Nearly 25 years BEFORE Nicholas Otto invented the spark ignited internal combustion engine (the type of engine most cars use), an English Engineer by the name of John Ramsbottom invented the piston ring in , and he did it for steam engines. So, before we had cars or gasoline, the industrial revolution brought us steam locomotives. Prior to Mr. Ramsbottom’s stroke of genius, steam engine pistons featured grooves packed with hemp or cotton to improve sealing. Of course, this didn’t work that well, which led to John Ramsbottom’s invention of the metallic, split ring design in . Over the next decade, he continued to refine his design, and eventually a steam engine could go 4,000 miles before needing to replace the piston rings. That was a significant improvement in performance and durability. 170 years later, the piston ring is still evolving and enabling greater engine performance and durability.
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Interestingly, Britain is not only the birthplace of the piston ring, but it is also the home of several of advancements in piston ring design. English engine manufacturer D. Napier & Son is often credited for the invention of Keystone style top ring and eponymous Napier style rings. Both developments took place during the ’s, and these designs are commonly used today in diesel and gasoline engines respectively.
If that wasn’t enough, the UK is also home of the most advanced piston rings, which are found in Formula 1 engines. With over 50% thermal efficiency, today’s F1 engines are the most efficient combustion engines ever built (rivaling combined cycle gas turbines). That’s nearly double the efficiency of a regular petrol engine and 50% better than a turbo diesel. The folks at Mercedes AMG made some videos about this achievement, which can be found on YouTube.
One of the reasons for the incredible efficiency of these engines lies in the fact that piston rings account for nearly 40% of all engine friction. That makes piston rings the number 1 source of friction in an engine, so the best way to improve engine performance and durability goes right back to Mr. Ramsbottom’s invention - the piston ring. The evolution of piston ring materials and coatings has allowed for innovation in piston ring sizes and designs. Today’s piston rings are dramatically thinner, lighter and stronger than your Grandfather’s piston rings.
For decades, cast iron was the material of choice for piston rings. However, the low hardness of grey cast iron, up to 22 Rockwell C, allowed for higher wear, which shorten engine life. The advent of hard Chrome plating allowed cast rings to achieve a face hardness of 72Rockwell C. These hard chrome rings lasted much longer, but were much tougher to break-in. This led to rougher cylinder bore finishes and many lubrication “tricks” that enabled the hard chrome faced rings to break-in.
By the ’s Plasma Moly rings appeared, which replaced the hard chrome face with a softer, porous moly face coating. The much softer Moly coating, 80 on the Rockwell B scale, did not require the rougher cylinder bore finishes or lubrication “tricks” to achieve proper break-in. However, the sprayed on “Moly” coating was susceptible to flaking in higher horsepower applications. Also, the cast iron or ductile iron base ring could only be so thin before they became too brittle.
As such, steel rings that feature PVD(chemically bonded) face coatings were developed in the early ’s, which allowed for thinner piston rings with greater strength than the iron forefathers.
With the advent of better piston ring materials and coatings, the potential performance of piston rings skyrocketed!
Because of the instant reduction in friction and increase in durability, professional racing teams quickly adopted the thinner, steel piston rings.
Here’s some real-world proof of that statement. Between my Dad’s 20 years in NASCAR as a driver and my 15 years working for NASCAR teams, I’ve seen the evolution of piston rings firsthand. Back in , the state-of-the-art piston ring package in NASCAR was an .043, .043, 3mm Ductile Moly set, and those rings lasted one 500-mile race. It was typical for the engine to be down 5 to 8 HP after that one race. Today’s NASCAR engines use .5mm , .6mm, 2mm PVD coated steel rings that last over 1,500 race miles without losing a single horsepower!
It’s not just racing engines that take advantage of thin ring technology. OEMs around the world have embraced the efficiency of thinner piston rings. A Chevy V8 used a 5/64, 5/64, 3/16cast iron ring package. 50 years later, turbocharged, direct injection engines making twice the horsepower per cubic inch of that old Chevy utilize 1.2, 1.0, 2.0mm steel rings.
More efficient piston rings increase horsepower, reduce engine temperature (both water temperature and oil temperature) and extends motor oil life. All of which means engine life and performance increase. I think John Ramsbottom would be proud to see today’s piston rings.
