One assembly conveyor shuttles pallets through a series of press operations to build one of two rotating fluid clutches for truck transmissions, said Allison's Michael Gloye. Transfer stations stop the pallets, then shift them on to subsequent conveyors. Some workstations require high precision, Gloye said. At one operation, a press pushes a piston into the clutch assembly, then checks leak decay. To ensure that the assembly lines up with the press, a wedge engages a bushing on the pallet.
Cushioned stops are available in a number of styles.
Pallet capacity ranges from 10 to 3,000 pounds. Line speeds vary from 10 to 70 feet a minute. May, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed tighter restrictions on the sulfur content of diesel fuel for on-road vehicles. The new standard would reduce the allowable sulfur content in diesel fuel from 500 to 15 parts per million by 2006. The proposed action would clear the way for catalytic converters on diesel engines.