REPORT ON PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AT

SHRIRAM PISTONS & RINGS LTD.

Ghaziabad (Meerut Road) (Jun-Jul 2011)

Submitted by:POOJA YADAV (0904064)

VTH SEMESTER(JUL-DEC 2011)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

DEENBANDHU CHHOTU RAM UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MURTHAL, SONEPAT Ackno wledgement

My training at Shriram Pistons & Rings Ltd Ghaziabad has been more than a learning experience. It has been a pleasure learning and working with people who shared their knowledge. I am immensely grateful to Er. B.K. Bansal, Head of Piston Department, for providing me an opportunity to undergo training in the company. I am also thankful to Er. Puneet Sharma( AE,Ring Department) for sharing some valuable facts and important piece of information and all the staff members of division for their valuable guidance during my training.

Table of Content

S.No.
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 2 3 4 5 6 6.1 7 8 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6

Topic Page No. About Shriram Pistons & Rings 5 History 5 Overview 5 Production Details 6 Company Collabration 6 Financial Overview 7 Company Premises-divisions 8 Quality Objectives of Company 9 Environmental Policy 10 Achievements of Shriram Pistons 11 Theory of T.P.M. 12-14 5-S Rules 14 IC Engine Piston 15 Function 16 Process Flow Chart 17 Aluminium Foundry 18-22 Melting 23-26 Holding and Metal Preparation 27-28 Die Maintenance 28 Die Painting 29 Casting 29-30 Riser Cutting 31
3

8.7 8.7.1 8.7.2 8.8 8.9 8.10 9 10 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.4.1 10.4.2 10.5 10.6

Heat- Treatment Solutionising Ageing Rough Turning Non- Ferrous Laboratory R.C.C.I. Piston Rings Production of Piston Rings Coiling Process Heat- Treatment Lapping Operation Surface- Treatment Pre-Gas Nitriding Gas Nitriding Final Inspection Packing

31-34 30-33 33-34 35 35-37 37 38 40-44 40 41 41 42-43 42 43 44 44

ABOUT SHRIRAM PISTONS & RINGS

History
From a modest beginning in 1972 as a small factory in Ghaziabad (near Delhi) to a center of engineering excellence, with over 3,600 skilled employees and an annual turnover of Rupees 5.34 Billion (approximately US $ 133 Million), the history of SPRL is a story of grit and determination. It is a story of marching ahead despite the odds, against all adversity. A story of accepting and meeting challenges. A story of continuous improvements, year on year.

Overview
Today, SPRL is Indias largest integrated manufacturer of Pistons, Piston Rings, Gudgeon Pins and Engine Valves. The Companys products are marketed under the brand names USHA and SPR; names that have become synonymous with quality and reliability. At SPRL, we are driven by a clear and consistent set of values. These have stood us in good stead over the years. Total Customer Satisfaction through Quality Management has seen us grow from strength to strength. For the past several years, SPRL has been investing a substantial part of its retained earnings in upgrading quality systems and modernizing plant and equipment so as to offer concurrent technology products and technology to its customers. SPRL is committed to provide world class Pistons, Piston Rings, Gudgeon Pins and Engine Valves in terms of delivery, safety, quality, cost, development and management.

The production capacity of plant is as under:

Piston Pin Rings Engine Valves

: 6.0 million per year : 6.0 million per year : 30.0 million per year : 4.8 million per year

The company has technical collaboration with :

M/s Kolbenschmidt, Germany to produce Pistons M/s Riken Corporation, Japan for Piston Rings M/s Fuji Oozx, Japan for manufacturing of Engine Valves M/s Honda Foundry, Japan for Honda model Pistons

The company supplies its products to several Original Equipment manufacturers (OEMs) including defense vehicles Factories. Main OEM customers in India are Ashok Leyland, Tata Cummins, Maruti Suzuki, Ford, Hero Honda, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Tractors, Swaraj, Kirloskar, Bajaj Auto, Honda SIEL, Sundram Clayton, HMSIL, HMT, LML, Kinetic Honda, Shriram Honda, International Tractors etc.

