Due to the very nature of its business, valve seat insert manufacturer Winsert Inc. has always had close ties with the combustion engineers at many of the world's leading industrial engine builders. As with other critical components in any engine combustion chamber, valve seat inserts are an integral part of continuous improvement programs as new insert materials are needed to meet future engine design requirements.
While often customer driven, product development is often also pushed from within. In the case of Winsert, a competitive advantage can be gained by developing new, lower cost alloys that can replace existing materials. The significance is that these new alloys are designed to retain or improve upon the wear characteristics of the previous alloy.
Throughout the past few years, Winsert has invested heavily in expanding its in-house R&D capabilities in an effort to provide its customers with the highest level of engineering support possible. One result of this ongoing R&D is Winsert's recent patent award for W210, an alloy designed specifically for diesel exhaust inserts. W210, along with a similar alloy W211, were formulated to give engine design engineers low-cost alternatives when specifying nickel-base alloy materials for diesel engine applications.
