MULTIPLE STORAGE EXTENDS BANKING CAPACITY.

Compact integration of conveyor motion and cutting operations is employed in a new cylinder sleeve machining line designed and built by Gilman Engineering & Mfg Co, Janesville, WI. The installation features ten twin-spindle vertical automatic platen lathes with all-ceramic tools, nine individual storage units and a nonsynchronous over-and-under conveyor and transfer system. It also has final honing, stamping and washing equipment. With 26 separate cuts on each part, the system produces 280 cylinder liners/hr, from rough casting to final finish. A unique system of storage units, individually monitored by the programmable controller, provides 1-hr in-process banking between all operations. Each storage unit is equipped with an automatic handling device that removes parts from the conveyor, six at a time, and stores them in an enclosed compartment with space for 20 rows. With eight storage units serving the lathes, and a larger 225-part unit for honing operations, the system maintains a banking capacity of 1185 heavy-duty diesel cylinder sleeves in various stages of completion.