Financial Overview( 1st April,2010- 31st March,2011)

According to 47th Annual Report of the company, the gross profit for the year, after all interest charges, but before depreciation and taxes, is Rs. 1758 Million against Rs.1571 Million last year.

Profit after tax for the year is Rs. 827 Million against Rs. 689 Million last year.

It was recommend that equity shareholders will be paid dividend of Rs. 3.50 per share for the year, inclusive of Rs.1.50 per share Interim dividend already paid. The equity dividend alongwith dividend tax would absorb Rs. 91.15 Million against Rs.78.4 Million last year.

An amount of Rs. 685.73 Million is being transferred to General Reserve Account.

The demand in domestic market was buoyant both from OEMs and in the After market. Accordingly, Companys production and sales of all products increased during the year. Net sales increased by 14% during the year from Rs. 7257 Million to Rs. 8270 Million. Gross profit increased by 12% over the last year from Rs. 1571 Million to Rs. 1758 Million. This has been possible by focused management efforts on the optimum utilization of production capacity,
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cost and waste reduction and higher productivity. However, the improvement in performance was limited by the available production capacity, for Pistons and Engine Valves in particular.

DIVISION OF COMPANY PREMISES:

The company premises is divided into following groups : P.T.E. C.A.A. R&D - Production Technology and Engineering - Commercial Administration and Accounts - Research and Development

In PTE group, all manufacturing departments are covered. These are : Aluminium Foundry Piston Plant Ring Foundry Ring Plant Steel Ring Plant Pin Plant Engine Valve - Forging Engine Valve - Machining Chrome Plating Plant Works Engineering Tool Room In CAA group, all commercial & administrative departments are covered. These are as: Administration
8

Purchase Accounts Projects Quality Assurance InfoTech Stores H.R.D. A.& P.O. Personnel Safety MIS Sales Coordination

UAD (Users Acceptance Department) is covered with R & D group. At Shriram Pistons & Rings Ltd., quality is an integral part of whatever they do which is reflected in companys policy :

Total customer satisfaction through quality management and continuous improvement

Quality objectives of company are:

I. Organisation which is sensitive and interactive to the needs of the customer. Continuous upgrading of quality and process to meet changing needs of customer. Optimisation of return on investment by : Continuous improvement Technology development Organisational and personal development Cost reduction efforts
9

II.

III.

 Effective use of all resources Harmonious and safe working conditions IV. Work to international norms of Quality and Management.

In the company, first priority is given to safety. SPR is an example of safe working conditions. They also take care of environment and health of their employees.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Continual improvement in `ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE through prevention, monitoring, and control of pollution and improving environmental benchmarks for sustainable growth of company operations.

KEY ENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. Conservation of input resources, particularly energy, coolant, oils, and water.
2.

Adoption of good operating practices, with the participation of all employees, through: Use of environmental friendly technologies/processes. Control and reduction of noise pollution. Reduction, re-use and re-cycling of solid and liquid wastes. Environmentally safe disposal of unavoidable wastes.
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3.

Increase environmental awareness among suppliers, contractors and other business associates.

employees,

4. Comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations. Be a good corporate citizen and exercise due concern for health and safety of employees and members of society.

5.

ACHIEVEMENTS OF SHRIRAM PISTONS

CERTIFICATE / AWARD
QS 9000 TCL Best Vendor Award MARUTI Best Vendor Award TCL Best Vendor Award TS 16949 OHSAS 18001 TPM Excellence- 1st Category RENAULT Quality System

YEAR
1999 1999 2001 2001 2003 2003 2004 2006

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Ford Q1 Quality System TPM Excellence- Special Category ACMA-Technology (Silver Trophy) ACMA-Manufacturing Excellence(Silver Trophy)

2007 2007 2007 2009

THEORY OF T.P.M
T.P.M or Total Productive Maintenance was invented in Japan, by Sichi Nakgima in 1970.

