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ISSN:2348-2079 Volume-6 Issue-1

International Journal of Intellectual Advancements

and Research in Engineering Computations

Reduction of unforged bar bulb in engine valve

manufacturing
1 2 2
M. Manikandan , S. Mahendiran , A.P. Surya Chandran
1 2
Assistant Professor, UG Students
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nandha Engineering College, Erode-52,
Tamil Nadu, India.
1 2
mani@nandhaengg.org, mahibelieber@gmail.com

Abstract—Valves play an important role while

converting chemical energy into mechanical energy
during the cycle in IC engine. The valves made of several
processes like preparing cut bar, upsetting and forging
in the premachining. At the premachining stage of valve
manufacturing, there are manual and robot-assisted
forging shop used to produce the head of the valve from
preformed bar or bulb produced bar. In this project, the
ways to reduce the unforged bar bulb at the robot-
assisted forge shop are found. The root cause analysis
(RCA) method is used to find the problems which cause
unforged bar bulb. From the analysis, It has been found
that the major cause of the occurrence of the unforged
bar bulb is the stem bend. Because of there is no
guidance for the bar, the stem bends while upsetting and
Figure 1. Parts of engine valve
it leads other causes like loss of copper jaws life, Robot
collision, die damage, etc., In order to overcome this
main and other causes, the design of the upsetter stopper Valves are used in piston engines to open and close
bush is redesigned. By doing this, the quality and the intake and exhaust ports in the cylinder head. So
quantity of valves in production are increased, the there are two types of engine valve, inlet and exhaust
occurrence of the unforged bar bulb is reduced and stem valve. Inlet valves permits the required amount of air-
run achieved and maintained within the limit at the fuel mixture in the engine. Then, exhaust valve passes
premachining stage. the exhaust gases to the atmosphere. This is why
valves play a critical role in IC engine. The engine
Index Terms—Unforged bar bulb, Electric upsetting, valve is also used to seal compression or prevent the
Forging, Engine valve, Root cause analysis.
combustion products from escaping during the cycle.
The valve is usually a flat disk of metal with a long
I. INTRODUCTION rod known as the 'valve stem' attached to one side.
The engine valve is one of the main parts which are Materials that are commonly used for
used in all internal combustion(IC) engines. manufacturing engine valves include carbon steel
alloys, stainless steels, high-strength nickel-
chromium-iron alloys and titanium. The alloys are
commonly used to produce valves include
various high chromium stainless alloys for intake
valves, and 21-4N for exhaust valves.
Abhishek Jayswalaet al.[1] studied and investigated
on A sustainability root cause analysis methodology.
In this the major problem in it is to identify the

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Manikandan M et al., Inter. J. Int. Adv. & Res. In Engg. Comp., Vol.–06(01) 2018 [475-480]

