Slide parts

Abstract: Slide parts, comprising a first part (1) made of an aluminium alloy having an Alumite layer formed on the slide surface thereof and another part (2) made of an aluminium alloy having a Fe-series wet-plated layer formed on the slide surface thereof, which is to be in contact with and slide on the slide surface of the former alloy part (1); and a method of the manufacture of the slide parts (1,2). The slide parts are made to be lightweight and are excellent in abrasion-­ resistance and baking-resistance. The clearance variation due to changes in temperature is small, and the slide parts are suitable for use as reciprocating slide parts.

Description: The present invention relates to slide parts, each part having a slide surface and more particularly, it relates to slide parts, both base materials of which are made of an aluminium alloy, and to a method for manufacture of the same. Slide parts which are used in cars or in other vehicles are so designed as to be light weighted, and therefore, are required to be made of an aluminium alloy. However, aluminium alloys themselves have a defect in that their abrasion-resistance is poor for use in slide parts. In order to overcome this defect, a method of forming an anodize coating, also known as Alumite film layer, on the surface of the base metal by anodic oxidation is known (Machine Planning, Vol. 29, No. 15, pp. 77-86, 1985). This Alumite film layer is effective in improving the abrasion-resistance of the base metal, even though the metal is an aluminium alloy. It is apparent that, if both parts of a pair of slide parts are coated with the Alumite film, the abrasion tends to become greater, the parts of the same kind are to slide on each other. It has been proven that the abrasion is decreased in the case of a pair of slide parts comprising a part with an Alumite layer, and a part made of steel. Hitherto there have been used slide parts comprising a part of an aluminium alloy with an Alumite layer formed thereon by an anodic oxidation treatment as a body side-part and a steel with a high abrasion-resistance or a heat-treated steel as a valve side-part as lightweight slide parts. However, when the said slide parts are used in a reciprocating system, problems arise, as mentioned below, which result from the variation in the temperature of the lubricants used. Particularly, since the body side-part (aluminium alloy + Alumite layer) and the valve side part (iron series material) differ in thermal expansion coefficients, the clearance in the slide parts becomes insufficient at low temperatures, which causes sticking (valve slide clearance insufficiency), while the clearance becomes greater at higher temperature, which causes oil leakage. This has been one problem. Further, when the slide parts are used at a high temperature, and then cooled, extraneous substances in the lubricant circuit remain between the valve and the body, which also causes sticking. This has been another problem. In order to solve these problems, it has been known as a matter of course to use the parts having similar linear expansion coefficients as much as possible in both the body side and the valve side. Therefore, it has been studied to use an Alumite coated aluminium alloy also at the valve side, which has already been partly put into practical use. Although the above combination presents the above-mentioned drawbacks caused by the clearance variations or the like, the problem that the abrasion-resistance is still poor remains, as the Alumite layers are subjected to sliding upon each other, as mentioned above. For the improvement of the abrasion-resistance of aluminium or the like, the following methods are known beside the above-mentioned anodic oxidation treatment (Alumite coating treatment). (1) A method of hardening of the surface (Fe) plating. (Refer to Handbook for Metal Plating, Daily Industrial Newspaper Co., 1st Edt., July 25, 1971, page 20) (2) A method of polishing one aluminium alloy by electrolytic polishing and forming a layer on an aluminium alloy by Fe-P (iron-phosphorus alloy) plating (cf. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Sho 58-146763). (3) A method of etching treatment (hereinafter referred to "ECM treatment") by electrolytic polishing or chemical polishing on one aluminium alloy and forming a layer containing dispersed particles of SiC (silicon carbide) on the corresponding slide part of aluminium alloy by Fe-P plating (cf. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 60-165389). While these methods have shown some improvements, they are not at all satisfactory. For example, when a high silicon-aluminium alloy (AA Standard: A 390) having a high abrasion-resistance among aluminium alloys is used, the abrasion of other part of Fe-plated material is increased to augment the surface roughness thereof because the friction is generated between the primary crystal silicon (Hv 900 to 1100) in the aluminium alloy structure and the other part, whereby both the aluminium alloy itself and the one part are noticeably abraded. In addition, when used in the region of high load, the primary crystal silicon cracks or peels off to cause the same phenomenon as in the case of the presence of extraneous substances, whereby the value of baking load is lowered. Accordingly, the present invention has been so made as to solve or minimize the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide slide parts, the