MEANING: - T.P.M consists of 3 words.

T : TOTAL 1. To earn completely invested money from every thing and every machines and use its complete capacity.
2.

Total maintenance system i.e. maintain every machines and modernize it time to time, learning from breakdown.

3. Total support of every working person i.e. from top level to worker level. P: PRODUCTIVE
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1. Zero defect. 2. Completing of operation without any trouble. 3. Completely safe.

M: MAINTENANCE 1. Long maintenance cycle i.e. maintenance free machine.

DIFFERENT STAGES:1. Breakdown maintenance was in use before 1950. 2. Preventive maintenance was started in 1950. 3. Projective was invented in 1950.
4.

In Japan the work is running from 1970 under T.P.M.

WHY T.P.M IS USE:T.P.M is new direction of production in today. Robots are doing work, in this condition the machine must be capacitive. If the machine is not capacitive then the quality is not possible and we are not able to get profit. By T.P.M machine is made capacitive by needed care and due to this there is no breakdown in machine and due to this there is increase in production, reduction in down line, reduction in inventory and loss tension of operator and remain healthy. Also this benefits are related to that machine and equipment. T.P.M is must for that machine to bring at that stage.

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REASON OF LOSSES: 1. Breakdown of machine. 2. Expanse of time in material arrangement. 3. More frequent tool changes. 4. Unskilled operators. 5. Frequent of operator from the machine. 6. Long operation cycle. 7. Less use of machine.

IMPORTANCE T.P.M can be used to prevent the following losses:1. It helps in reducing Breakdown maintenance. Defects. Reducing manufacturing cost.

2.

3. Increase productivity. 4. Helps in attaining zero defects. 5. It increases the knowledge and skill of operator.

5-S RULES
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S.NO. 1 2 3 4 5

JAPANESE WORD SEIRI SEITON SEISO SEIKETSU SEITSUKE

ENGLISH MEANING Proper Deflection Arrangement Cleaning Cleanliness Discipline

I.C. ENGINE PISTON

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Piston is an important part of an I.C Engine which receives impulse from the expanding gases in the cylinder and transmits the energy to the crankshaft through the connecting rod.

I.C Engines employ trunk type piston which are open at one end and consists of:1. Head or crown to carry the cylinder pressure. 2. Skit to act as a bearing for connecting rod side thrust.
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3. Piston rings to seal the cylinder.

FUNCTION OF PISTON:1. Its a movable wall of the combustion chamber which change the volume with variation of pressure inside . 2. It withstand the pressure of expanding fases transmits the same to connecting rod. 3. It forms a cross-head through which the side thrust due to the obliquity or angularity of the corresponding rod is transmitted to the cylinder wall. 4. It seals the inside of the cylinder from the crank case. 5. It dissipates part of heat generated inside the cylinder.

The overall Process Chart of the production piston casting (Honda type) is given as:
Melting and Alloy making Melting Holding Treatment Casting

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Riser cutting

Heat Treatment Die Preparation

Filling & Cleaning Die Casting

RCCI Inspection

Dispatch To Stores

Aluminium Foundry
Aluminium Foundry At A Glance
S.NO. 1. ITEM/OPERATION MELTING - Induction furnace- 12 tonn/hr.
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EQUIPMENT

CAPACITIES

CAPABILITIES In house alloying

- Alloying

3nos. - Oil fired furnace- 1 tonn/hr. 3nos.

for all piston alloys as per collaborators standards

- Remelting

2.

HOLDING AND -Electric holding - 300Kgs Automatic METAL TREATMENT furnace-42nos. Auto degassing with temperature nitrogen only / control nitrogen & chlorine by Indian & imported -Automatic - With nitrogen degassing Degassing Machine- only machines. 3nos. -Automatic - With nitrogen + degassing machine- chlorine 3nos.

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3.