bottleneck issue and to improve sustainability.RCA mechanics model (MDM) derives an analysis on
method is able to focus attention on the designer and isolated unit cells involving idealized defects such as
provide critical guidance to design. It helps the cracks. By the utilization of finite element analysis it
designer to advance their practice for sustainability gives a great potential of such application in the mass
development more systematically. Dalgobind Mahto, production.Yuvraj K Lavhale, Prof.Jeevan salunke[9]
Anjani Kumar[2] The authour investigated and investigated on the failure trend of intake and exhaust
disscussed about the root cause identification for valves. Valve failure occurs due to thermal fatigue,
quality and productivity related problems. In the root Inlet valve failures occurs due to wear, impurities in
cause identification method has been adopted to air. In the exhaust valve flue gases forms the scale
elimate the dimension defect in cutting operation cnc formation which are mainly due to the erosion and
oxy flame cutting machine. It is identified using corrosion. So, the important attention should be given
structural approach with techniques to resolving while designing of intake and exhaust valve. Zhang-
problems. Guo-zheng Quan et al.[3] studied the xing men et al.[10] developed and investigated on
formation process of upsetting defect in electric continued electric heating in upsetting process by the
upsetting and optimizing the process parameters based influence of coupled electr-thermo-mechanical
on multi-field coupling FEM. The main factor simulation. An axi-symmetric model has been
causing the secondary upsetting defect is the large developed to analyze a deformation process by
temperature decrease of the deformed portion after the continuous resistance heating. By increasing the
formation of deformed shape in the preliminary stage current intensity, it leads to decrease in cooling rate
of electric upsetting. The effective elimination of and the optimized forming force can be obtained.
secondary upsetting defect was developed by a
A. COMMON PROBLEMS FACED IN ENGINE
current sub routine in MSC. Marc.K.Elayaraja,
VALVE MANUFACTURING
P.Periyasamy[4] investigated and developed a process
quality control through proportionate valve in In valve manufacturing, there are many problems
electrical upsetting. They conducted a number of trials faced as following mentioned.The problems which are
like varying the power intensity, different anvil commonly facedbar bulb crack, seat uneven, face
position and velocity to obtain the bulb without crack pittings, stem bend, face crack, overall length low.
or fold. From the result of the trials, they conclude
that shape of bulb can be changed by anvil position. B. FORGE SHOP
Karan soniet al.[5] carried out an investigation based Forge shop is one of the stages in the
on optimizing the internal combustion engine exhaust premachining process. It consists of
valve design using finite element analysis. By using
 Forging Press
finite element method, it significantly shortens the
design cycle by reducing the number of tests required.  Upsetting Machine
By utilizing the computational capability to identify  Robot
the possible design optimization of exhaust valves for  Loading and Unloading unit
material and weight reduction, without affecting  Pyrometer sensor
thermal and structural strength.Naresh Kr.
Raghuwanshi &et al.[6] kept focussing on different
failure modes of internal combustion engine inlet &
exhaust valves. The failure occurs mainly due to
fatigue at high temperature, high operating
temperature effects on mechanical properties. Wear
failure which is because of impact loading, and wear
rate that depends on load and time. This is helpful for
researchers to develop the valve materials to achieve a
prolonged life. Quan guozhong et al.[7] analyzed and
discussed about the influence of electric upsetting
process variables on temperature field by multi field
coupling finite element analyses. As the current
increase , the secondary upsetting defect are in less
Figure 2.Forge shop
distinct and in order to eliminate the secondary
upsetting defect on the work pieces. . Thus optimizing In the forge shop where the head of the valve is
the upsetting pressure and a three stage current load produced. First, the raw material is prepared as a cut
mode the secondary upsetting defect is eliminated bar for the premachining. Then it brings to the forge
completely.Xi yanget al.[8] investigated about shop of premachining. The cut bar is loaded by the
cracking and fracture issues in precision forging of operator. Then loading unit loads the cut bar to an
engine valve using finite Element Method. . For the upsetting machine. By upsetting the cut bar, the
forging process, finite element simulation was onion-shaped bulb is produced. The copper jaws and
conducted with commercial Finite element code Mallory anvil act as electrodes and by placing the cut
DEFORMfracture occurs. In micro based damage bar, the circuit gets closed. The robot picks preformed

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Manikandan M et al., Inter. J. Int. Adv. & Res. In Engg. Comp., Vol.–06(01) 2018 [475-480]

