customers as a high Quality of
Product and Service. This will be achieved through constant Innovation of all
products and processes making us a natural first choice to our customers. The
company was able to achieve consistent growth and industry leadership through its
visionary and qualitative response to the changing consumer and market demands.
1.4 Quality System
Professional project management mechanism designed to identity possible
defects during the initial phases of development.
Suppliers are committed to stringent quality standards to ensure the
company gets high quality raw materials and components.
Strong vendor development programs to enhance the quality of our vendors.
Customer recognition and host of honors and awards for maintaining
outstanding quality is the proof of our commitment to progress through the
path of quality.
At all IPL locations, systems and procedures based on TPM, TQM and lean
manufacturing procedures are used to ensure that quality levels are on par
with the best in the world. All plants of IPL are TS 16949 and ISO 14001
certified.
3
CHAPTER 2
INTRODUCTION
2.1. Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas
compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the
moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston
rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from expanding gas in the
cylinder to the crankshaft via a piston rod and/or connecting rod. In a pump, the
function is reversed and force is transferred from the crankshaft to the piston for
the purpose of compressing or ejecting the fluid in the cylinder.
Pistons are cast from aluminium alloys. For better strength and fatigue life,
some racing pistons may be forged instead. Early pistons were of cast iron, but
there were obvious benefits for engine balancing if a lighter alloy could be used.
To produce pistons that could survive engine combustion temperatures, it was
necessary to develop new alloys such as Y alloy and Hiduminium, specifically for
use as pistons.
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into
shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing
the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most
common metals processed are aluminium and cast iron. However, other metals,
such as bronze, brass, steel, magnesium, and zinc, are also used to produce castings
in foundries. In this process, parts of desired shapes and sizes can be formed. In
metalworking, casting involves pouring liquid metal into a mold, which contains a
hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowing it to cool and solidify. The
solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the
mold to complete the process. Casting is most often used for making complex
shapes that would be difficult or uneconomical to make by other methods.
2.3 Gravity Die Casting process
The gravity die casting process begins by preheating the mold to 150-200 °C
(300-400 °F) to ease the flow and reduce thermal damage to the casting. The mold
cavity is then coated with a refractory material or a mold wash, which prevents the
casting from sticking to the mold and prolongs the mold life. Any sand or metal
cores are then installed and the mold is clamped shut. Molten metal is then poured
into the mold. Soon after solidification the mold is opened and the casting removed
to reduce chances of hot tears. The process is then started all over again, but
preheating is not required because the heat from the previous casting is adequate
and the refractory coating should last several castings. Because this process is
usually carried out on large production run work-pieces automated equipment is
used to coat the mold, pour the metal, and remove the casting. The metal is poured
at the lowest practical temperature in order to minimize cracks and porosity.
The pouring temperature can range greatly depending on the casting
material; for instance zinc alloys are poured at approximately 700 °F (371 °C),
while Gray iron is poured at approximately 2,500 °F (1,370 °C).
Permanent mold casting is metal casting process that employs reusable
molds ("permanent molds"), usually made from metal. The most common process
uses gravity to fill the mold, however gas pressure or a vacuum are also used. A
variation on the typical gravity casting process, called slush casting, produces
hollow castings. Common casting metals are aluminium, magnesium, and copper
alloys. Other materials include tin, zinc, and lead alloys and iron and steel are also
cast in graphite molds. Typical parts include gears, splines, wheels, gear housings,
pipe fittings, fuel injection housings, and automotive engine pistons.
2.4 Melting
The process includes melting the charge, refining the melt, adjusting the
melt chemistry and tapping into a transport vessel. Refining is done to remove
deleterious gases and elements from the molten metal to avoid casting defects.
Material is added during the melting process to bring the final chemistry within a
specific range specified by industry and/or internal standards. Certain fluxes may
be used to separate the metal from slag and/or dross and degassers are used to
remove dissolved gas from metals that readily dissolve certain gasses. During the
tap, final chemistry adjustments are made. Several specialised furnaces are used to
melt the metal. Furnaces are refractory lined vessels that contain the material to be
melted and provide the energy to melt it. Modern furnace types include electric arc
furnaces (EAF), induction furnaces, cupolas, reverberatory, and crucible furnaces.
