5/32 Silicon Nitride Ball with a hole in it.

5/32 Silicon nitride ball with a hole.

We were asked by a major manufacturer of fuel injectors to develop a fuel injector ball for the Brazilian automotive market.

In Brazil the gasoline has a higher ethanol content than in the United States.  This puts a strain on fuel injector wear due to corrosion.

The thought was to develop a silicon nitride fuel injector ball that would resist the corrosion.

Fuel injectors are typically made with stainless steel balls welded to the stainless steel tip of the injector.

To attach the silicon nitride ball it was decided to try a staking system that would go through a hole in the ball.

To accomplish the task we partnered with Ceratizit a producer of silicon nitride materials in Luxembourg.    In their lab they produced for us several hundred silicon nitride blanks with a hole.

We then ground and lapped the samples in a larger load of 5/32 balls and produced the samples for our customer.

Samples were supplied to our customer.   Soon after this project we closed the facility and I am not sure of the status of this work. 

Elite Oil Burner Development

Elite Oil Burner

I lead a team that developed the EZ Oil Burner for the Carlin Company in the 1980’s.

Carlin had been selling the same basic oil burners for 30 years.

The goal of the project was to develop a new oil burner that would have improved performance, be easy to maintain and would have a bold new look.

Len Fisher the engineer developed a new combustion head with a powdered metal ring and unique new retention ring that enabled the installer to fine-tune the burner output to a degree not possible in the past.  

We worked with Chet Fudge an industrial designer who helped us with developing the cleaning process, the look of the product and the fabrication of prototypes.

Lyons Tool and Die developed the stamping processes to make the new advanced combustion head and for other components on the burner.

The development included the integration of engineering, new suppliers, new manufacturing processes, industrial design, and a new marketing and training campaign for the oil dealers.

The project was a success and Carlin did see immediate sales growth.

Soon after the introduction of the burner the company was sold due to the death of the owner.   The new owners of the Carlin Company continue to make the product today 30 years since its introduction.