Panning for black gold

摘要

The car oil pan,or sump,is perhaps the last large volume component around the engine that has not yet been substituted by plastics.Now the time is ripe for change,says Mann+Hummel innovation manager Thomas Jessberger.M&H's all-plastic car sump designs weigh typically 900g,a considerable weight saving over the 1.5kg typical weight of conventional hybrid designs or the 2.2kg all-aluminium equivalent.And an injection moulded plastic sump provides better opportunities for integration of functions such as the oil module,filter,centrifuge,level measurement,screen,ducting and sensors.