bar from upsetter and places it in the die. At the die, For example, when robot collides with the press, it
the temperature of the bulb is monitored to ensure that stopped to moving and the bars which are processed
it is within range of 850°C to 1100°C. If it is not, it in upsetter come to stop upsetting. Thus the unforged
cannot be forged. The pyrometer pointed towards the
bar bulb occurs while upsetting.
direction of the bulb. If bulb temperature is within the
range, the press produces head by applying force. It leads to production loss, consumes a lot of time
Then the unloading unit is used to unload valve to bin. and money to convert the unforged bar bulb into a
valve. Due to this, a lot of industries avoid to rework
C. UPSETTING PROCESS it. The unforged bar bulb is as shown in Figure 4.
To perform forging, the job has to be drawn to
required temperature and plastic deformation stage.
The bulb temperature should be in the range of 850°C
to 1100°C for SUH 11 and 21-4N steel. For
preforming purpose, the upsetting process is carried
out.
When a high-density electric current at a very low
voltage is made to pass through a portion of bar stock,
which is held against an anvil and clamped between Figure 4. Unforged bar bulb
two jaws and supported by the hydraulic stopper bush,
E. CAUSES TO PROBLEM OCCURING
to generate sufficient heat to make the portion red hot
1) Stem Bend
and plastic. An upsetting force is applied in the axial
There is no guidance for the bar. So stem slides
direction on the rod against the anvil, making the over the surface of the stopper bush during the
portion which is in the plastic stage, to deform into a process. Owing to this, Stem bends while upsetting
bulb shape and to gather the required volume.The process. It causes high stem run out (Stem run out
overall length of valve is varied by adjusting the should be up to 0.3mm). So the bars that have high
travel distance of a hydraulic piston movement. stem run out will be a burden in straightening process.
When these bars placed in the die, it cannot be placed
properly and it cannot get into die. So, the unloader
unloads this bar which is not forged.

Figure 5. Stem bend

Figure 3. Upsetting machine
A diagram of the upsetting process is as shown in 2) Loss of jaws life
Figure. 3and the operating parameters of upsetter is When jaws life (350 NOS) get over, stem starts to
shown in Table 1. bend. Sliding of a stem during the upsetting process,
the groove of the copper jaws tends to change as
Table 1. Upsetting machine operating parameter shown in the Figure 6. Once the groove gets bend, it
also causes a bend in the preformed bar.
Parameters Values
Upsetting pressure 20-45 Kg/cm2
Clamping pressure 15-40 Kg/cm2
Anvil gap 2-5 times of bar dia
Anvil changing frequency 1000 Nos
Jaws changing frequency 350 Nos

D. UNFORGED BAR BULB Figure 6. Variation in jaws groove

Unforged bar bulb is one of the rejections in valve
production. Unforged bar bulb means not head Copper jaws that have a bend in the groove cannot
produced valve after and while bulb produced in the be used any longer. By following this deflected
groove, upcoming bars also upsetted and results stem
upsetter. Forging of a valve is carried out with the
to bend. Thisalso leads to unforged bar bulb.
help of automation. It happens due to a lot of causes.

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Manikandan M et al., Inter. J. Int. Adv. & Res. In Engg. Comp., Vol.–06(01) 2018 [475-480]

Variation in the groove shape is shown in the Figure II. METHODOLODY & MATERIALS
6.
A. Materials
3) Die damage
When the bent job is placed in the die, it Inlet valves are made up of mono materials and it is
additionally gets bend during forging because of the rare to use bi-metals if more strength needed. Where
heavy load. Due to the excessive deflection, it got SUH-11 or 21-4N is used to produce the inlet valves.
stuck in the die as shown in Figure 7. During this, The dimensions of a cut bar are given below in the
another upsetter stopped to upset the bar. So, it Table 2.
remained as unforged bar bulb. Table 2. Cut bar parameters

Parameters Values
Length 182±0.5 mm
Diameter 5.675±0.025 mm

Super alloys or high performance alloys have an

ability to operate at temperatures above 540ºC
(1000ºF) with deformation resistance and high surface
stability. As they have good oxidation and creep
resistance, super alloys can be commonly forged,
Figure 7. (a). Job stuck at die (b). Die damage rolled to sheet or produced in various shapes. Iron-
base, nickel-base and cobalt-base alloys are the major
4) Gripper misalignment types of super alloys.
When the robot gripper picks the bent job from
upsetter machine, alignment of the gripper gets Table 3. Compositions of SUH 11 steel
changed. If it happened, the gripper cannot pick and
place the job properly. It also causes unforged bar Elements Min.（≥） Max.（≤）
bulb. C 0.45 0.55
Si 1.00 2.00
Mn - 0.60
P - 0.03
S - 0.03
Cr 7.50 9.50
Ni - -
Mo - -