Furnace choice is dependent on the alloy system quantities produced. For ferrous
materials EAFs, cupolas, and induction furnaces are commonly used.
Degassing
In the case of aluminium alloys, a degassing step is usually necessary to
reduce the amount of hydrogen dissolved in the liquid metal. If the hydrogen
concentration in the melt is too high, the resulting casting will be porous as the
hydrogen comes out of solution as the aluminium cools and solidifies. Porosity
often seriously deteriorates the mechanical properties of the metal. An efficient
way of removing hydrogen from the melt is to bubble argon or nitrogen through
the melt. To do that, several different types of equipment are used by foundries.
When the bubbles go up in the melt, they catch the dissolved hydrogen and bring it
to the top surface. There are various types of equipment which measure the amount
of hydrogen present in it. Alternatively, the density of the aluminium sample is
calculated to check amount of hydrogen dissolved in it. In cases where porosity
still remains present after the degassing process, porosity sealing can be
accomplished through a process called metal impregnating.
Heat treatment
Heat treatment is a group of industrial and metalworking processes used to alter the
physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material. The most common
application is metallurgical. Heat treatments are also used in the manufacture of
many other materials, such as glass. Heat treatment involves the use of heating or
chilling, normally to extreme temperatures, to achieve a desired result such as
hardening or softening of a material. Heat treatment techniques include annealing,
case hardening, precipitation strengthening, tempering and quenching. It is
noteworthy that while the term heat treatment applies only to processes where the
heating and cooling are done for the specific purpose of altering properties
intentionally, heating and cooling often occur incidentally during other
manufacturing processes such as hot forming or welding.
Finishing
The final step in the process usually involves machining the component in
order to achieve the desired dimensional accuracies, physical shape and surface
finish. After grinding, any surfaces that require tight dimensional control are
machined. Many castings are machined in CNC milling centers. The reason for this
is that these processes have better dimensional capability and repeatability than
many casting processes. However, it is not uncommon today for many components
to be used without machining. More and more the process of finishing a casting is
being achieved using robotic machines which eliminate the need for a human to
physically grind or break parting lines, gating material or feeders. The introduction
of these machines has reduced injury to workers, costs of consumables whilst also
reducing the time necessary to finish a casting. It also eliminates the problem of
human error so as to increase repeatability in the quality of grinding. With a
change of tooling these machines can finish a wide variety of materials including
iron, bronze and aluminium.
India Pistons Limited
India Pistons Limited (IPL) is the oldest and one of the largest producers of
Pistons, Piston Rings, Gudgeon Pins & Cylinder Liners and allied components in
India.
Anticipating the auto-component revolution in India, IPL was formed by the
late Visionary Mr. S. Anantharamakrishnan way back in July 1949. IPL not only
became the First and exclusive auto-ancillary production house in India, but
continues to maintain its pre-eminent position by working in close collaboration
with domestic OEMs, helping them set a firm footing in their engine development
initiatives.
India Pistons is one of the flagship companies of the highly successful
Amalgamations Group. The company maintains its leadership position in the
domestic automotive market and expanding its customer base by consistently
scaling up its engineering prowess and performance standards. IPL continues to be
the 'top-of-the-mind' choice of majority of domestic OEM's due to its Pathbreaking
innovations in product design and need-specific enhancements in
production processes.
In its successful journey spanning over 6 decades, IPL has established worldclass
benchmarks of engineering excellence, robust adherence to quality-oriented
processes, wide range of application-specific products, application of cutting-edge
technologies and maintaining enduring customer relationships by consistently
delivering value.
