GKN Sinter Metals has received two Grand Prize Design Excellence Awards from the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF). The awards were in the Automotive Transmission category and the Automotive Chassis category.
The MPIF Design Excellence Awards recognize companies who use the flexibility of Powder Metallurgy (PM) materials to push new designs and concepts into a progressive industry. GKN accepted the awards at the annual PowderMet Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In the Automotive Transmission category, GKN Sinter Metals’ planetary carrier assembly for Ford Motor Company’s 10-speed transmission won the Grand Prize. The sinter-brazed copper-steel assembly is comprised of a cage and a flanged hub, and features a novel twist-lock geometry as a bearing retainer.
GKN receives two MPIF Awards at the PowderMet Conference in Las Vegas
The twist-lock retainer allows the flanged hub to only require a simple turning operation for functionality. The technology’s design reduced the stress by over 50 percent, resulting in a PM product that outperforms in a competitive process and cost.
GKN’s copper-steel output pulley for Nidec Automotive Motor Americas won the Grand Prize in the Automotive Chassis category. The pulley includes a compacted, net-shape groove for an electric reclining mechanism in a mini-van rear seat application, significantly reducing cost.
The part’s unique groove was designed for PM production, providing full functionality as a net-shaped product. The application required a small footprint design with lightweight parts, resulting in the success of the compacted technology of the output pulley.
The Planetary Carrier Assembly
MPIF recognized eight products across the industry at the conference for elite awards, and GKN is the only company in 2017 to win two Grand Prize awards. MPIF is an international federation with a mission to advance PM and particulate materials.
“GKN is pleased to receive two awards in 2017 and recognizes MPIF’s role in promoting the PM industry,” said Alan Taylor, Vice President Lightweight Technology, GKN Sinter Metals. “The two winning parts detail the breadth of design opportunities when using PM and provided our customers' exceptional value when compared to other metal working processes.”
The Output Pulley
