A cylinder liner cast into a reciprocating piston engine made of a
supereutectic aluminum/silicon alloy which is free of mixed-in particles
of hard material and which is composed in such a way that fine silicon
primary crystals and intermetallic particles automatically form from the
melt as hard particles. A blank is allowed to grow from finely sprayed
melt droplets by spray compaction, with a fine distribution of hard
particles being produced by setting the spray for small melt droplets. The
fine-grained, hard particles formed from the melt and also the mechanical
exposure of the hard particles on the surface of the cylinder results not
only in high wear resistance and high contact area of the surface, but
also in gentle treatment of the piston and its rings.