1
IPL's major OEM customers include Hyundai Motor Company, Maruti,
Ashok Leyland, TATA Motors, Eicher Motors, Simpsons & Co., TAFE, Mahindra
& Mahindra, Greaves, KOEL, Hindustan Motors, Indian Railways, etc.,
In addition to the OEM segment, IPL continues to be a leading company in
the domestic Replacement market. IPL products are the preferred choice of the
most of the re-conditioners in India. IPL continues to make impressive strides in
the export market and is among the top exporters of auto components in the
country.
IPL and its subsidiary companies have posted a combined turnover of over
$350 Million USD during 2010-2011 and is poised for an exponential growth.
1.2 Group Overview
An amalgamation is a huge conglomerate comprising of 52 companies and
20,000 strong workforces with offices and manufacturing facilities spread across
the country. The Amalgamations group is one of the India's largest light
engineering groups with established presence in diverse businesses such as auto
components, engines, tractors, cutting tools, paints, agricultural implements,
distribution and variety of service industries and exports, plantations, batteries,
security printing, book selling, pesticides, advertising and communication,
warehousing and goods transportation, bus body building, retreating and a range of
trade and distribution services.
Through their diverse product and service portfolio, the group touches
millions of people every day ranging from farmers to business tycoons. What
started off with Simpsons & Co, today, Amalgamations is a huge conglomerate
comprising of 52 companies and 20,000 strong workforces with offices and
manufacturing facilities spread across the country.
2
The group is known for its devotion to values, strict adherence to highest
quality standards in their products and services, responsible corporate governance
and business ethics.
1.3 Mission Statement
To be a Technology Leader, delivering to our customers as a high Quality of
Product and Service. This will be achieved through constant Innovation of all
products and processes making us a natural first choice to our customers. The
company was able to achieve consistent growth and industry leadership through its
visionary and qualitative response to the changing consumer and market demands.
1.4 Quality System
Professional project management mechanism designed to identity possible
defects during the initial phases of development.
Suppliers are committed to stringent quality standards to ensure the
company gets high quality raw materials and components.
Strong vendor development programs to enhance the quality of our vendors.
Customer recognition and host of honors and awards for maintaining
outstanding quality is the proof of our commitment to progress through the
path of quality.
At all IPL locations, systems and procedures based on TPM, TQM and lean
manufacturing procedures are used to ensure that quality levels are on par
with the best in the world. All plants of IPL are TS 16949 and ISO 14001
certified.
3
CHAPTER 2
INTRODUCTION
2.1. Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas
compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the
moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston
rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from expanding gas in the
cylinder to the crankshaft via a piston rod and/or connecting rod. In a pump, the
function is reversed and force is transferred from the crankshaft to the piston for
the purpose of compressing or ejecting the fluid in the cylinder.
Pistons are cast from aluminium alloys. For better strength and fatigue life,
some racing pistons may be forged instead. Early pistons were of cast iron, but
there were obvious benefits for engine balancing if a lighter alloy could be used.
To produce pistons that could survive engine combustion temperatures, it was
necessary to develop new alloys such as Y alloy and Hiduminium, specifically for
use as pistons.
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into
shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing
the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most
common metals processed are aluminium and cast iron. However, other metals,
such as bronze, brass, steel, magnesium, and zinc, are also used to produce castings
in foundries. In this process, parts of desired shapes and sizes can be formed. In
metalworking, casting involves pouring liquid metal into a mold, which contains a
hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowing it to cool and solidify. The
solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the
mold to complete the process. Casting is most often used for making complex
shapes that would be difficult or uneconomical to make by other methods.
2.3 Gravity Die Casting process
The gravity die casting process begins by preheating the mold to 150-200 °C
(300-400 °F) to ease the flow and reduce thermal damage to the casting. The mold
cavity is then coated with a refractory material or a mold wash, which prevents the
casting from sticking to the mold and prolongs the mold life. Any sand or metal
cores are then installed and the mold is clamped shut. Molten metal is then poured
into the mold. Soon after solidification the mold is opened and the casting removed
to reduce chances of hot tears. The process is then started all over again, but
preheating is not required because the heat from the previous casting is adequate
and the refractory coating should last several castings. Because this process is
usually carried out on large production run work-pieces automated equipment is
used to coat the mold, pour the metal, and remove the casting. The metal is poured
at the lowest practical temperature in order to minimize cracks and porosity.
