Crankshafts and camshafts are essential components that keep your car’s different mechanical processes in harmony with each other. Though they might seem like nothing more than machined billets of steel, these parts play critical roles in your engine’s performance and efficiency. Those interested in becoming mechanics should be familiar with the subtleties of their relationship and what they do to improve your vehicle’s power, torque, and fuel economy.
The crankshaft Cetus Automotive Repair Centre – Calgary, AB, which looks a little like the middle of a Jenga game, takes the power that is created by your pistons and puts it to work for you. It’s also responsible for transferring the energy of your engine’s rotating masses to the transmission and wheels. As a result, it has to be strong enough to withstand high loads and vibration while keeping the bearings and connecting rods in line with their proper locations.
Fortunately, modern manufacturing techniques make it possible to create intricate molds and CNC machines that produce crankshafts with impressive strength, accuracy, and reliability. The best crankshafts are made with low static and dynamic stress, as well as a small overall diameter for maximum efficiency and power. To do this, they are often forged from steel or cast iron. They are then machinced for precision and accuracy to reduce friction and stress on the bearings, and they are lubricated with oil to prevent metal-to-metal contact.
A crankshaft can be a bit heavy, which is why many race cars use a lighter crank that can spin up at higher RPMs and get back into the powerband more quickly. However, the lightening of a crank can be a double-edged sword in that it reduces the overall rigidity and strength of the crank, which may result in increased bearing wear.
In some engines, a crankshaft is connected to the camshaft by means of a belt or other synchronizing device to ensure that they are moving together at exactly the right time. The camshaft is a hollow rod with egg-shaped lobes that interact with a set of valve lifters or followers to open and close your engine’s intake and exhaust valves. The shape and positioning of these lobes regulate the precise timing of the opening and closing of your engine’s valves, which has a drastic effect on performance.
The camshaft is usually crafted from solid materials such as steel or cast iron, with a variety of alloys blended for specific performance requirements. It is then hardened with a chilling process to increase its strength and wear resistance. Depending on the engine, the camshaft may be a single overhead camshaft, or it may have two cams in an overhead valve design. Either way, they are crucial to an engine’s operation and should be inspected regularly for any signs of wear.