Engine front covers, cast and machined for an automotive OEM programme

The part

An engine front cover closes the timing drive at the front of the engine. It is a large, thin walled aluminium casting with stiffening ribs, many mounting bosses, an oil seal bore and sealing faces that must stay flat and leak free once the engine is assembled.

What made it demanding

• Thin walls next to heavy bosses, which invites shrinkage porosity if the die and process are not balanced.
• Sealing faces and bores that must hold flatness and position after machining.
• Automotive volumes with the documentation a Tier 1 customer must pass on to the OEM.

How we approached it

• Right machine, right process. Cast on a cold chamber machine sized for the projected area, with process parameters recorded for every shot.
• Soundness proven early. X ray checks on development samples to confirm the gating and overflow layout before series release.
• Machined where it was cast. Sealing faces, bores and threaded holes finished on our own CNC and VMC machines, with fixtures designed around the casting datums.
• Checked on every part. Critical dimensions air gauged on 100% of parts and measured at 20 °C.
• Documents the chain needs. First article inspection, control plan and material test certificates for the Tier 1 partner’s PPAP submission.

The outcome

The covers are supplied machined, inspected and packed to the Tier 1 partner, who assembles them into engines for the OEM. One supplier holds responsibility for the casting, the machining and the inspection record.

Customer and OEM names are withheld at their request.