Precision rings, incorporated (Pri) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of piston rings, focusing on custom design and fabrication.
Piston Rings
Precision rings, incorporated specializes in piston rings for harsh environments, including extreme temperatures, high pressures, and tight tolerance requirements. The engineering team can manufacture piston rings from custom prints and provide custom piston ring engineering services designed to the application requirements.
Seal Rings
Custom manufactured seal rings provide enhanced sealing capabilities for a broad range of applications. Seal rings are typically used in applications where leakage is critical. Types of seal rings include but are not limited to two-piece and three-piece ring assemblies.
Contracting and Expanding Rings for Power Generation
Precision rings, incorporated has been designing and manufacturing expanding rings and contracting rings used in power generation for decades. Piston rings produced are used in the nozzles of large turbines, sealing different sections or stages, and in gearboxes. Precision rings, incorporated also manufactures shaft seals for sealing a spinning shaft against a stationary housing. Commonly referred to as contracting rings, these rings seal on the inside diameter.
Custom Design and Engineering
Precision rings, incorporated designs, engineers, and manufactures custom industrial piston rings and seal rings. Piston rings and seals can be manufactured from an existing print or many years of engineering experience can be used to design a custom piston ring solution for the most challenging application.
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Custom Eco-Friendly Seal Ring Manufacturing
Proper seals promote an all-around healthier environment. Whether it’s preventing harmful substances such as jet fuel and “heavy” water from nuclear power plants from entering the atmosphere, eco-friendly seal rings provide the needed leakage protection.
Precision rings, incorporated is a custom piston ring and seal manufacturer for all types of industrial applications. Precision rings, incorporated custom designs, engineers, and manufactures piston rings and seals for the following industries:
Need large diameter rings manufactured to specifications? Precision rings, incorporated manufactures rings with different end style configurations and ring types based on the application requirements. Whether it’s rings as small as 0.200” (5.08 mm) in diameter or large diameter rings over 100” (2,540 mm), Precision rings, incorporated gets it done!
Heat Treatment
Precision rings, incorporated’s custom heat-treating process is Nadcap approved and provides the following temperature standards:
Turning
Precision rings, incorporated’s innovative turning processes are extremely accurate, providing precise results for numerous applications. Turning features include:
Grinding
Precision rings, incorporated’s grinding capabilities include the following capabilities:
Milling
Precision rings, incorporated’s custom milling processes provide exceptional results that are extremely accurate. Milling features include:
Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM)
Coordinate measuring machines (CMM) accurately measure a part’s height, width, and depth. CMM machine accuracy measurements provide the following range:
Precision rings, incorporated uses various materials when manufacturing custom piston rings and seal rings. These include the "Superalloys", materials of high Nickel or Cobalt content that provide excellent properties for harsher environments, while polymers provide good sealing characteristics for lower temperature applications.
The application often determines the material form. The ring material must be compatible with the mating materials in a system. The correct material allows the ring to be the sacrificial part in a properly engineered system.
The following list is the most common materials used by Precision rings, incorporated for custom piston rings and seal rings in high heat, cryogenic temperature, corrosive fluid, and high-pressure applications. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of materials or capabilities.
Not sure which material to use? Contact Precision rings, incorporated for a material recommendation.
The following list is the most common surface treatments used by Precision rings, incorporated for custom piston rings and seal rings. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of surface treatments used.
Quality Assurance (QA) is a very integral part of production operation. Statistical analysis is used to monitor processes and products. All material processes are certified by Precision rings, incorporated’s Quality Assurance. Precision rings, incorporated’s QA department utilizes several inspection points that check every product with sophisticated instrumentation dimensionally. This detailed QA process permits each custom piston ring to be manufactured with minimal tolerances, providing the best leakage control possible.
The word precision signifies quality. Precision rings, incorporated is a quality-oriented company. Precision rings, incorporated provides customers with the highest quality standards. Quality, value, and sophistication are apparent in every action Precision rings, incorporated executes. These high-value standards include responding to an inquiry, piston ring design, measuring ring flatness, studying heat treat furnace working zone uniformity, or finished product packaging.
Precision rings, incorporated is committed to keeping pace with industry changes. Equipment updating with continuous research and development guarantees uniform product manufacturing.
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