Aluminum Lost Foam Casting for the New General Motors Vortec 4200 In-Line 6 Engine Ronald L. Kociha GM Powertrain, Pontiac, MI, USA General Motors has developed a new family of engines based on an in-line configuration. The first engine of this family will be a six cylinder version to be used in a new line of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV's) with five and four cylinder variants being designed for possible future applications. This family of engines will provide technical sophistication, delivering high output over the entire speed range, as well as, class-leading fuel efficiency. The engines are designed to provide high reliability, low emission levels, quiet smooth operation in a lightweight and cost effective package. The in-line configuration provides an elegant solution to meeting the technical requirements for the family of engines while enabling a high degree of manufacturing flexibility. This discussion will explore the reasons for selection of an in-line configuration as well as design details of the Vortec 4200 In-line 6 Cylinder. |