New IPDSteel™ friction welded pistons for selected Caterpillar C-Series engines are now available in South Africa. These quality manufactured replacement parts are available from official local IPD Parts distributor, Metric Automotive Engineering.

Precision friction welding is used to create high quality cost effective aftermarket alternatives to original equipment manufacturer designs. Significantly, the new design is the third generation of patented and patent-pending IPDSteel™ pistons which underpins the level of research and development which goes into the engineering of these aftermarket replacement parts. Heavy duty piston designs have evolved over the past years as a result of increasing cylinder pressure specifications. Early model engine pistons were predominantly one piece aluminium designs and these later evolved into two piece articulated designs with steel crowns and aluminium skirts. With the cylinder pressures continuing to increase, the most recent development is the friction welded designs.

c designs are characterised by precision manufactured and machined high strength alloys which ensure durability and quality. The precision friction welding process unifies the piston crown and skirt with integral pin bosses creating a box structure design with an integrated oil cavity for improved piston crown cooling. It also ensures enhanced strength in the ring land area. All IPD Parts replacement components are the result of engineering and manufacturing expertise that is innovatively leveraged to create piston designs that are interchangeable with similar OEM designs. Specialised manufacturing operations ensure that dimensional variations are reduced while industry standards for key features such as ring grooves are maintained. IPD Parts adds specially engineered coatings to reduce friction and provide proper break-in characteristics.

The IPDSteel™ welding piston is available for the C-Series C7; C13; C15; C18 and C27 engines. These innovative pistons are available from Metric Automotive Engineering. FRICTION WELDED PISTON PIC 01 : New IPDSteel™ friction welded pistons for selected Caterpillar C-Series engines are now available in South Africa.