INTERNSHIP REPORT.

19th July – 26th August, 2016

Production Engineering Department

Shocks and Struts Shop

Institute: DHA Suffa University, Karachi

Name of Interns Reg. No. Department

Syed Muhammad Haris me131027 Mechanical Engineering

Talal Iqbal Khan me131043 Mechanical Engineering

Muhammad Azeem Uddin me131008 Mechanical Engineering

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Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................... 3

II. Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................................... 4

III. Agriauto Industries Limited at a glance ........................................................................................... 5

IV. A Little about Shocks and Struts Shop ............................................................................................. 5

V. Internship Objective......................................................................................................................... 6

VI. Plant Areas Covered ......................................................................................................................... 6

1. Parting Cell .......................................................................................................................... 6

2. McPherson Store ................................................................................................................ 7

Learned Outcomes ............................................................................................................. 8

3. Shocks and Struts Plant ....................................................................................................... 8

Learned Outcomes ........................................................................................................... 12

4. Press Shop ......................................................................................................................... 13

Learned Outcomes ........................................................................................................... 13

VII. Overall Learned Outcomes ............................................................................................................ 14

VIII. Project Paper A: Material Handling ............................................................................................. 145

IX. Project Paper B: Piston rod Handling…………………………………………………………………………………………16

X. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 17

XI. Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 177

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

It is necessary for every student to get a practical exposure to the workplace before graduating from the

course of studies i.e. before actually getting into the field. Our internship was focused on this

phenomenon. We were a group of three students pursuing Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering from

DHA Suffa University. The internship tenure was of 6 weeks during which we were placed in Production

Engineering Department and were assigned several tasks and case studies. Our main consideration was

to improve the raw material handling. We worked in the streams of piston rod and shock absorber

assembly. The first task was the data collection from all the stores, quality department and in-house

press shop. After data analysis, the feasibility of optimization was catered. The filtered components

which were found feasible for the application of improved data handling mechanisms were listed. The

Sequence of Procedures were formulated respective of their application and were preceded to data

requisition. This internship as a whole came up to be a hands-on professional learning experience. It

developed in us, the professional attitude to tackle problems. During our internship, we were exposed

to different working environments from white collar office work to the storage and vigorous machining

areas. We were apprehended over our level of technical understanding in contrast with the current

company needs. This motivated us to tune ourselves for challenging work places.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all we would like to thank Allah for bestowing us with great blessings.

Man’s effort does matter in the way to achieve success in any field of the world. So we are heartily

thankful to our teacher Sir Hamza Ahmed Qazi (Assistant Professor - DSU) and

Engr. Kalim Ullah (General Manager Technical - AIL) for helping us in getting such a cherished learning

opportunity. Our supervisor in-charge was Engr. Abdul Wasay (Assistant Manager PE – AIL). He guided

us about all the ways to get information of the general processes happening in the plant and preliminary

information of every department was also provided by him. He is indeed a learned person. We learned

about numerous manufacturing processes and phenomenon and literally were able to relate the things

that we have been learning in our theoretical courses in the degree program. There might be few things

left for us to learn in there but overall it was a full-fledged learning experience. Fortunately, we were

surrounded by intelligent problem solvers like Engr. Danish, Engr. Jalees and Engr. Bilal who always

provided tweaks to bridge the learning gap we were having as interns. The managers of other

departments including Mr. Ali Abid, Mr. Abdul Qadir, Mr. Zahid and Mr Irshad also assisted us. In this

widespread learning period, we were not only facilitated by the executive engineers of our department

but also the engineers of other departments as well as the store keepers and machine workers.

Mr. Jahanzaib helped us a lot in the determination of manageable material handling issues. Store

keepers like Mr. Sana Ullah, Mr Farrukh also aided us in the data collection as it was the most

challenging task for us. There are many other names that deserve to be mentioned here but we can

simply sum up the support from the Employees as a fundamental part in the completion of our

designated assignments.

At the end of the day, all that matters is our own performance. The performance of this intern trio is

nearly up to the mark as per supervisor’s remarks.

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AGRIAUTO INDUSTRIES LIMITED AT A GLANCE

Agriauto Industries Limited was established in 1981 by House of Habib. The company is one of the

leading automotive components manufacturers in the private sector and the first company in Pakistan

to acquire TS16949 certification. The company is well-known for the manufacture of variety of integral

automotive part for automotive giants in Pakistan like Indus Motors and Pak Suzuki Motors. To get

synchronized with the fast production rates at Indus Motors and Pak Suzuki, the production department

at AIL works diligently without compromising the quality requirements.

