MAKING PISTON/CYLINDER ASSEMBLIES THAT FIT THE FIRST TIME

A piston moving in a cylinder is one of the basic mechanical concepts at the foundation of literally hundreds of industrial technologies. Everything from hydraulic and pneumatic valves and cylinders to internal combustion engines, pumps, compressors, medical devices, and uncounted other products depends on this simple, basic concept.
And while the concept is simple and basic, its implementation is anything but. Achieving a precise, leak-free fit between a piston and cylinder has challenged manufacturers since the beginning of the industrial age and continues to do so today. In fact, many of the most advanced precision manufacturing technologies currently available were developed specifically to meet this challenge.
Using the fuel injector industry as an example, this paper explores process monitoring and control solutions that are bringing the goal of producing pistons and cylinders that are so perfect, they can be randomly assembled into products that deliver virtually identical performance over production runs numbering in the millions, within reach.

Read the Making Piston/Cylinder Assemblies That Fit the First Time article, that originally appeared in Tooling & Production eNews, June 2009 - Vol. 3, Issue 12, Nelson Publishing, Inc.