Patent ID: 8122602

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a catalytic converter comprised of an outer tube, a monolith substrate and a mat material, wherein the mat material is positioned in a surrounding relation to the monolith substrate; the method comprising the steps of: establishing a curve representative of the characteristics of the mat material; gauging a combination of said monolith substrate and said mat material to establish a set of compression characteristics; inserting said combination of said monolith substrate and said mat material into the outer tube; determining a diameter of the outer tube necessary to assert a desired pressure on said combination based upon said curve and said set of compression characteristics; and sizing the diameter of the outer tube so that the diameter is approximately equivalent to the determined diameter; wherein said gauging step includes the steps of: compressing said combination until a gauging desired pressure value is reached; determining the displacement of the outer boundary of said combination at said desired pressure value; releasing said combination from compression; recompressing said combination until reaching the displacement of the outer boundary of said combination; measuring the pressure asserted on said combination; and releasing said combination from compression.