Federal-Mogul Powertrain is extending its crankshaft bearing portfolio with a new polymeric coating, IROX® 2, and will debut it at the 2017 IAA show in Germany. This new product provides enhanced seizure performance with steel crankshafts. The IROX 2 will reduce friction and improve the wear resistance and fatigue limit of the bearings used in today’s downsized engines.

Federal-Mogul Powertrain’s new IROX 2 bearings provide enhanced seizure performance with steel crankshafts while also reducing friction and improving wear resistance. (Source: Federal-Mogul Powertrain)

IROX was developed to work with crankshafts that have a standard surface finish. The new IROX 2 is intended for use with crankshafts with a smooth finish and runs with thinner oils. Both IROX and IROX2 reduce friction and wear resistance, and the IROX 2 has further seizure performance. By lowering friction, the bearing coatings could also lower fuel consumption.

The new bearings have an overlay that is polyamide-imide (PAI) polymer resin binder containing a few additives that are dispersed through the matrix. Development of the IROX 2 involved modification of the binder system on a molecular level with subtle changes to the composition.

During development of IROX 2, Federal-Mogul Powertrain used specialized test rigs including a special bearing friction rig that tests actual bearings, not just flat material samples. The testing can take the bearing through a sweep of shaft speeds in a single test cycle. This allows for a comprehensive study of frictional behavior under boundary, mixed and full-fluid film lubrication with control. Other tests included seizure resistance, using a motored single cylinder test rig applying an actual con-rod and piston, conformability, run under cycling load with tilted con-rod, as well as wear and fatigue.

The new polymer-coated bearings can be applied to light and heavy-duty engines. They are effective in hybrid and start/stop applications that place additional demands on bearings through re-starting. To learn more about these new bearings, visit the Federal-Mogul Powertrain site.