base metals of which are made of an aluminium alloy, and which are substantially free from clearance variation even under temperature variations and excellent in abrasion-resistance and baking-resistance. The invention provides slide parts comprising one part made of aluminium alloy having a surface coating formed by anodic oxidation on the slide surface thereof and the other part made of an aluminium alloy having a layer selected from the group consisting of said Fe-plated layer, a SiC grains-dispersed Fe-plated layer and an Fe-0.2 - 1.5 % P-plated layer, on the slide surface thereof, which is in sliding contact with the slide surface of said one part. The invention also provides a method for preparing cooperating slide surfaces of slide parts made of aluminium alloy, wherein the slide surface of one slide part is prepared by an anodic oxidation treatment thereof, and the slide surface of the other slide part is prepared by plating by wet process in an Fe-plating bath, a SiC grains-dispersed Fe-plating bath, a Fe-0.2 - 1.5 % P-plating bath. Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a graph showing the results of the abrasion-resistance testing of the slide parts of the present invention in comparison with those of the slide parts of comparative examples. Fig. 2 is a graph showing the relation between the volume ratio of the SiC grains in the Fe-plating layer of the slide parts of another embodiment of the present invention and the abrasion-resistance thereof. Fig. 3 is a view showing the structure of the reciprocating slide parts of an oil path line valve device to be used in an automatic transmission. The Alumite coated part of the slide part can be obtained in a conventional manner, by an anodic oxidation treatment of an aluminium alloy capable of forming an Alumite layer in the anode of electrolytic bath; for example a sulfuric acid bath, an oxalic acid bath, or a mixed acid bath with the former two. The hardness of the Alumite layer may be Hv 150 or more. If lower than the said hardness limitation, the abrasion of the Alumite layer increase remarkably. As to the wet-plated layer to be formed on the other part, a layer comprising Fe-plate, Fe-0.2 - 1.5 % P-plate or SiC grain-dispersed Fe-plate is adopted, which is explained hereinafter. The formation of the iron-plate layer can be performed by conventional methods using a known ferrous sulfate bath, ferrous chloride bath, mixed bath of the former two, ferrous sulfamate bath, or the like. The formation of the Sic grain-dispersed iron-plate layer can be performed by treatment with a conventional iron-plating solution into which SiC grains are dispersed. The grain size of said SiC grains is preferably from 0.1 to 10 µ. If the size is less than 0.1 µ, the effect of the improvement of abrasion-resistance and baking-resistance would be insufficient. On the other hand, if the size is more than 10 µ, the aggressiveness to the other part would become too large. The amount of SiC grains to be dispersed in the Fe-plate base layer is preferably from 5 to 35 % by volume. If the amount is less than 5 %, abrasion can not be reduced, and if the amount is more than 35 %, the aggressiveness to the other part becomes outstanding. The formation of the Fe-0.2--1.5% P-plate layer can be performed by plating in a plating bath which comprises main components of from 100 to 350 g/liter of iron chloride (FeCl₂·4H₂O) and from 5 to 25 g/liter of sodium hypophosphite, said bath being adjusted to have a pH value of from 0.1 to 1.2 with hydrochloric acid. The phosphorus content of the Fe-P alloy plate layer is restricted to the range of from 0.2 to 15 %, which is because, if the content is less than 0.2 %, the effect of the improvement of the abrasion-resistance and the baking-resistance would be insufficient; and, if the content is more than 15 % the plate layer would be so brittle as to cause the cracking of the layer. The film thickness of the above mentioned plate layers is not specifically limitative, but may be, in general, from 1 to 150 µ. In the slide parts of the present invention, the thermal expansion coefficient difference between the aluminium alloys of both base metals is preferably 3 x 10⁻⁶/°C or less. If said difference is more than said limitations, the extraneous materials in the lubricant circuit remain between the body and the valve, which often causes sticking when the parts are used at high temperatures ( 150°C ) and then cooled. On the contrary, when the difference is 3 x 10⁻⁶/°C or less, the resistence of the extraneous materials would only cause some scratches between the body and the valve without any sticking. Accordingly, the slide parts of the present invention are suitable as reciprocating slide parts, for example, with a valve chamber for an oil switching device of an automatic transmission and a shift valve which engages slidably with the valve chamber. EMBODIMENT The present invention is explained hereinafter by reference to embodiments in comparison with comparative examples ( hereinafter referred to "examples") which, however are not intended to limit the scope othe present invention. Embodiment 1: Using an aluminium alloy ( JIS, ADC 12), a cylinder having an outer diameter of 35 mm, an inner diameter of 30 mm, and width of 10 mm was manufactured ; and then the outer surface thereof was subjected to anodic oxidation in a sulfuric acid bath. Thus, a cylindrical test sample with an oxide film (Alumite