Cylinder head assembly production line

EXTREME SUPERCOOLING:PRESS-IN OPERATIONS AT approx.
200°C BELOW ZERO

Siberian conditions: We built a system for the assembly and leak testing of cylinder heads for a large manufacturer of trucks, buses and diesel engines from Russia. This even includes a liquid nitrogen container in which the components are super cooled for pressing in.

Precise assembly under extreme conditions is crucial for components that have been precision-machined down to the micrometer, such as valve guides or valve seat rings. Due to the extreme supercooling of the components using nitrogen, these are shrunk together to make it possible to press them into the openings provided. This is a high-precision process that has to be implemented in a very short time.

Cell 1: Assembly of nitrogen-cooled components

Cell 1 general overview
Cell 1 general overview

Automatic supply of valve seat rings
Automatic supply of valve seat rings

Automatic fitting of the liquid nitrogen tank with valve seat rings and valve guides
Automatic fitting of the liquid nitrogen tank with valve seat rings and valve guides

Transfer of the cylinder head from the intake roller conveyor
Transfer of the cylinder head from the intake roller conveyor

Pressing in of nitrogen-cooled valve seat rings
Pressing in of nitrogen-cooled valve seat rings

Pressing in of nitrogen-cooled valve guides
Pressing in of nitrogen-cooled valve guides

Cell 2: Assembly of closure elements and injector sleeves as well as LEAK testing

Loctite wetting and pressing in of threaded bushings and closure caps
Loctite wetting and pressing in of threaded bushings and closure caps

Fully automated O-ring assembly
Fully automated O-ring assembly

Loctite wetting of injector sleeves
Loctite wetting of injector sleeves

Assembly of KVT expander plugs
Assembly of KVT expander plugs

Leak test of oil chamber using the pressure difference procedure
Leak test of oil chamber using the pressure difference procedure

Horizontal visual inspection
Horizontal visual inspection

THE PROJECT IN FIGURES

Precision and speed are equally important when working with extremely supercooled components.

Precise cycle times and accurate matching of processes present special challenges here.

Facts

Cycle time of <78 sec. per cylinder head
10 process steps divided into two cells
5 Robots
Supercooling of the components to be pressed in to -195.8 °C

More about our services

Leak testing, assembly technology, automation illustration

INDIVIDUAL OPERATIONS IMPLEMENTED

The integration of manual processes with semi-automated and fully-automated procedures in assembly and material flow requires perfectly coordinated timing, which satisfies not just the needs of the manual work, but also the requirements of the special assembly conditions. In this project, we coordinated all steps down to the last detail.

Automation