The pouring temperature can range greatly depending on the casting
material; for instance zinc alloys are poured at approximately 700 °F (371 °C),
while Gray iron is poured at approximately 2,500 °F (1,370 °C).
Permanent mold casting is metal casting process that employs reusable
molds ("permanent molds"), usually made from metal. The most common process
uses gravity to fill the mold, however gas pressure or a vacuum are also used. A
variation on the typical gravity casting process, called slush casting, produces
hollow castings. Common casting metals are aluminium, magnesium, and copper
alloys. Other materials include tin, zinc, and lead alloys and iron and steel are also
cast in graphite molds. Typical parts include gears, splines, wheels, gear housings,
pipe fittings, fuel injection housings, and automotive engine pistons.
2.4 Melting
The process includes melting the charge, refining the melt, adjusting the
melt chemistry and tapping into a transport vessel. Refining is done to remove
deleterious gases and elements from the molten metal to avoid casting defects.
Material is added during the melting process to bring the final chemistry within a
specific range specified by industry and/or internal standards. Certain fluxes may
be used to separate the metal from slag and/or dross and degassers are used to
remove dissolved gas from metals that readily dissolve certain gasses. During the
tap, final chemistry adjustments are made. Several specialised furnaces are used to
melt the metal. Furnaces are refractory lined vessels that contain the material to be
melted and provide the energy to melt it. Modern furnace types include electric arc
furnaces (EAF), induction furnaces, cupolas, reverberatory, and crucible furnaces.
Furnace choice is dependent on the alloy system quantities produced. For ferrous
materials EAFs, cupolas, and induction furnaces are commonly used.
Degassing
In the case of aluminium alloys, a degassing step is usually necessary to
reduce the amount of hydrogen dissolved in the liquid metal. If the hydrogen
concentration in the melt is too high, the resulting casting will be porous as the
hydrogen comes out of solution as the aluminium cools and solidifies. Porosity
often seriously deteriorates the mechanical properties of the metal. An efficient
way of removing hydrogen from the melt is to bubble argon or nitrogen through
the melt. To do that, several different types of equipment are used by foundries.
When the bubbles go up in the melt, they catch the dissolved hydrogen and bring it
to the top surface. There are various types of equipment which measure the amount
of hydrogen present in it. Alternatively, the density of the aluminium sample is
calculated to check amount of hydrogen dissolved in it. In cases where porosity
still remains present after the degassing process, porosity sealing can be
accomplished through a process called metal impregnating.
Heat treatment
Heat treatment is a group of industrial and metalworking processes used to alter the
physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material. The most common
application is metallurgical. Heat treatments are also used in the manufacture of
many other materials, such as glass. Heat treatment involves the use of heating or
chilling, normally to extreme temperatures, to achieve a desired result such as
hardening or softening of a material. Heat treatment techniques include annealing,
case hardening, precipitation strengthening, tempering and quenching. It is
noteworthy that while the term heat treatment applies only to processes where the
heating and cooling are done for the specific purpose of altering properties
intentionally, heating and cooling often occur incidentally during other
manufacturing processes such as hot forming or welding.
Finishing
The final step in the process usually involves machining the component in
order to achieve the desired dimensional accuracies, physical shape and surface
finish. After grinding, any surfaces that require tight dimensional control are
machined. Many castings are machined in CNC milling centers. The reason for this
is that these processes have better dimensional capability and repeatability than
many casting processes. However, it is not uncommon today for many components
to be used without machining. More and more the process of finishing a casting is
being achieved using robotic machines which eliminate the need for a human to
physically grind or break parting lines, gating material or feeders. The introduction
of these machines has reduced injury to workers, costs of consumables whilst also
reducing the time necessary to finish a casting. It also eliminates the problem of
human error so as to increase repeatability in the quality of grinding. With a
change of tooling these machines can finish a wide variety of materials including
iron, bronze and aluminium.