One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money

by Harold Morse Dunphy

PLAN No. 1130. ENGINES

There are a number of concerns which build only automobile engines, and the automobile engine factory is usually a large plant.

Usually about three classes or grades of engines are built in a factory which makes a specialty of engines. The first class or grades of engines go into the higher-priced cars, the second grade into the second-class cars, and the third grade into the cheaper cars.

The engine factory must have its foundry in which are employed such foundry experts and helpers as patternmakers, coremen, cupolamen, molders, and machine operators. Some engine parts are aluminum, some brass, some steel, and some cast iron. There is much work in the foundry that could easily be done by handicapped men—by men, for example, who have stiff joints and who are unable to move about freely, and men who have lost one arm, a hand, or a leg.

The crank case of the engine is usually cast of aluminum. After this part has been cast it goes to a cleaning and inspecting department, where it is carefully inspected before any machine work is done upon it. After it passes inspection it is rough jigged and the machine work is started. After the milling, operations are done on the case—such as smoothing the sides, top, and bottom—and the case then goes to a layout department, where it is placed upon a large surface plate. Layout men, using surface gauges and such other tools, mark out the dimensions and spot holes for bolts, studs, etc. The crank case then goes back to the machine-shop department, where it is drilled, tapped, and machined. It is then inspected, after which the bearings are fitted. Some engines have the bearings babbitted into the case, while others have them detachable, the bearings being machined to fit the case.

After the bearings have been fitted into the case they are reamed with a bearing reamer. The lower half of the crank case, which is usually the oiled reservoir covering the timing-gear case, and other crank-case parts are finished in their respective departments. The crank case, having gone through a number of small operations, is now ready for the assembly department. There are a number of places in the crank-case department where handicapped men could find employment. Some of the operations could well be done by men who have lost a hand, eye, or leg, or by men who have stiff joints. The work in this department is usually noisy, and possibly not well suited for men of a nervous temperament.

The crank shaft of the automobile engine is usually drop-forged. However, a few shafts are made from a solid block of steel. When the shafts are drop-forged, a number of machine operators are employed. The men operating these forge machines need not be experts in that they are trained in the factory for this particular job. Some of these machines could very easily be operated by men with one arm, or with one leg and one arm. If the crank shaft had been drop-forged, it goes to the heat treatment department for heat treating. It is then sent to the machine shop where it is rough turned, and in a number of cases is then sent back to the heat-treatment department. The shaft is then machined, rough ground and finished ground to size. It is now passed to the inspection department where the journals are inspected as to size, length, and trueness. The shaft then goes to a balancing machine where it is given a running test and carefully balanced.

The flywheel, having been machined in another department, is then fitted to the crank shaft and the shaft and flywheel are balanced together. This balancing of the shaft and flywheel has much to do with reducing the vibration of the engine when in use. After passing this test the shaft is ready to be fitted to the crank case. The fitting to the case is done by scraping—an operation which requires a man who has had previous training in this line of work to develop a very particular skill in it. A man must be very efficient to turn out the proper amount of work each day. The scraping operation does not, however, take much time with present-day equipment. After the bearing is scraped to fit the shaft, the bearings are shimmed and tightened to the proper tension, and the shaft and case is ready for a block test. It is important that these bearings be tightened to the proper tension, since if they are too tight the bearing may burn out from the increased friction, while if they are not tight enough the engine will soon develop a knock when it is put into service.

The greater part of the work done on the crank shaft is done in the machine-shop department. Outside of this department, however, there are a number of jobs that could be done by handicapped men, among them being those of inspectors, balancing machine hand men, and bearing scrapers. Inspectors and balancers should have the free use of two hands. They are not required to move about rapidly, but should be able to move from one place to another. The bearing scrapers could be men who have lost part of one hand, one eye, or one leg. This work requires bending over so that a man who has had stomach wounds or injury to the back could not do it.

