Holistic solutions

In addition to the pure machining processes, the production lines for cylinder heads and crankcases also include numerous assembly and testing operations, which are carried out on highly automated systems from AST. With our many years of experience, we are one of the leading providers of these solutions.

Cylinder head assembly machines

Our assembly systems are ideal for subsequent operations:

  • Assembly/disassembly of adapter plate or zero point clamping system
  • Press-fitting of valve seat inserts and valve guides with or without nitrogen subcooling
  • Fitting camshaft bearing covers with screws and bolts
  • Assembly of stud bolts
  • Assembly of closing parts (balls, lids, KOENIG expanders)
  • Leakage test
  • End of Line (EOL) inspection station

Crankcases – Assembly machines

We offer assembly systems for the following assembly operations:

  • Assembly/disassembly of adapter plate or zero point clamping system
  • Assembly of cylinder liner
  • Assembly/disassembly of honing goggles
  • Assembly/disassembly of crankshaft bearing caps or bearing frames (bedplate)
  • Feed and screw together with screws
  • Assembly of bearing shells
  • Assembly of locking parts
  • Leakage test
  • End of Line (EOL) inspection station

Valve seat inserts and valve guides – Fully automatic

Assembly machines for the assembly of valve seat inserts and valve guides integrate the processes:

  • Automatic loading and unloading of the workpiece
  • Feeding of rings and guides with checking of position and length or diameter
  • Subcooling the rings and guides in a nitrogen bath (optional)
  • Oiling the cylinder head bores
  • Pressing in rings and guides with electric press spindles
  • Monitoring of the joining process by means of integrated force/displacement monitoring

Valve seat inserts and valve guides – Semi-automatic (offline)

Semi-automatic assembly stations for the assembly of valve seat inserts and valve guides integrate the processes:

  • Manual loading and unloading of the workpiece
  • Manual feeding of rings and guides with Poka Yoke device
  • Subcooling the rings and guides in a nitrogen bath (optional)
  • Manual oiling of the cylinder head bores
  • Automatic press-fitting of rings and guides with electric press spindles
  • Monitoring of the joining process by means of integrated force/displacement monitoring
  • Display of results on screen

Bearing cover – Fully automatic

Assembly machines for the assembly of camshaft bearing caps or crankshaft bearing caps integrate the processes:

  • Automatic loading and unloading of the workpiece
  • Provision of storage lids as bulk goods, on pallets or on feed belts
  • Feeding the bearing caps
  • Attaching the bearing caps
  • Feeding and inserting screws
  • Screwing on the bearing cover
  • Monitoring of the screwdriving process by means of torque/angle monitoring

Bearing cover – Semi-automatic (offline)

Semi-automatic assembly stations for the assembly of camshaft bearing caps integrate the processes:

  • Manual loading and unloading of the workpiece
  • Provision of storage lids as bulk goods or on pallets
  • Manual positioning of the bearing caps with the aid of insertion masks
  • Manual feeding of screws and insertion
  • Automatic screwing of the bearing caps
  • Monitoring of the screwdriving process by means of torque/angle monitoring
  • Display of results on screen

Assembly of locking parts

Assembly machines for closure parts integrate the processes:

  • Automatic loading and unloading of the workpiece
  • Providing and feeding the assembly parts using sorting pots or step conveyors
  • Wetting the holes to be sealed with sealant (Loctite)
  • Pressing in ball and covers
  • Setting KOENIG expanders
  • Integrated leakage test (option)

Hot joining of cylinder liners

Assembly systems for joining cylinder liners in cylinder bores integrate the processes:

  • Automatic loading and unloading of workpieces
  • The crankcases are heated to approx. 200 degrees in an oven
  • A heated crankcase is fed to a joining station
  • A robot feeds the temperature-controlled liners to the joining station
  • In the joining station, the liners are aligned and guided into the cylinder bore in a defined manner
  • Cooling the crankcase to ambient temperature

The result of the joining process is monitored in a subsequent test station.