The vision of AIL is to be a world class manufacturer and supplier of high entry barrier automotive

components providing competitive returns to all stakeholders. AIL consists of few sub-manufacturing

units within main compound such as:

Shocks and Struts Plant

Press Shop

Camshaft Plant

Two Wheeler Plant

Steering Box Plant

Yamaha Shocks Plant

Shiroki Plant

A LITTLE ABOUT SHOCKS AND STRUTS SHOP

Shocks and Struts Shop is the business center for Agriauto Industries Limited, due to high yearly

production rates. The shock absorbers for Toyota Corolla (2003/ 2009/ 2014) and shocks and struts for

Suzuki Mehran, Cultus, Alto and Baleno are manufactured in this shop. The maximum daily production

capability is of the McPherson Assembly of Toyota Corolla and that is 600 assemblies per day.

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INTERNSHIP OBJECTIVE

To get an exposure to a professional working environment and to understand the sequence of

procedures involved in the production and supply of high quality consumer products.

PLANT AREAS COVERED

Parting Cell

McPherson Shop

Shocks and Struts Plant

Press Shop

Yamaha Plant

Parting Cell

Parting cell is a designated section in AIL. Its purpose is the parting of inner and outer tubes and piston

rods for all the models of shocks and struts that are manufactured in AIL. Parting Cell has its own storage

for the raw material.

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We have two types of machines in parting cell:

1. Band Saws (used to part thick tubes by using a saw)

2. Morry Machine (used to part thin tubes by using a parting tool orthogonally against the tubes)

McPherson Store

This is the largest store in the AIL plant. It is designed to store the imported and local components of the

McPherson assembly which is the name for the assembly of shock absorbers for Model: 368-A Corolla.

The store has all the proper facilities to unload the shipment, store them category wise and transport

them to the McPherson Assembly line of the shocks and struts plant.

The large crates in the store are stacked and the smaller part boxes are placed on roller racks. Trolleys

and Fork lifters are used for the transportation of components from this store to shocks and struts plant.

The average storage in this store is near to 6000 assembly parts.

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Learned Outcomes

Roller racks were found to be efficient way of storage.

Inventory management

Shocks and Struts Plant

The shocks and struts plant is the most busy section of the AIL Plant which manufactures shocks and

struts that generate 70% revenue of the company. This plant has several machinery and cells that are a

part of the whole process by which shocks and struts are manufactured. All the raw materials from

different stores come here to make a finished product. The shocks and Struts Plant is divided into the

following sections:

1. Rod Machining Line

2. Chrome Plating

3. Buffing and Polishing Area

4. Quality Gate

5. Washing Area

6. KYB & Gabriel Assembly Cell

7. Welding Line

8. Spring Assembly

9. Paint Shop

10. McPherson Assembly

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Rod Line

Rod line is referred to the area where different value added processes are applied on the raw piston

rods for both shocks and struts. The processes that are involved in the rod line are as follows:

1. Case Hardening

Case hardening is a process used for the surface hardening of steel and other alloy components. The

parts to be heat treated are placed inside a copper coil and then heated above their transformation

temperature by applying an alternating current to the coil.

2. CNC Machining

This process is used for turning of the rods in order to adjust them on to the required diameter. The

process is performed using CNC Lathe.

3. Threading

It is a process in which the mounting and piston ends of the rods are rolled between two threaded

rollers to make threads on the rods.

4. Grinding

Surface grinding is used to produce a smooth finish on flat surfaces. It is a widely used abrasive

machining process in which a spinning wheel covered in rough particles (grinding wheel) cuts chips of

metallic or nonmetallic substance from a work piece, making a face of it flat or smooth.

5. Milling

This process is only applied to the strut rods to create a flat surface on the threaded portion of their

mounting ends.

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CHROME PLATING

Chrome plating (less commonly chromium plating), often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique

of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal or plastic object. The chromed layer can be

decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness. The

chrome plating in the shocks and struts plant involves the following steps:

o Immersing the rods into ALBA 78 for oil cleaning of the rods.

o Water cleaning by using distilled water.

o Etching is done just prior to the hard chromium plating operation. The purpose of etching is to

ensure optimum deposit adhesion.

o Immersing the rods in the electrochemical cell for chrome plating.

o Dipping into RO water for cleaning.

BUFFING AND POLISHING AREA:

The buffing and polishing operations are carried out to enhance the surface finishing of the rods and

make them smooth which is a requirement for the operation of rods in the shocks and struts assembly.

There are two large and one small machine for the buffing of front and rear rods. Buffing range is usually

between 0.1 Rz to 0.2 Rz.

QUALITY GATE

This is a platform between the buffing area and the washing area. Two quality inspection members work

here at the same time to check every rod for appearance or material defects after the above operations.

The defected rods are categorized into rework-able and rejected based on the defects that are found.

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WASHING AREA

Before going for the assembly the rods need to be cleaned properly because any sort of contaminants

on its surface can affect the performance of the shock or strut in which the rod will be assembled. These

contaminants can be mixed into the oil and can cause tear off in the oil seal. There are two types of

washing done in this area i.e. washing through chemical and ultrasonic washing.