The cam shaft for the engine is drop-forged and rough turned, the work being similar to that done in the other drop-forge departments. The shaft then goes to an electroplating department where it is copper plated. It is then sent back to the machine department where the cam faces and such other places that are to be hardened are ground to a slightly oversized measurement. The shaft is then sent to the heat-treatment department where it is hardened. The process of this hardening is to pack the shaft in a large metal box together with such hardening compound as has been selected by the factory. The box containing the shafts to be hardened is then put into a heat-treatment furnace where it is heated to a proper temperature and allowed to remain there for the proper length of time, after which the shafts are quenched in a bath to finish the heat-treating process.

The copper plating, which has been put on the shaft in a previous operation, prevents the carbon from entering the shaft during the heat-treating process. The carbon enters the shaft only where the copper plating has been removed. After heat treatment the shaft is rough tested for trueness. It is then sent to the grinding department where it is ground to the final dimensions. The shaft then goes to the inspection department, where it is carefully inspected before being sent to the stock assembly division. Such other parts, as timing gears and shafts, are machined and inspected in other parts of the factory.

The valve tappets of the average automobile engine are of the mushroom or button-head type. This type of tappet is either drop-forged or made of pressed steel. The work requires about the same class of workmen as have been mentioned in drop-forge and die work under frames and axles. After the tappets have been formed into shape they are then rough turned, after which they are heat treated, machined, and inspected. They are then assembled ready for the engine. The assembly and inspection departments are about the only places where handicapped men could be used to an advantage, with exception of the machine-shop work.

The assembly and inspection work of the valve tappets can be done sitting down, and can be handled very well by men who have lost one or even both legs. They should, however, have the free use of one hand, and of at least part of the other, so as to enable them to use special testing tools and equipment.

Connecting rods for engines are drop-forged and machined in their respective departments. They are then inspected before the bearings are fitted to them. This inspection work could be very well done by a man with two hands and one leg, or by a man who is capable of lifting light weights and who can move about with ease. The bearings of the average automobile engine are detachable, and are made in a special department and sent to the connecting-rod assembly department for installing in the connecting rod. Here the bearings are fitted to the connecting rod in both upper and lower halves, after which the bearing is reamed. The bearing is then scraped to a shaft until it has the proper bearing surface. The rod is then jigged in a fixture so that it will be in proper alignment when it is installed in the engine. The connecting rods are then carefully weighed so that all rods or pairs of rods are of equal weight. They are then tagged or marked and sent to the crank shaft department, where they are fitted to the crank shaft upon which they are to be used. The connecting rod department could furnish employment for a number of disabled men. Some of this work is done sitting down and some is done standing at a bench. The bearing work done on the connecting rods could be done by men who have one good leg and one good arm, and the free use of the stub of the other arm, or a device could be used to take the place of the other hand. No special educational requirements are indicated for this work and no special instructions are necessary.

Cylinders for engines, having been cast in the foundry, are rough-tested, the core sand removed, and the cylinders scaled. Some of this work is done sitting down and could very well be done by men who have received injuries to their legs. However, they should have the free use of both hands. Cylinders, after being scaled and cleaned, are sent to the machine department where they are machined and ground. This work is all machine-shop work.

After being ground, cylinders are inspected for trueness and general condition. The valves are then ground to the cylinders. This operation can be done by men who have the free use of one hand and of part of the other hand. Some of this work is done sitting down, so that a man need not have two good legs. Some of the valve grinding is often done in machines, in which case it is necessary that the operator watch a number of valves on the machine at one time. This operation would require a man who could move about freely in order to inspect the machine.

Pistons for the engine, having been machined and ground, are inspected as to sizes, dimensions, etc. This operation could well be done by a man with two good hands, but he must be able to stand at a bench and move about freely. The pistons are then fitted to the cylinders so as to get a proper fit in each cylinder. They are also carefully balanced in pairs and equal weights are selected as nearly as possible. The fitting of pistons to cylinders and the balancing of them could well be done by handicapped men. The piston pins also are fitted to the piston and to the connecting rod. This work is done standing at benches, and could be done by men who have the free use of both hands.

