Patent ID: 8079762

Claim:
A crankshaft bearing cap comprising: a semi-cylindrical notch; the crankshaft bearing cap configured to be assembled on an engine block to define the limits, along with a semi-cylindrical notch in an engine block, of a cylindrical portion for housing a bearing; the crankshaft bearing cap formed by a powder metallurgy process with an iron powder blend molded by compaction and sintering; wherein the crankshaft bearing cap is partially infiltrated with Cu in an area adjacent to the semi-cylindrical notch, the area adjacent to the semi-cylindrical notch having the highest Cu content of the crankshaft bearing cap; wherein the powder metallurgy process comprises: placing the crankshaft bearing cap so that an axis of the semi-cylindrical notch extends in a horizontal direction and the concavity of said notch faces upward; placing one or more tablets with a high Cu content on the upper face of the crankshaft bearing cap and on the semi-cylindrical notch; and sintering the crankshaft bearing cap and the one or more Cu tablets; wherein the one or more tablets with the high Cu content are obtained by compacting a powder blend with a copper content between 91 and 95% in weight.