ASCO Sintering Co.

ASCO Sintering Company, Commerce, CA. won the grand prize in the ferrous category for a gear assembly, consisting of four parts – an armature, rotor blank, bearing and pinion gear. The assembly operates in a motor drive for automatic sliding minivan doors and opening and closing tailgates. Made from a PM phosphorous iron material, the parts have a density of 7.0 gcm3, an ultimate tensile strength of 45, 000 psi and a yield strength of 32, 000 psi. The parts are made to a net shape, except for the rotor which requires a turning operation on the hub. Innovative tooling provides the required density in the parts to satisfy magnetic and strength properties of the rotor.

ASCO Sintering Co. produces a “brake shoe” that meters the rate at which a target missile is released from a drone. These specialty components are centrifugally actuated and control the spooling speed of the 1.5 mile long tow wire separating the drone launch vehicle and target. Made from a special grade of copper steel and having an exceptionally high coefficient of friction these parts perform in a very difficult high temperature environment.

ASCO Sintering Company, Commerce, CA. won an award of distinction in the ferrous category for a planetary gear assembly system used in a four wheel drive computer controlled shifting system. The output shaft links the actuator motor to the vehicle transmission and facilitates effortless change from two to four wheel drive in trucks and sport utility vehicles. The other end supports a planetary gear system that supplies torque to operate the control system. The shaft output operates with 16 PM planet gears and 3 PM gear carrier plates. The shaft is made from a proprietary high impact copper steel to a density of 7.7 gramscc. It has an unnotched Charpy impact strength above 136J (110 ft-lbs), elongation greater than 8% and a tensile strength of 65 MPa (95, 000 psi).

Today’s aerospace component requirements are: A commitment to world class quality Globally competitive pricing Complete process control and documentation Exceptional delivery performance Processes repeatable over millions of cycles Highly engineered products that satisfy demanding performance criteria ASCO satisfies tight tolerance capability indices on critical features and applies six sigma and lean methodologies for problem solving and continuous process improvement. Engineering support though collaborative product design ensures robust manufacturability and quality components. Engineered materials satisfy demanding engineering, performance and endurance requirements. Aerospace components include monel expanding collars, pure nickel compression connectors and pure copper Lug crimps.

The series of 316 stainless steel bobbins are used in a new braking system for race cars and high-performance vehicles. The two-level part is available in 14 variations with eight or more bobbins used in a single brake rotor assembly. The bobbins aid in tripling the brake-rotor fatigue life, reducing drag at elevated temperatures, as well as reducing vibration and temperature. The parts are made to a density of 7.0 gcm3 and have a tensile strength of 70, 000 psi, yield strength of 45, 000 psi, a 13 percent elongation, 48-foot pound impact strength, and HRB 65 hardness.

Nickel Silver polarizing keys used in electrical rack and panel connectors on aircraft flight data recorders better known as the “black box” won the award of distinction in the nonferrous category. The thin walled fragile part has an ultimate tensile strength of 34, 000 psi (230 MPa), a yield strength of 20, 000 psi (140 MPa), a 85 HRH hardness and 14% elongation Density and weight control are critical to avoid tool failure and cracks in the “green” part. Close control of the sintering process is required to control ductility, distortion and eliminate the need for sizing. The parts must withstand a 500 connectdisconnect cycle test without measurable wear and are also tested for electrical conductivity. The net shape part requires no secondary operations and demonstrates a high degree of reliability.