Nickel-base and cobalt-base super alloys may be

cast or wrought based on its composition or
Figure 8. Gripper misalignment
application. The iron-base super alloys are generally
5) Robot collision and position change wrought alloys that can be strengthened by
Either job get stuck at die or bar bends while precipitation hardening, work hardening and solid-
upsetting causes the robot collision. The collision of solution hardening.
the robot is as shown in Figure 9. This also causes
robot position change. If the position of robot Table 4. Compositions of 21-4N steel
changes, it cannot perform the task properly. So
engineer needs to teach the robot and it also consumes Elements Min.（≥） Max.（≤）
more time. C - 0.05
Si - 0.20
Mn - 0.50
P - -
S - -
Ni - remaining
Cr 15.00 17.00
Al 4.00 5.00
Cu - -
Ti - 0.50
Fe 2.00 4.00
Figure 9. Robot collision N - -
Mo - 0.50
B - 0.006
Zr - 0.05

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Manikandan M et al., Inter. J. Int. Adv. & Res. In Engg. Comp., Vol.–06(01) 2018 [475-480]

and analyzing, several trials conducted and RCA tools

B. Methodology like fishbone diagram, cause and effect diagram used
to analyse respectively. In order to eliminate the root
This project carried out by the root cause analysis
method in order to eliminate the problems by finding cause, the design of the upsetter stopper bush is
and eliminating the root problem. Root cause analysis modified(modified design - upsetter bar guide bush).
is a systematic approach to get to the bottom of the
problem and it aims at improving products or
processes.

Figure 12. Stem run out comparison before and after

changing the design
Figure 10. Cause and effect diagram
Before and after employing a new design, a trial
Cause and effect diagram is drawn as shown in was conducted to measure stem run out after changing
Figure 10for every possible cause to unforged bar a new pair of copper jaws. Each upsetter machine
bulb during brainstorming. Possible causes are requires a pair of copper jaws. A new pair is efficient
observed and evaluated.
up to 350 jobs. In this trial, there were two
C. Geometrical parameter upsetters.Before and after, 335 jobs were taken in the
In order to eliminate all the causes, the design of trial out of 700.The result of this trial is shown in
upsetter stopper bush (which is the root cause) is Figure 12.
changed. The upsetter stopper bush is modified as The highest and the smallest stem run out were
shown in the Figure 11 and named as bar support
1.1mm and 0.01mm before changing the design of
bush. The dimension of the groove is 7mm to guide
the bar during the process. upsetter stopper bush. The valves which are out of
specification(0.3mm) were 171 and 51% of 335. After
the design implentation, the highest and the smallest
stem run out were 0.35mm and 0.01mm respectively.
Out of specification valves were 13 and 3.88% of 335.
As a consequence of not having any guidance, stem
bends while upsetting. By providing groove and
tapper surface it guides the bar while upsetting and
also prevents the bar from slipping from groove
respectively. So the stem bend controlled within the
limit(0.3 mm).
From Figure 12, we can see the difference between
before and after changing the design of upsetter
stopper bush and the improvement in the copper jaws
life. The stem run out was random wise changing
Figure 11. Upsetter bar guide bush – Modified design when there is no guidance. After providing guidance,
it seems the stem run out uniformly changing.
In this design, an end changeable bush is provided
If stem bends while upsetting, it will get stuck at
as shown in Figure 11. (c). Simply changing the end
changeable bush with different groove diameter can die after forging and it leads to die damage. By
produce valves with various diameter bars easily. controlling the stem bend while upsetting, the
problem is eliminated from occurring. Robot
III. RESULT & DISCUSSION collision, gripper misalignment which are occurred
Through the root cause analysis method, it has because of stem bend has been eliminated.
found that stem bend is the main problem for
unforged bar bulb and other causes which are
responsible for unforged bar bulb. During observation

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