film) having a thickness of 10 µ and a hardness of Hv 300 was obtained. On the other hand, an aluminium alloy casting (JIS, AC 1A) having a size of 16 x 6 x 10 mm was plated in a sulfate bath (ferrous sulfate, 250 g/liter) under the condition of electric current density of 5 A/dm² and a bath temperature of 60°C , to obtain a cubic test sample having an Fe-plate layer with a thickness of 25 µ and a hardness of Hv 300 ( test surface size 16 x 6 mm). The said cubic test sample and the above mentioned cylindrical test sample were combined and used in the abrasion-resistance test as mentioned below. Embodiment 2: The same test combination comprising the same test samples as those in Embodiment 1 was prepared except that the Fe-plate layer in the cubic test sample in Embodiment 1 was replaced by a Fe-1 % P-plate layer ( thickness: 30 µm, hardness: Hv 500 ); and this was subjected to the same test. The formation of the Fe-1 % P-plate layer on the aluminium alloy base was carried out in a plating bath comprising 260g/liter ammonium sulfate 1.0g/liter of phosphorous acid, 110 g/liter of ammonium sulfate and 26 g/liter of boric acid under the condition of a pH of 3, a bath temperature of 62 °C and electric current density of 5 A/dm². Embodiment 3: The same test combination as in Embodiment 1 was prepared except that the Fe-plate layer of the cubic test sample was replaced by a SiC grains-dispersed Fe-plate layer, and this was subjected to the test as mentioned below. The formation of the SiC grains-dispersed iron-plate layer was carried out in a plating solution comprising SiC grains having a grain diameter of 1.5 µ dispersed in the sulfate bath (ferrous sulfate, 250 g/liter) in an amount of 30g/liter under the condition of an electric current density of 7 A/dm² and a bath temperature of 60°C . The thickness of the layer thus formed was 25 µ, the hardness thereof was Hv 800 and the content of SiC was 10 % by volume. Examples 1 to 7 Various examples were prepared for a comparative test of the embodiments of the present invention, which comprise cylindrical test samples on the one hand and cubic test samples on the other hand as shown in Table 1,in which the embodiments of the present invention are also shown. Those examples 1 to 7 were prepared in the same manner of preparation of Embodiments 1 to 3. The ECM treatments were carried out in accordance with the above mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-open Nos. Sho 58-146763 and Sho 60-165389. In the above Table 1, the parenthesized contents for the base metal mean the JIS standard, and the parenthesized contents for the surface mean the film thickness and hardness. Abrasion Test: Each of Embodiments 1 to 3 and Examples 1 to 7 were set in an abrasion testing machine, where the outer surface of a cylindrical test sample was kept in contact with the 16 x 6 mm surface of the cubic test sample; these were subjected to a rotary abrasion test for 30 minutes under the condition of a load of 60 kg and a rotation number of 160 rpm, while a lubricant oil (ATF: trade name " DEXRON II ") having a temperature of 25°C was applied to the contacted part of the test samples. The surface roughness of the cylindrical test sample and that of the cubic test sample was 0.8 uRz and 1.2 uRz respectively. The results of the abrasion test are shown in Fig.1. The upper half of Fig. 1 shows the amount abraded (amount reduced by abrasion: mg) on the cylindrical test sample. The lower half of Fig. 1 shows the amount abraded (depth abraded: µ) on the cubic test sample. The alphabet code in Fig. 1 corresponds to the combination code in Table 1. From Fig.1, it is clear that the test samples with no surface treatment (cubic test sample of Code A, cylindrical test sample of Code G) are noticeably abraded. In addition, it is proved that the abrasion of the cylindrical test samples was great in the combination of Alumites only. From the comparison of the amounts abraded in both the cylindrical test samples and the cubic test samples, it is also found that the combination of an Alumite material and an Fe-series plate material (D,E,F) in Embodiments 1 to 3 were more superior than the combination (C) of an Alumite material and a quenched steel, although the base material in the former three cases was an aluminium alloy. Embodiment 4: In the case of the combination Code F in Table 1, the amount of the SiC grains to be dispersed in the Fe-plate layer was varied so as to inspect the influence of the variations on the degree of the abrasion. For this purpose, various kinds of test samples prepared in Embodiment 3 were subjected to the above described abrasion test. The results obtained are shown in Fig. 2. From the results, it is shown that the abrasion of the Fe-plate layer is more increased with a reduction in the volume ratio of the SiC grains in the plate layer, and as the volume ratio of SiC grains is increased, the plate layer abrades more the other slide part which is in contact these. Embodiments 5 to 7: Using the similarly combined parts of Codes D, E and F in Table 1 above, combinations of cylindrical test samples, each having an outer diameter of 25.4 mm, an inner diameter of 20 mm, and a length of 10 mm were manufactured as Embodiments 5, 6 and 7, and these were subjected to a baking test, as mentioned below. Examples 8 to 14: Using the similarly combined parts of Codes A, B, C, G, H, I and J in T ble 1, combinations of cylindrical test samples, each