At commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus’s Nuremberg plant, production of an ultra-efficient new 13-litre diesel engine has begun. As a joint engine platform, it is intended for use across the group. Fine boring tools from MAPAL are used for the cylinder heads, machining valve guide and valve seat blind bores.

As a process planner, Marco Singer is responsible for producing the cylinder heads for the D30 engine, the production of which represents an investment by MAN of €220m. The company has been working with MAPAL for decades. When tendering for the D30 project took place in 2019, the Aalen-based tool manufacturer was again awarded the contract for the fine machining of the valve guide and valve seat bore. This was down to the years of shared experience and a recommendation from the machinery manufacturer Grob, which is responsible for the complete process and tool design. Machining takes place on a double-spindle machine. It is embedded in a linked system with individual Grob machines that are loaded using linear gantries.

A further tool manufacturer was entrusted with fine machining in the project’s initial phase. As a stable and cost-efficient process was not possible with its tools, however, MAN ultimately shifted its full focus to the collaboration with MAPAL.

Singer hails the achievements: “The machining changed fundamentally. For instance, we saved a semi-cut and were able to do without pilot friction.”

A series of joint workshops then set further improvements in Singer’s sights, particularly with regard to unit costs. In fact, compared with the original machining concept, valve seat and valve guide machining costs were reduced by around 40%.

More information www.mapal.com