CASTING - Honda - 8nos. HF type 2.5 nos./month Lac Size:-39mm130mm Honda & Gasoline Lac - Gasoline Lac - Ring carrier with strutt Lac - Non ring carrier, sand core(as casting cavity)

- GasolineNon Honda - Diesel- Ring carrier

- 4nos. KS+HF type - 10nos. KS type

.75 nos./month 1.2 nos./month

- 6nos. KS type - Diesel-Non ring carrier 0.9 nos./month

4.

RISER CUTTING MILLING

/ -3nos. TCT cutting 2.25 nos./month Lac -Honda /Gasoline models -Diesel models riser

- 1 no abrasive cut off - sample cutting - 2 nos. milling 1 nos./month

Lac -Centre models

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5.

HEAT TREATMENT - Partial solutinising -Solutionising Ageing - Solutionising - 1nos. continious 0.27 type nos./month Lac For models diesel

cum - 1nos. continious - 1.5 Lac/month type - 2nos. bottom drop 2.1 type nos./month - 11nos. batch type 5.50 nos./month

- Honda/ gasoline models

Lac -Honda/ gasoline models Lac - All models

- Ageing

6.

ROUGH TURNING / ROUGH FACING - 4 nos. CNC 1 turning lathes nos./month Lac - Line V & line VIII models

7.

INSPECTION TESTING

& - Spectrometer - For chemical - Ferrous & non analysis to check ferrous alloys up to 28 elements

- With image Optical projection - Up to 500 X Microscope magnification 10 - Universal testing capacity machine tonn - Ferrous and non-ferrous alloys Ferrous and

- For Brinell / 21

- Hardness testers

- Profile projectors

Rockwell(B&C) / non-ferrous alloys Vickers Honda / - Up to 65mm Gasoline models dia.

GENERAL

1. AREA 2. EMPLOYEES(as on march 2002) 3. ENVIRONMENT - Cooling - Particulate Matter - Chlorine

1122sq. mts. 212 nos.

-Comfort cooling in casting areas - 73mg/nm cube 150mg/nm cubic against std.

- .40 ppm against std.0.50 ppm

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The Aluminum Foundry is divided into many sections as follows:

Melting . Holding and Metal Preparation.

Die maintenance . Die painting .

Casting. Riser cutting. Heat treatment. Rough turning/Rough facing. Non-Ferrous laboratory. R.C.C.I (Rejection Cost Control Inspection).

Machine Maintenance.

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1. MELTING
This is the first operation of Aluminium Foundry. In this operation, metal is melted at required temperature. Different metal are added to make different alloys. The main metals used for making alloys are:

Aluminum ingots Magnesium ingots Silicon Copper Nickel

There are two types of furnaces in the melting section: 1. 2. Skelner Furnace : 2 nos. Induction Furnace : 3 nos.

1. Skelner Furnace or oil fired furnaces:

There are two skelner furnaces in the melting section of capacity 1 ton each. This furnace is an oil-fired furnace and the fuel used is LDO (Light Diesel Oil). It is used only for melting. Before starting the skelner furnace following considerations should be made: Charge should be dry. Wet raw material might cause accident. Preheating of furnace should take place for at least 15-20 minutes. Furnace lining should be checked. Any repairs, if required, should take place before starting the furnace . Furnace tilting mechanism should be checked. Burner cleaning should be done. Any carbon deposited on the burner should be removed.
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 2. Induction Furnace:
Basic Principle : Basically , Induction Furnace works on the principle of electromagnetic heating . In the oscillating circuit between furnace coil and capacitor bank flow an appreciably high current which consequently produces a heavy alternating magnetic field causing eddy current heating the charge , and metal is melted . The magnetic field is confined by means of a number of yokes out side the coil. Construction:

The metal is melted in a rammed ceramic crucible which is surrounded with a cylinderical water cooled induction coil . The coil is held in yokes made of laminated transformer sheets and the yokes are mounted into a robust stationary structure which houses the fabricated tilting structure .

