Floform - Leaders in cold forming technology.


	Case Studies As we complete new projects we will add them to this case studies section. To view any of the existing case studies, click on the links below. Injector Sleeves Integral Flange Flatbase for Semiconductor Copper Cored Electrodes for Automotive Spark Plugs











	Injector Sleeves – T1164 Description Thin walled (1.3mm) copper tube 25mm diameter at its largest, with a small step part way down, and a 12mm diameter ‘nose’ at one end with a slightly thicker wall section. Overall length 108mm of which the ‘nose’ makes up 23mm. The surface finish is controlled in a number of areas the smoothest finish (on the OD at the opposite end to the nose) being 2.5 micrometres, Ra. This is a typical example from a wide range of injector sleeves made by Floform for different diesel engine makers.
	Challenge Injector sleeves are used in heavy-duty diesel engines to house the fuel injectors, bridging the cylinder head between the lower deck and the upper deck. The sleeve simplifies the cylinder head casting (especially useful in four valves per cylinder engines) and assists heat transfer away from the injector nozzle, giving it more consistent operation and longer life. The challenge facing the engine designer is to ensure a gas- and water-tight seal at the nose end of the sleeve where the injector sleeve meets the combustion chamber. In addition, he must create a water-tight seal where the sleeve fits into the top deck of the cylinder head, in a zone where there can be minute (normal) movement relative to the lower deck. The method of assembly needs to be robust, and as well as a life of a million miles, it must be easy to fit new sleeves when the cylinder head is overhauled. The typical response to these pressures is to design a copper sleeve that has three key features: - a nose swaged into the lower deck - a raised sealing ring on the inner face at the bottom of the sleeve - an ‘o’ ring seal between the sleeve and the upper deck of the head. The challenge facing the injector sleeve manufacturer is to produce a complex geometric shape containing high precision zones, and to do so at the lowest cost possible. Furthermore, due to the unpredictability of the engine development process, it must be possible to modify the design of the sleeve quickly and cheaply during the engine test and development programme.	Sectioned enlargement showing sealing ring profile on the inside base of the sleeve.
	Floform’s Response Injector sleeves can be made by a number of methods, including deep drawing from sheet, machining from bar, and swaging from tube. Floform has instead, chosen to cold form the sleeve from a cropped slug, finishing the high precision zones by local machining. Benefits Higher material utilisation: Floform achieve 92% material utilisation compared with 62% for deep drawing from strip, or 17% if the sleeve is machined from bar. The savings are enhanced by Floform’s unique cropping process, which enables production of the input slug without the waste of sawing. Flexible geometry: Variable wall thickness, and other geometric features that may be impossible to achieve by other methods, can readily be achieved by cold forming More reliable sealing of the injector nozzle: Cold forming consistently creates a high precision sealing ring inside the bottom of the sleeve, which is difficult to achieve by other manufacturing methods. High product integrity: Cold forming delivers better grain flow within the material than other manufacturing methods, giving the sleeve added strength and fatigue resistance. Lower machining costs: The cold formed components only require localised machining to achieve features such as ‘o’ ring grooves. The finish and form achieved ‘off the press’ meets the design specification in most areas of the sleeve without machining. Ease of development: The flexibility of the cold forming process allows detail changes to be made easily and quickly during the development process. next case study>>>


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