Last issue, PMF found out about Aisin’s history, and how it developed a wide range of products from its accumulated experience. Here, the company outlines some of the most popular of these product groups.
CLUTCH
Clutch systems make up the main portion of Aisin’s revenue in Europe. Thanks to the company’s engineers in Japan, it is able to patent new technologies. Now, the company offers many clutch types, and some of which are uniquely produced by Aisin. The full range includes everything from conventional clutch discs and covers, all the way to the clutch for robotised manual transmissions, to the dual disc conversion kit. As a member of the Toyota Group Company, Aisin shares the same levels of efficiency and quality.
To further bolster its aftermarket clutch component range, which already contains very broad market coverage for Japanese car models, the company is expected to launch a twin-disc clutch conversion kit, replacing the original dualmass- flywheel (DMF). Such a conversion kit offers economic advantages for older applications. Technologically, this conversion kit is unique in the mass market, in that it offers two friction discs together with a solid flywheel (SMF) to absorb the torsional vibration emanating from the engine at low RPM. This is an elegant solution which will leave the vast majority of drivers unaware of the change, while being less expensive than the original.
This conversion kit provides more advantages than just cost effectiveness. The torque capacity is said to be increased by more than 10% and the surface pressure is reduced by over 60%, so the lifetime of the clutch kit is improved.
THERMAL MANAGEMENT
Another product group with which Aisin has a strong heritage is the cooling system. Aisin claims to be the number one water pump manufacturer in the world, and it has used this experience to develop electrical water pumps for all the hybrid vehicles from the Toyota group. The electrical water pump is a major improvement on previous solutions for engine cooling.
COOLANT
Aisin began developing a next-generation P-OAT (Phosphate – Organic Additive Technology) coolant. Before the coolant was introduced, it was not always obvious which coolant the customer should buy. The company launched the AISIN Ultra Long Life Coolant, which is suitable for all global makes and models, and yet complies with the chemistry requirements of Japanese and Korean vehicles.