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The complete tilting structure is tilted along the axis of spout by two hydraulic cylinder. The ceramic crucible is lined with high alumina material . This lining is carried out for mains frequency Induction Furnaces .

Advantages of Induction Furnaces over Oil Fired Furnaces :

1.Alloying : Melting and alloying can be done in Induction furnace where as it is not possible to make alloys in Oil fired furnace. 2.Homogenity in alloy : Due to churning of molten metal in Induction Furnaces leads to better mixing of alloying elements . The phenomenon leads to homogenity in molten alloys . 3.Faster melting. 4.Energy efficient.

26

They are 3 furnaces in aluminum foundry. They are called as Pioneer Vidyut Agni Junker Furnace specifications are given as: Pioneer Capacity Connected load Operating power Operating frequency Operating power factor Connected voltage Melting rate @ 900 C Energy consumption Water inlet temperature Water outlet temperature Vidyut Agni and junker Capacity Furnace voltage (max.) Furnace power at 1000V Max. Furnace power Primary supply voltage Water flow Water inlet temperature Water outlet temperature Melting rate@ 900 C Energy consumption 1.1 ton 1100 V 350 V 420 kWh 415 V/ 3 Ph/ 50 Hz 6.5 m3/h 45C 65C 615 Kg/ Hr 570 KWH / Ton 2 ton 600 kV 550 kWh 50 Hz Unity 415 V/ 3 Ph/ 50 Hz 645 kg/ h 650 kWh/ ton 35 C 65 C

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2. HOLDING AND METAL PREPARATION

The molten metal is transferred from induction furnace to the Holding Furnaces The purpose of this furnace is to keep the molten metal at a certain temperature as to avoid solidification of the metal. For this purpose electric heaters are immersed in the furnace that maintain the desired temperature.

The preheated crucibles, called the ladles, transfers the metal from the Induction Furnaces to the Holding Furnace with the help of fort lift.The operator raises the ladle and then tilts it to pour the metal into the Holding furnace .

Before pouring the metal into the die to make piston, the metal is purified by addition of approximately 350 gm of COVERAL FLUX (pink colour) which form complexes with oxides and other impurities. Impurities so formed is
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removed from the surface of the alloy by using skimmer plates. The impurities is then put into the trolley and taken to the scrap. The GBF (Gas Bubbling Fixture) injects chlorine and nitrogen gas into the hot alloy contained in the holding and hence bubble hydrogen out. This bubbling out of hydrogen gas is called degassing.

3. DIE MAINTAINANCE
The Piston casting die has following parts : Mould Bottom Center tool Eye pad Quill pin Guide ring - 2 Halfs - 2 Nos. - 2 Set - 4 Nos. - 4 Nos. - 2 Nos.

First die assembly is cleaned. To remove rust, dust, grease, oil etc. from die parts, Shot Blasting of die parts is done. This is a process in which die parts are kept in closed chambers and they are struck by shots (20 grid size glass beads or aluminium oxide beads) through air pressure. By striking the shots on die surface, cleaning take place. The Shot Blasting is done for better diecoat adherence, clear air passages and desired surface finish. Now visual inspection of various parameters is carried out like inspection of dents, check for metal sticking etc. The inspection of die accessories is done as per standards using vernier calliper, height gauge, depth gauge etc.
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4. DIE PAINTING
After inspection / repairing of die parts and accessories as per standards, these are sent to the Painting Area. The various paint being used in Aluminium Foundry for painting of die parts are: 1. Diecot-11 2. Diecot-39 3. RIO 4. MORCOAT In painting process, first die parts are heated at 200-250 0C. For heating of dies,there are two ovens in the Painting Section. After heating ,the parts are kept on the painting counter where different die parts are painted with different paints . The painting is done immediate after heating because this way sticking of the paint is better.

5. CASTING :
In this section casting of piston takes place in three different production bays: The three production bays are :
1.