having an outer diameter of 25.4 mm, an inner diameter of 20 mm, and a length of 10 mm were manufactured as Examples 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, and these were subjected to the same baking test as in Embodiments 4 to 6. Each of the cylindrical test sample combinations of Embodiments 5 to 7 and Examples 8 to 14 was set in such a manner that the edge surface of one cylinder sample was kept in contact with that of the other cylinder sample, and subjected to a baking test for measuring the load limit of baking under the condition of a rotation number of 1000 rpm and a press load varying stepwise from 10 kg to 700 kg, while a lubricant oil (trade name " Castle Motor Oil " 5W-30) was applied thereto. The results obtained are shown in Table 2. As seen from Table 2, it was confirmed that the test examples of Embodiments 5 to 7 of the present invention had a superior baking-resistance than the test samples of Examples 8 to 14. Embodiments 8 to 10 and Examples 15 and 16 Fig. 3 shows an oil pressure valve device (3) which is incorporated in an automatic transmission. The valve body (1) was manufactured by using an aluminium alloy (JIS, ADC 10), which was Alumite-coated. The shift valve (2) was formed of the same material as each of the five cubic test samples (B, C, D, E and F) as shown in Table 1. The oil pressure valve (2) and the above-mentioned body (1) were combined to form the oil pressure valve device (3); and this was actually placed into the transmission part of a car, and subjected to a durability test to check for damage after a 90,000 cycle running (100 hours running) of the valve. The outer diameter of the valve was 10 mm, and the clearance between the valve and the body was 40 µm. The results obtained were summarized and shown in Table 3. In the case of the combination of the Alumite material and the quenched steel (Code C), the valve does not work after 40,000 cycles because of sticking. In the case of the two Alumite materials (Code B), the abrasion of both the body and the valve was great, although no sticking occurred. As compared with the above two examples, the cases of the combinations, each comprising an Alumite material and a Fe-series plated material (Codes D, E and F, in Embodiments 8, 9 and 10 respectively) were found satisfactory as shown in the results of Table 3. Effect of the Invention The slide parts of the present invention have extremely strong properties as compared with the slide parts made in combination with the conventional aluminium alloy, wherein the former have a higher baking-resistance than the latter by 2 times and a higher abrasion-resistance than the latter by 6 to 20 times. The slide parts of the present invention can be used as reciprocating slide parts, which are to be placed under severe sliding conditions. When the slide parts of the present invention are used for reciprocating motion, the clearance variation caused by thermal expansion is minor, and therefore sticking does not occur, as the base metal is an aluminium alloy in both parts. Furthermore, the slide parts of the present invention have greater abrasion-resistance and baking-resistance than the slide parts comprising a combination of an aluminium alloy and a steel material. Therefore, the former may be used in place of the latter. Thus, the present invention has a significant industrial merits by providing lightweight abrasion resistant slide parts.

Claims: Slide parts comprising one part made of aluminium alloy having a surface coating formed by anodic oxidation on the slide surface thereof and the other part made of an aluminium alloy having a layer selected from the group consisting of Fe-plated layer, a SiC grains-dispersed Fe-plated layer and a Fe-0.2 - 1.5 % P-plated layer, on the slide surface thereof, which is in sliding contact with the slide surface of said one part. Slide parts as defined in Claim 1, wherein the SiC grains-dispersed Fe-plated layer is one containing SiC grains with a grain size of from 0.1 to 10 µ, dispersed in an amount of from 5 to 35 % by volume. Slide parts as defined in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said one part is a body of an oil path valve device of an automatic transmission, and said other part is a valve to slide on said body. Slide parts as defined in any of Claims 1 - 3, wherein the difference in the linear expansion coefficient between the aluminium alloy of the one part and the aluminium alloy of the other part is 3 x 10⁻⁶/°C or less. A method for preparing cooperating slide surfaces of slide parts made of aluminium alloy, wherein the slide surface of one slide part is prepared by an anodic oxidation treatment thereof, and the slide surface of the other slide part is prepared by plating by wet process in a Fe-plating bath, a SiC grains-dispersed Fe-plating bath, a Fe-0.2 - 1.5 % P-plating bath. A method as defined in Claim 5, wherein the anodic oxidation treatment is carried out in sulfuric acid bath, an oxalic acid bath, or a mixed acid bath comprised of the former two. A method as defined in Claim 6, wherein said plating treatment by wet process is carried out until the formation of a plated layer having a thickness of from 1 to 150 µ is made.

Inventors: FUWA YOSHIO, KAIDO MASATAKA, FUWA, YOSHIO, KAIDO, MASATAKA
Applicants: TOYOTA MOTOR CO LTD, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1987
Main classification: C25D7
IPC codes: C25D7, F16K27, C25D15, F16H61, F16C33, C25D11