European Developed plastic Camshaft Module Makes Car Engines Lighter

Picture from the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology

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 car, but also has many advantages. This prototype part was designed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology in Germany, the auto parts manufacturer MAHLE Group, Daimler Automotive, the Belgian plastics manufacturer SBHPP / Vyncolit, and the French plastics company and the Georges Pernoud Group. This new module does not use the 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, vibration requires, and less energy during manufacturing. More importantly, it can be produced in one piece, reducing assembly time. It should be noted that the hardness of the fiber-reinforced thermosetting polymer is only a quarter of that of aluminum, although the design of the camshaft module claims to compensate for this defect. According to reports, after 600 hours of bench testing, one of the prototypes "exhibited flawless functions in the most advanced internal combustion engines." The module claims to be able to withstand the high temperature, mechanical and chemical pressure of the engine. However, the team also plans to conduct more tests to understand how the gas forces generated during combustion and affect its noise reduction characteristics.