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Anodizing is applied to improve the durability and the corrosion resistance of aluminum alloy parts of engines and car bodies. Generally, anodic oxide film is formed using direct current anodizing (DCA). However, in the case of anodizing high silicon aluminum alloy cast parts, it is difficult to derive uniform film thickness distribution. Furthermore, it takes a long treatment time which causes low productivity. In this study, the authors have developed an anodizing method by using high-frequency switching anodizing (HSA) to solve these problems. The growth process of anodic oxide film is susceptible to the metallographic structure. Thus, the typical DCA application to the high silicon aluminum alloy produces a non-uniform film thickness, while HSA has the potential to form uniform film without being affected by metallographic structure. Moreover, the current density of HSA is higher than that of DCA which reduces treatment time to 1/5 as the film formation enhances.

In front wheel drive cars (FWD) with transversely mounted engines, engine mounting is closely related to idle shake. For this reason, in the early design stage, consideration of the natural frequency of the engine mount system and idle shake simulation has been made primarily using the finite element model. However, these approaches do not have good accuracy. In the prototype stage, only mount rates can be controlled because modifications of mount locations are nearly impossible. This paper describes a method to find the optimum mount system. In this method, optimum locations and rates of mounts are automatically found through consideration of engine motion and body dynamic characteristics. Also, applying this to a four-cycle diesel engine with four mounts, the design method of mounts are discussed.