Piston rings which are made from castings in the machine shop, where they have been ground, are sent to the inspector who carefully inspects each ring. This work is light and is well suited to a man who could sit at a bench, but he must have the free use of both hands. Piston rings are fitted to cylinders and pistons in another department. This operation requires a little more skill than some of the others mentioned and a man must have some mechanical ability to learn to do the work efficiently. There are, however, many minor injuries which would not prevent a man from doing this work.

The manifolds, both inlet and exhaust are cast in the foundry department. They are then machined, where necessary, after which they are inspected. This department could employ disabled men for inspection work.

There are a number of bolts and screws and special fittings which must be carefully inspected before they can go to the assembly department. Every bolt must be looked over as to its general condition before it can be used. This work alone offers employment to a large number of men in every automobile engine factory. It is very light and a man in very delicate condition could efficiently perform a number of these operations. In a number of positions one hand is all that is necessary. Men could either sit or recline on the bench and do the work. In fact, men in bed even could come up to production in this particular kind of work.

The oil pump for the engine, having been machined in the various departments is assembled by men who sit at benches. This work is very light work and can be handled to advantage by men with handicaps. They should, however, have the use of both hands.

We have now mentioned the various units which go to make up an engine and have come to the point where it is necessary to assemble these various parts.

In the up-to-date automobile factory, the engine assembly is done by the progressive system. The conveyor system which is used in engine assembly is similar to that used in the chassis assembly, described in another section of this bulletin. The crank case is usually mounted upon this conveyor or movable stand. The crank shaft, having been assembled to the case in another department, is now ready for the connecting rods, and the rods with the pistons are attached. The cam shaft, tappets, and tappet guides are then installed, and the cylinders are mounted. The engine moves on to another section where the manifolds are attached to the cylinders. It then passes to a section where the carburetor is mounted. Next the ignition system is attached, and the starting and lighting and such other units as this particular engine may require are installed. All these operations have taken place while the engine has been moving. Special tools are used during these operations, such as air wrenches, socket wrenches, and any tool that may save a few seconds time.

The work that is done on this engine conveyor system is considered to be hard work in that each man must keep moving at top speed in order to turn out the required production in that department. The men are well paid and they must be qualified to take care of their particular section of this conveyor. There are a number of places, however, where handicapped men can be used in this work. Very few of these operations could be efficiently handled by a man who did not have the free use of both hands. He could, however, carry on some of this work, if he had received injuries to one of his legs. All of this work is inspected and a man is carefully checked as to the work he has done.

After the engine has been inspected, it is ready for a block test. The conveyor carries the engine to this block-test department, where the engine is mounted on a special stand and is connected to an electric motor, which drives the engine at sufficient speed to lubricate it and to work in the moving parts. The block-test mechanics are men who can pick out noises and defects in the engine. They must watch the engine for hot bearings, loose bearings, and in fact this department is a sort of running-test inspection department. If the engine does not show any defects and meets normal requirements, it is given a running test under its own power. This test is oftentimes done on the same motor or electric set that it has been run in by, or in other words the electric motor becomes a generator. This test is known as the dynamometer test.

The engine running under its own power is loaded down by the resistance of the electric generator and the horsepower noted. The carburetor and ignition is adjusted to bring the engine to the normal horsepower. If the engine fails to come up to normal horsepower, it is rejected and must go back for rebuilding. After it passes the horsepower test, the oil is removed and the engine is sent to the storeroom or chassis assembly department as the case may be.

The inspection department of the engine assembly could employ a number of disabled men provided they were qualified by mechanical experience. The block test department could employ men with slight handicaps who have had previous experience in engine work. They should, however, be expert gas engine men. This is true also of men in the dynamometer-test department. In the engine-assembly department, however, some helpers and less skilled mechanics could very well find employment even though disabled.

All work in engine factories can be termed desirable employment, since up-to-date factories are well equipped, and well heated, lighted, and ventilated. Pay is good and the factory usually runs the year around. Engine factories are usually located near large automobile centers, for the same reason that the automobile factories are located there, namely, railroad facilities, power facilities, and general living conditions.