KYB CELL

KYB stands for Kayaba and its Japanese manufacturer of shock absorbers. The shock absorbers for

Cultus, Swift and 368-A are manufactured according to its standards. For this purpose a separate

assembly cell is available at AIL for the assembly of shocks and struts. This cell involves the processes of

Caulking, Torquing, Stacking, Oil/Gas Filling and Damper Testing. Smaller part assemblies are also

assembled here in separate sections.

GABRIEL CELL

Gabriel is a US based organization for the manufacturing of shock absorbers. Its standards are used to

manufacture the shocks and struts for Mehran, Alto, and Vans. For this purpose a separate assembly cell

is available at AIL for the assembly of shocks and struts. This cell involves the processes of Caulking,

Torquing, Stacking, Oil/Gas Filling and Damper Testing. Smaller part assemblies are also assembled here

in separate sections.

WELDING LINE:

This section of the plant deals with the different types of welding required for different assemblies. MIG

Welding, Projection Welding, Spot Welding, Electric Arc Welding and Gas Welding are the types of

welding carried out in this line. Eye Rings, Piston Ends of Rear Rods, Knuckle Brackets and Steering

Knuckles are the components that are welded in this line.

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SPRING ASSEMBLY:

This assembly section deals with the assembly of smaller parts like Bumper Stopper, Retainer, By Pass

Spring and other small components. Their assembly machinery does not require a lot of space but

consists of a complex layout. Various components are put together and are punched, pressed and

torqued sequentially.

PAINT SHOP:

This section of the plant performs the painting and coating operations required for every product. A

conveyer with hangers is used to hang the components and pass them through the whole process

required for surface protective painting and coating.

McPHERSON ASSEMBLY:

For the manufacturing of shock absorbers of Corolla 368-A there is a separate assembly line. Different

parts like: Calipers, Brake Discs, Bearings, Hubs, Brake Disc Covers, Spring Seats and small joining

components are brought here and are joined together according to the standard assembly.

Learned Outcomes

The main concept of assembly line could be demonstrated in the McPherson Assembly.

We learned the procedure of classification of different kinds of springs

Pneumatic and hydraulic power seemed to be providing edge in the mechanical advantage of

most of the machines.

Various kinds of welding machines and operations were observed such as the Mig Welding,

Seam Welding, Projection Welding, Spot Welding and Capacitor Discharge welding

Sophisticated buffing machines

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Press Shop

AIL has a purpose-built and well equipped press shop. The sheet metal parts and dies are manufactured

in this plant. It has heavy press machines ranging from 15 tons to as high as 400 tons. The hydraulic

press was ranging from 15-200 tons while the 300-400 tons pressing was achieved by mechanical press.

The selection of press strength is based on the thickness and type of sheet. The common processes

observed at the press shop were Shearing, Blanking, Piercing, Drawing, Chamfering, Embossing,

Forming, Collar Bending, Restriking, Trimming, etc.

Learned Outcomes

The optimization of resources and increment of mechanical advantage was observed in the

selection of different presses for different jobs.

Mechanical presses were observed providing more work force in contrast with the traditional

hydraulic presses

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OVERALL LEARNED OUTCOMES

Extensive awareness about the manufacturing environment

Familiarization with the industrial norms and procedures

Reporting, documentation on MS Excel and A3 project poster technique put an advancement in

our existing computer knowledge

Utilization of experimentation equipment and quality assurance tools

Understanding of communication skills required in the industry

Relation of the theoretical knowledge to practical operations

The utilization of computing tools for a systematic approach towards a problem, its root causes

and the solutions/targets that can be inferred.

The operational sequence of an automotive industry i.e. classifying the raw materials for

different processing to obtain different finished products.

The problems faced due to the mishandling of materials during the whole transportation from

the vendor to the final assembly line.

The minimization of losses that are bared by the company due to several material and

appearance defects occurring in critical components.

PROJECT PAPERS

Paper A: Raw Material Handling

Paper B: Piston Rod Handling

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CONCLUSION

This internship as a whole came up to be a hands-on professional learning experience. It developed in

us, the professional attitude to tackle problems. During our internship, we were exposed to different

working environments from white collar office work to the storage and vigorous machining areas. We

were apprehended over our level of technical understanding in contrast with the current company

needs. This motivated us to tune ourselves for challenging work places.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Working procedures and schedules should be implemented properly. It should be made

compulsory for every worker and officer to follow the timings and standards of every operation

in the premises of AIL.

The raw material handling as a whole is unsatisfactory. Some prominent points are jotted below.

o The material handling from import to the respective assembly areas is multi-staged.

This can be improved by implementing single-handled system.

o Safety considerations are not made while stacking materials on trollies and pallets.

The workers should be counseled regarding the proper material transportation.

o Storage areas are stacked by local and in-house parts; eliminating them will provide

more storage capacity for the international parts.

Supply on demand System can be implemented on the local and in-house parts.

o Tagging/labeling is not done properly on component transportation trollies.

Tagging, as well as color codes can be used on trollies/pallets for distinguishing the

component being carried.