A -BAY

2. B BAY 3. C BAY 4. D-BAY

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A-Bay This bay produces RCP castings i.e. the diesel pistons carrying a cast iron ring that minimizes the wear and tear of the piston during working.

B-Bay This bay produces diesel pistons without any ring i.e. Non RCP. The Die Casting Machines are the same as in the A-Bay. In A & B bays, the casting operator breaks the runner and gate. The operator than stacks these pistons having risers for cutting / milling of risers that is done in the riser cutting & milling area. After cutting / milling of risers, the pistons are aged in the Heat Treatment Section at standard temperature and for standard time. C-Bay This is the bay that produces petrol castings. The casting machines are the same as in the A & B bays. Castings produces in this bay are sent to the riser cutting area where the runner etc. are cut off by the TCT wheels carrying machines. The cut pistons are then solutionised and aged in the Heat Treatment Section. D-Bay This is the bay that produces diesel castings. Castings produces in this bay are cut off by the casting operator. The cut pistons are then solutionised and aged in the Heat Treatment Section

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5. RISER CUTTING / MILLING

There are three riser-cutting machines that cut the riser part of the petrol model castings. The machine has an HSS disc that rotates at the speeds of around 1400 rpm. This disc has Tungsten carbide teeth that act as cutting tools. For most of the diesel models, riser milling is done with the help of a two lip Tungsten Carbide milling tool. For riser cutting of Diesel piston castings, these are sent out for this operation.

7. HEAT TREATMENT :
The Heat Treatment Section is divided into two sub-sections: 1. Solutionising 2. Ageing

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1. Solutionising: The Solutionising section has two electrically heated, cylindrical furnace which involves the solution treatment of Petrol models. Each furnace has a movable Quenching Tank for quenching the pistons in hot water (~ 700C). One furnace is continuous type furnace. In this furnace, solutionising & ageing operation take place continuously. At every 2 hours, one basket comes out from furnace after both the treatment. One basket contains 500 pistons approximately. Apart from these, there is one more furnace that is used for diesel pistons. It involves partial quenching of the pistons. The petrol models after their runners cutting are carefully stacked in the solutionising baskets . These pistons are then carried to the solutionising section with the help of overhead crane.

The pistons are heated at temperature around 5050C for around 2 hours and then immediately quenched in warm water (~700C). This way the solution treatment of the piston casting is done. Furnace Description Wesman electrically heated solution treatment furnace 1000 mm 1000 mm 540 kgs

Description of equipment

Useful Diameter Useful Height Maximum Charge Load Maximum furnace temperature 6000C Kw rating 65 kW Insulation Side walls

115 mm hot face insulation bricks + 115 mm cold face insulation bricks + high alumina element support bricks
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Roof Sliding hearth Heating Elements No. of elements Material Cold resistance Recirculation Fan Model Type Details of motor Impeller RPM Motor pulley Fan pulley V-belt Cooling arrangement 2. Ageing Section

200 mm ceramic fibre blanket Approx. 180 mm castable

12 80/20 Ni/Cr wire, 12 SWG (2.64 mm) 7.1 ohm

RC3 Radial off set driven by V-belt & pulleys 3 HP, 1450 rpm 1087 2B, groove, 150 mm PCD 2B, groove, 200 mm PCD 2 Nos., B-section, 1295 mm inside length By water cooling jacket

The Ageing Section has twelve furnaces. Among these one furnace is a continuous furnace (Solutionising +Ageing) and rest being used for ageing only. Most of these furnaces are slightly different in terms of the basic design of the furnace, energy source of the furnace, accessories, air circulation system etc. The Ageing furnaces being used are basically of three types: 1. Electrical furnace 2. Gas fired furnace 3. Continuous furnace Description of the Ageing furnaces is given as: Description of equipment Useful Length of the Chamber Useful Width of the Chamber Useful Height Maximum furnace temperature Wesman electrically heated solution treatment furnace 900 mm 900 mm 2172.5 mm 3500C
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Connected Load Heating Elements No. of elements Material Recirculation Fan No. of Fans Type Details of motor Cooling arrangement

