GKN Sinter Metals received three prestigious design awards from the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) at the annual technical conference POWDERMET2016. This annual awards competition, held in Boston and sponsored by MPIF, sees parts makers from MPIF’s member companies invited to submit components that demonstrate the benefits of Powder Metallurgy technology.
This year, MPIF received 24 submissions from nine member companies. The parts were reviewed by a panel of judges with criteria based on design configuration (40%), engineering properties (40%) and promotional value (20%). The winning parts will appear in many publications over the next year, giving added exposure to these achievements in powder metallurgy design while honoring the fabricators and end users responsible for them.
GKN recieves three MPIF Awards at Boston's PM Design Excellence Awards Luncheon
GKN’s Awards Team, which consisted of Abdul Butt, President Americas, Brian Durbin, VP Sales and Marketing, Joel Mandel, VP Engineering, and Alan Taylor, VP Lightweight Technology, joined together to submit the following technologies: Forged Powder Metal (FPM) Differential Gear Set, Aluminum Heat Sink, and Electric Power Steering Pulley.
GKN’s VP of Lightweight Technology, Alan Taylor, played a major role in organizing this year’s submissions and was honored to be a part of such a wonderful event. “MPIF is a well-known industry trade group who awards the best designers in the industry.” said Taylor.
The Grand Prize in the Automotive-Transmission Category was awarded to GKN Sinter Metals for the Differential Gear Set, which includes five components—a side gear, two pinion gears, a locking side gear, and a locking plate—comprising a forged PM electronic locking differential gear set made for Ford Motor Co. The parts go into the rear axle differential of the Ford F-150 light truck; the first time forged powder metal differential gears have been used in such an application. The higher performance delivered by the forged PM differential gears compared to that of competing metal-forming processes will help usher in downsized gear systems, satisfying a critical need in future automotive design.
l/r - Chad Williams, Quality Engineer, Dave Lenhart, RPPC Manager, GKN Sinter Metals, along with Jacob Povrik, Engineering Supervisor, Differential Assemblies, Ford Motor Company accepted a Grand-Prize Award in the Automotive Transmission Category
GKN was also recognized for an Award of Distinction in the Electronic/Electrical Category for an Aluminum PM Heat Sink made for Visteon. The part is used in a high-volume global automotive stereo application. The part is produced to net shape with no secondary machining operations needed. The high material ductility of the special aluminum PM alloy, combined with the precise positioning of the tooled-in assembly holes, enables assembly of the heat sink without the need for attachment screws.
l/r - Rich Hexemer, Principal Engineer, New Materials & Processes and Tom Fonville, Global Product and Process Engineer GKN Sinter Metals accepted an Award of Distinction in the Electronic/Electrical Category
Another Award of Distinction was given to GKN Sinter Metals in the Automotive-Chassis Category for a copper–steel driven pulley for an Electric Power Steering System made for Nexteer Automotive. The pulley is a complex net-shape-compacted part with a unique helical geometry and tight tolerances. Close collaboration with the customer in the design of the part, which includes net-formed lightening holes, yielded savings of more than 10%.
Taylor continued, “Since GKN has such a broad range of products it made our choices quite simple. Of the three parts that were submitted, one was Powder Forging, the other Aluminum Powder Metallurgy and lastly, Conventional PM. All three have performance and light weighting attributes to help boost fuel economy. It was truly an honor for us to be recognized for all three of our submitted parts.”
l/r - James McConnell, Advanced Supplier Quality Engineer, Nexteer Automotive, and GKN Sinter Metals’, John Gurosik, Press Technology Manager, and Luke Losey, CNC Compaction Engineer accepted an Award of Distinction in the Automotive Chassis Category
