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[porthole]

Some neat links I got from one of my truck forums. Straight cut and paste from FTE

Here you go guys - if you're interested in how valves are made ....

Valves

Here's a plant that is manufacturing valves and I am hopeful that the cart full of unidentified liquid is not their tempering process:


Engine valve forging



This video shows a Friction Welding (otherwise known as Resistance Welding) operation in Taiwan. I believe this is showing the joining of a sodium filled valve stem with the upper stem which actually rides in the valve guide. They must belong in a very large engine.  It is the same process I remember seeing 40+ years ago where valve heads were being joined with their stems.  From there the valve goes through a number of finishing operations where the welding flash is removed and the valve keeper grooves are cut along with the finishing of the valve faces and seats.  Most valves also undergo a precision polishing process where the stems are micro polished so as to control wear.



Here's a Brit company and their process:
Gatwick Engine Valve CNC Friction Welding Machine with Automatic Flash Removal



This is a great film which shows the two dissimilar materials of the valve head being joined with a stem.  It shows the two bulges from each of the materials very well. As I recall from my early training, it is when the bulges are equal, that the welding process is complete.  Note that the only thing that creates heat is the pressure of the two pieces coming together and the rotation of the valve head.  Yes, this is for one HECKUVA big engine.

Model 400T Hybrid - Marine Engine Valves



Here is a common 1-piece competition valve manufacturer Ferrea showing a short clip of their machining operation.  I've used their titanium valves, but for the most part their stainless steel valves shown in this clip.

Ferrea 5000 Series Hi Performance Valves




Or...  If the Korean / Taiwanese / India plants have you concerned you could always have this feller here do you up a set..  Check out the Bionic Thumbnail!  Actually, while his videos are entertaining, I take my hat off to him for his ingenuity...

This might out back in TwoLanes shop.


I H C ENGINE how to build intake and exhaust valves #1

[TinSpinner]

Interesting stuff Duane. The unknown liquid in the first video is a brine solution used as a quench. The salt in the water improves its cooling abilities due to crystalline structures forming on the surface of the part which disrupts a vapor barrier from forming around the part resulting in a more uniform temperature reduction. Rapid cooling is a part of the hardening process for some metals. Tempering occurs after the quench phase to actually soften the metal somewhat but bringing it into a more usable hardness range; too hard and it will be brittle.

[Twolanerider]

Check out the Bionic Thumbnail!  Actually, while his videos are entertaining, I take my hat off to him for his ingenuity...

This might out back in TwoLanes shop.

When I was a pup around 10 or 11 started working around a few guys who were old machinists that were very much like that guy.  As good as I got eleven or twelve years later, when a few were then working for me, working with some nicer tools before finally heading off to college I was still never as good as some of those old gentlemen. 

Some of these gentlemen might not have transitioned easily to CNC and other newer machine tools and technologies.  But without such tools today I'd have a very hard time doing now some of the things they did back in their day with no capabilities other than their hands and experience.  My hat is always off to the guys that came up that way and the skill and ingenuity they brought.  Anyone can compare me to these older hands-on gents any day and it's nothing but a compliment .