48 kW

18, U-shaped finned type 80/20 Ni/Cr wire

1 Radial off set driven by V-belt & pulleys 5 HP By water cooling jacket

Power supply

415 V, 3 Ph, AC supply

After solutionising, the castings are taken out from the quenching tank and are treated by pressurized air spray so as to remove water from the casting surfaces and the cavities since if the water remains un-removed from it then it may produce black spots on the casting surface and also if wet pistons may produce black smoke when they are put in the ageing oven for age hardening. The identification is done on completion of the solutionising by putting yellow paint on some of the pistons kept in the basket. This avoids mixing up and re-solution treatment of the piston castings. The diesel models are not solution treated separately but are directly brought to the ageing section with yellow paint on them. After the pistons are free from moisture, these are then loaded in different square baskets and are carried in the Ageing section for the age hardening of the castings. The baskets are square here because the useful chamber of the ageing furnace is square in the cross-section.

A route card is maintained during the heat treatment of the piston castings (both petrol & diesel models). This card carries the description of the heat no., model type, date of treatment, name of the operator etc.

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8. ROUGH TURNING / ROUGH FACING

Some of the diesel pistons are rough turned with in the Aluminium Foundry before taking to the Piston Plant for final machining. This section has four CNC Lathes where facing and turning of the pistons is done.

9. NON FERROUS LABORATORY

From the heat treatment section, the pistons (1% of every heat for Diesel 2% of every heat for Petrol 5% of every heat for TCL) are taken to the non-ferrous lab and there hardness (HRB or BHN as specified) is checked by the lab chemist and the hardness range (min-max) is written on the route card . The operator passes the heat if the hardness range is with in the prescribed range otherwise he rejects it and the whole heat is re-worked. The following are the activities that are practiced in the laboratory: Composition Analysis The laboratory has a Polyvac Spectrometer that is used to check the composition of the sample. The Spectrometer has a spark chamber in which a spark is generated on the sample in the atmosphere of Argon gas and hence composition is obtained.
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The samples are received in the laboratory through the pneumatic conveyor. The sample thus received is turned on the lathe machine for good surface finish that is required for reasonable results. The sample is then placed in the electrode chamber and door is closed. The spark is then ignited in the atmosphere of argon gas and the composition is displayed on the monitor installed. The printed report is signed by the chemist and given to the operator of melting section; also he sends the report directly in the melting section by an electronic device. Microstructure: The microstructure of the sample is prepared in the following steps: 1. Cutting of the piece/sample from crown of the piston by hand saw/power saw 2. Polishing of sample on 60 grit size emery paper 3. This is further polished by 220, 320 and 600 grit size paper
4.

The final surface finish is achieved by buffing the sample on velvet cloth (medium: olive oil and diamond lapping paste 9)

5. The microstructure is then seen on the microscope with different eyepiece magnification: 10X, 100X, 500X etc.

Hardness Measurement The laboratory has two Brinell and Rockwell Hardness Testing Machine. The Rockwell Machine is mechanically loaded, it has three values of loads: 60,100 and 150 kgf. For aluminium samples, 100 kgf load is specified with 1/16 diameter steel ball. For Brinell machine, indenter is 2.5 mm diameter steel ball at 62.5 kgf load. For hardness measurement, the pistons are first polished flat by polishing on the 60 grit size paper.

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Cavity Volume Measurement This test is generally done for the diesel models that have cavity in the crown area. The piston is placed in a block and put below the burette filled with water and the reading of the level of water is noted down. The knob of the burette is opened after making sure that no air bubble is present in the burette and when the crown cavity fills up the knob is closed burette reading is again noted down. The difference of the two readings gives the volume of the cavity.

