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[File:De Dion-Bouton engine (Rankin Kennedy, Modern Engines, Vol III).jpg|thumb|
De Dion-Bouton engine from about 1905, in which can clearly be seen a discrete crankcase with upper and lower halves (each a casting), with the bottom half constituting both part of the main bearing support and also an oil sump.]] In an
internal combustion engine of the
reciprocating type, the
crankcase is the housing for the
crankshaft. The enclosure forms the largest cavity in the engine and is located below the
cylinder(s), which in a multicylinder engine is usually integrated into one or several
cylinder blocks. Crankcases have often been discrete parts, but more often they are integral with the cylinder bank(s), forming an
engine block. Nevertheless, the area around the crankshaft is still usually called the crankcase. Crankcases and other basic engine structural components (e.g., cylinders, cylinder blocks,
cylinder heads, and integrated combinations thereof) are typically made of
cast iron or
cast aluminium via
sand casting. Today the
foundry processes are usually highly
automated, with a few skilled workers to manage the casting of thousands of parts.
