A piston capable of withstanding high temperatures and extreme conditions of a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine and manufactured with reduced costs is provided. The method of manufacturing the piston includes casting or forging the bulk of the piston as a single-piece with an open cooling gallery from an economical first material, such as steel, cast iron, or aluminum. The method further includes forming a portion of a combustion bowl surface, which is a small area of the piston directly exposed to the combustion chamber, from a second material by additive machining. The second material has a higher thermal conductivity and higher resistance to oxidation, erosion, and oil coking, compared to the first material. The additive machining process is efficient and creates little waste, which further reduces production costs.

A piston capable of withstanding high temperatures and extreme conditions of a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine and manufactured with reduced costs is provided. The method of manufacturing the piston includes casting or forging the bulk of the piston as a single-piece with an open cooling gallery from an economical first material, such as steel, cast iron, or aluminum. The method further includes forming a portion of a combustion bowl surface, which is a small area of the piston directly exposed to the combustion chamber, from a second material by additive machining. The second material has a higher thermal conductivity and higher resistance to oxidation, erosion, and oil coking, compared to the first material. The additive machining process is efficient and creates little waste, which further reduces production costs.

A piston capable of withstanding high temperatures and extreme conditions of a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine and manufactured with reduced costs is provided. The method of manufacturing the piston includes casting or forging the bulk of the piston as a single-piece with an open cooling gallery from an economical first material, such as steel, cast iron, or aluminum. The method further includes forming a portion of a combustion bowl surface, which is a small area of the piston directly exposed to the combustion chamber, from a second material by additive machining. The second material has a higher thermal conductivity and higher resistance to oxidation, erosion, and oil coking, compared to the first material. The additive machining process is efficient and creates little waste, which further reduces production costs.

A piston including an abradable coating applied to a round surface of the piston is provided. The shape of the round surface is not greater than 0.1 mm from a circular shape, and thus is relatively inexpensive to machine. As the piston reciprocates in an internal combustion engine, the abradable coating rubs against another component, such as a cylinder liner or wrist pin, to achieve suitable contact geometry, such as an oval, asymmetric, or other non-round shape. Thus, a costly machining process is not required to achieve the desired contact geometry. The abradable coating can also be applied to ring lands, skirt sections, or along pin bores of the piston. The abradable coating can also be applied to a wrist pin or an opening of a connecting rod which receives the wrist pin. The abradable coating can be formed from a polymer-based material or an aluminum-silicon alloy-based material.