Toyota Awarded the 66th Okochi Memorial Production Prize for the Development of an Aluminum Casting Technology
April 03 2020 - 1:36AM
JCN Newswire (English)
Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced that it has jointly
developed(1) an innovative aluminum casting technology that
improves the plant environment and product functionality, for which
it has received the Okochi Memorial Production Prize in the 66th
(2019) Okochi Memorial Prize awards. Presented by the Okochi
Memorial Foundation, the Okochi Memorial Prize acknowledges
remarkable achievements related to research and development, and
the application of production engineering, production technology,
and production systems annually. This marks the first time in three
years that Toyota has been awarded the well-established,
prestigious Okochi Memorial Prize. It is also the 12th Okochi
Memorial Prize*2 overall for Toyota.
|
Group Photo |
Toyota is implementing initiatives to achieve the "Plant Zero CO2
Emissions Challenge," which is one of the targets in the Toyota
Environmental Challenge 2050, announced in 2015. As the
electrification of vehicles proceeds, engines will also have to
evolve, such as through the use of technologies to achieve high
thermal efficiency. For these two reasons, Toyota developed the
aluminum casting technology that received this prize.
Toyota received this prize for a world-first aluminum casting
technology for cylinder heads*3, which affect engine performance.
The cooling water channels of a cylinder head are normally formed
using molds made from sand and adhesive, known as a core. The
technology commonly used to make cores at present employs an
organic material called phenolic resin as the adhesive. However,
the casting process produces strong odors and smoke, giving rise to
the issue of large deodorization equipment required to deal with
the odorous gas by-products.
Manufacturing cylinder head
On the other hand, increased cooling capacity of the cylinder head
is necessary for improving engine performance, and this requires
thinner and more complex cooling water channels. Also, using
inorganic material as the adhesive is an effective way of
eliminating smoke and odor, but there was previously no method of
manufacturing cores that would allow for complicated shapes and
reuse of sand.
Structure of cylinder head cooling water channels
The aluminum casting technology developed by Toyota uses the
inorganic material, water glass, which does not cause odors or
smoke. Moreover, this world-first technology enables complex shapes
to be created and the sand to be reused. Using water glass, which
is not subject to thermal degradation, to adhesive the sand has
succeeded in reducing odor concentrations during the casting
process to 1/100th or less, thereby reducing the investment
required in deodorization equipment. Also, the action of
surfactants creates a mousse-like consistency that improves the
flowability of the sand, which enables the creation of thin and
complex cooling water channels in the cylinder head. This is
contributing significantly to mass production of new model engines
with thermal efficiency of 41 percent. The temperature at which the
sand is processed was also reduced, with the effect of more than
halving the CO2 emissions of traditional methods.
Comparison of sand flowability
Cylinder heads made using this technology are currently in use all
around the world. Going forward, Toyota will extend this technology
both internally and to other companies as well, and will take on
new challenges to contribute to the realization of a sustainable
society through efforts to bring about positive effects to the
earth and society.
(1) Jointly developed with SINTOKOGIO, Ltd.
(2) Including the Okochi Memorial Grand Production Prize, Okochi
Memorial Production Prize, Okochi Memorial Technology Prize
(3) Together with the cylinder block, the cylinder head is one of
the parts that form the body of the engine. It is an important part
that affects engine performance.
About Toyota Motor Corporation
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is the global mobility company that
introduced the Prius hybrid-electric car in 1997 and the first
mass-produced fuel cell sedan, Mirai, in 2014. Headquartered in
Toyota City, Japan, Toyota has been making cars since 1937. Today,
Toyota proudly employs 370,000 employees in communities around the
world. Together, they build around 10 million vehicles per year in
29 countries, from mainstream cars and premium vehicles to
mini-vehicles and commercial trucks, and sell them in more than 170
countries under the brands Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino. For
more information, please visit www.toyota-global.com.
Source: Toyota Motor Corporation
Copyright 2020 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024