10. R.C.C.I.
The R.C.C.I. (Rejection Cost Control Inspection) area is responsible for the visual inspection of the piston castings. This cell rejects the piston castings that bear the defects like dent, inclusion, shrinkage etc. After the piston castings are cleared by the R.C.C.I., these are loaded in baskets and dispatched to the stores.

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PISTON RINGS
A piston ring is a split ring that fits into a groove on the outer diameter of a piston in a reciprocating engine such as an internal combustion engine or steam engine.

Functions:
The three main functions of piston rings in reciprocating engines are: 1. Sealing the combustion/expansion chamber. 2. Supporting heat transfer from the piston to the cylinder wall. 3. Regulating engine oil consumption.

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Most automotive pistons have three rings: The top two while also controlling oil are primarily for compression sealing (compression rings); the lower ring is for controlling the supply of oil to the liner which lubricates the piston skirt and the compression rings (oil control rings). At least two piston rings are found on most piston and cylinder combination. Typical compression ring designs will have an essentially rectangular cross section or a keystone cross section. The periphery will then have either a barrel profile (top compression rings) or a taper napier form (second compression rings). There are some taper faced top rings and on some old engines simple plain faced rings were used. Oil control rings typically are of three types: single piece cast iron 2. helical spring backed cast iron or steel 3. multipiece steel
1.

The spring backed oil rings and the cast iron oil rings have essentially the same range of peripheral forms which consist of two scraping lands of various detailed form. The multipiece oil control rings usually consist of two rails or segments (these are thin steel rings) with a spacer expander spring which keeps the two rails apart and provides the radial load. The piston might be a fairly loose fit in the cylinder. If it were a tight fit, it would expand as it got hot and might stick tight in the cylinder. If a piston sticks (seizes) it could cause serious damage to the engine. On the other hand, if there is too much clearance between the piston and cylinder walls, much of the pressure from the burning gasoline vapour will leak past the piston (a condition known as blow-by) and into the crankcase, and the push on the piston from combustion will be much less effective in delivering power.

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PRODUCTION OF PISTON RINGS: 1.Coiling Process:

For manufacturing piston rings, steel wire is used as raw material. They are split at one point so that they can be expanded and slipped over the end of the piston and into ring grooves which have been cut in the piston. The steel wire is coiled in the form of ring by CAM COILING MACHINE. When the piston is installed in the cylinder, the rings are compressed into ring grooves which have been cut in piston so that the split ends come almost together. The rings fit tightly against the cylinder wall and against the sides of the ring grooves in the piston.

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2. HEAT TREATMENT :

In this process, ring is heated in a high temperature furnace limits at 600 C for 60 minutes to relieve the stresses produced in the ring. Then polishing of ring is done by using face grinding machine. To prevent from rust and dust, coolant is removed by using three-stage washing machine. The rigs are passed to two to three tanks containing different chemicals: a) blue gold b) cibo to prevent rust c) drier

3. LAPPING OPERATION:
Outer Diameter lapping machine done the lapping operation in the ring. It provides ring finishing. This provides full contact with piston to prevent leakage which prevent power loss. Now Gap Grinding Machine provides the accuracy of closed gap. Since there are two gaps, free gap and closed gap. There is a special process known as Inner Diameter Bevel Feature( IDBF). This provides taper turning in the ring which seals the ring to prevent the leakage of fuel.

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4. SURFACE TREATMENT:
Pre- gas Nitriding is done in rings for surface preparation. Rings are washed in different chemicals to remove rust. This prevent wear and tear from resistance and provides long life to ring. Gas nitriding is done in a furnace heating at 585C for about 280minutes, here Ammonia gas is injected in the furnace. Then it is passed to another chamber for cooling upto 85C and afterwards cooled at room temperature.

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5. FINAL INSPECTION:
Final inspection is done in Customer Reliable Inspection( CRI). Laser Stamping is done in which company brand name( USHA) is written on rings . A Set of five rings is packed in which two rings are compressible and three rings are Oil rings. Oil rings contain two Rail rings and one Space ring.

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