Reliance Design

Design and Build Solutions for Manufacturing and Assembly

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This Piston Insertion Guide Machine was created using Inventor, a 3D CAD program. The customer asked us to help them solve the problem of inserting the connecting rod/piston assembly into the engine & consistently clear the piston squirter tube which had only a 3mm pass thru clearance. We reverse engineered a working prototype to prove concept, then designed for the production version (shown).

Transfer shaft Cone Removal tool. This self centering tool uses a standard 13mm wrench with minimal effort to pull the bearing cone off the Transmission Housing which has up to 4,000lbs. of press force on it.

Variety of Special Bearing Pullers. These Bearing Removal Tools were all designed & built for the various Teardown Stations on the 9 Speed Transmission Assembly Line. They all use a standard 13mm wrench with minimal effort to remove the bearing cones & cups out of the Transmission & TC Housings.

This Applicator Tool (1LH & 1RH) was designed and built in 1 week from a few pictures the customer supplied. This tool rides on the car door frame, while removing the backing off the Sash Blackout Decal, guides and presses the Decal strip to the door all in one motion.

This Applicator Tool (1LH & 1RH)was designed and built in 1 week from a few pictures the customer supplied. This tool rides on the car door frame while removing the backing off the Sash Blackout Decal (on table), guides and presses the Decal strip to the door all in one motion.

Assembly Bench

Verifies the bearing is present and not upside down in the Transmission using an LVTD.This tool is connected to the station PLC and provides the operator with an accept/reject light.

This Cam Cap Install Tool locates on the cylinder head and captures all 8 cam caps so the operator can remove them simultaneously, load the camshafts and then re-install the cam caps back onto the cylinder head. This lightweight tool assures each cap is placed in the correct position and improves cycle time.

This 4.5lb Camshaft Install Tool grips the 2 camshafts out of a nest (not shown), holds the camshafts position and orientation while loading onto cylinder head. The tool at the top of the picture is the Cam Cap Install Tool gripping the cam caps to install after the camshafts are loaded. Both tools are designed to function on L.H. and R.H. heads.

Catwalk built per prints provided. Can you find Brian in this picture?

Clutch Install tool for a 9 speed transmission. Very small area to work in when loading into trans. case. Tool weighs 8.5lbs for a two hand lift with ergo friendly trigger release paddles.

Connector Install Tool locates on the Trunion Pallet Arm and the operator uses a DC gun to run down/push the Connector into the Transmission.

Part Counting Fixture with integral lockout to prevent additional parts from being loaded into the box. Reject indicator if the box is pulled out prematurely and has adjustable count settings. This Fixture plugs into a standard 110A/C outlet.

Tool to orient the Crank for the Piston install. This lightweight (3.0 lbs.) tool has 360 deg. adjustabilty to accomodate all (8) positions required on the assembly line.

Variety of Special Bearing Pullers. These Bearing Removal Tools were all designed & built for the various Teardown Stations on the 9 Speed Transmission Assembly Line. They all use a standard 13mm wrench with minimal effort to remove the bearing cones & cups out of the Transmission & TC Housings.

Lift Hook to transfer a 300 pound Cylinder Head from the main assembly line to a repair cart.

This D-Clutch Gage Machine verifies the operator assembled the clutch stack correctly in the nest using a vision system. The operator shuttles the D-Clutch Stack into the gage position and a pneumatic cylinder lowers the LVDT onto the clutch stack to determine the thickness. Operator then uses the install tool(hanging above the clutch stack) to load it into the Transmission case.

Many of these details have a precision tolerance of .001in. (.025mm). These fixture details were also assembled and tested for function.

Manual Back Up Differential Bearing Press & Gage Station for a 9 speed Transmission. The station presses both bearing cones onto the Differential & Gages the Diff. assembly with bearing cups. Operator spins the Diff. to seat the bearings using a manual drive unit and an LVDT measures the Overall height of both bearings. Repeatability & reproducibility was within .05 mm.

D-Piston Gage Machine. Operator loads D-Piston to the Nest. Slides the nest forward into the gage position (shown). The machine then automatically lowers onto the part and using an LVTD, measures the thickness of the D-Piston.

Catwalk & Elevator with riser & hopper additions installed at the customer's facility.

Manual Gage to check transmission Underdrive endplay.

Lift assist for this 780 lbs. Engine Block

End of Arm Tooling which loads the Grille material into the press and then moves it to the secondary press operation while simultaneously unloading the completed part.

This is a totally mechanical solution to verify both pads are welded to the inside of the 2 ears with no increase to the 8 second cycle time. If one pad is missing, it won't go thru the fixture and into the dunnage for shipping.

This 3lb. tool aids the operator in pressing the Harness into the transmission all within standard ergo requirements.

The riser and additions made to an existing hopper/elevator are in white.
This was designed and built on the fly using customer supplied basic height and size dimensions - no documentation required.

Clutch assembly and rotate fixtures. These fixtures allow the operator to add components from both ends with quick open arms and a simple lever release manual rotate.

Press station to install main bearing into the case.

Clutch Tool to install the 'A' clutch into the trans. is on the right, Valve Body install tool in the back center, and 2 gage tools to verify the components are seated properly in the trans. case.

Clutch assembly table to press various components together with rotate fixtures on the right.

Press station to install main bearing into the case.

This Machine will test the functionality of the (4) calipers and take a force reading each cycle. The operator will load the master cylinder to the fixture & mount the calipers to the blades then shuttle the master cylinder under the fill & seal slide unit.

Clutch Install tool for a 9 speed transmission. Very small area to work in when loading into trans. case. Tool weighs 8.5lbs for a two hand lift with ergo friendly trigger release paddles.

T17 Bearing Press Tool generates 100lbs. of press force while using only 8lbs. of pull force effort for the operator. The tool weighs 7lbs. and is designed so the operator can easily locate and clamp the tool to the Converter Housing.

Reliance Design was contracted to create all the prototype tooling for this 10 speed transmission. This is a picture of the valve body and solenoid body assembly tables including VB/SB trunnions with various spool install tools & press station on far right.

In-Process build and assembly of the Piston Install/Guide Machines.

Upper & Lower Needle Bearing In-Process Verification Tools confirm the operator installed the bearing into the clutch assembly & in the proper orientation using an LVTD. These tools are connected to the station PLC and provides the operator with an accept/reject light.

This mobile projection weld table splices together the end of an old steel roll and the start of a new steel roll which eliminates the need to setup/re-feed the stamping machines.

Muffler Bracket weld fixture

This manual station aids the operator in installing O-rings for transmission pistons which are part of a hybrid transmission.

Many of these details have a precision tolerance of .001in. (.025mm). These fixture details were also assembled and tested for function.

Piston Assembly Guide Machine aids in the installation of the pistons into the engine of a very popular 2011 truck and sports vehicle

This Reaction Plate Thickness Verifier uses an LVDT to confirm the operator picked the correct part before loading it into the transmission.

Transmission repair table with adjustable legs and perimeter oil drip trough.

Output Shaft Install Tool with integral In Process Verification to confirm the shaft is locked into the Transmission.

This lightwieght tool presses the Spring Pin into the Transmission housing. The tool locates the Spring Pin in the proper position and reacts against the underside of the Trans. flange when pressing the Pin into the Housing-all within standard ergo requirements.

Manual Transfer Shaft Press & Gage Station for a 9 speed transmission. The operator presses the bearings onto the Transfer Shaft & then Gages it. Operator spins the Trans Shaft to seat the bearings using a manual right angle gear box and an LVDT measures the Overall height of both bearings. Repeatability & reproducibility was within .05 mm.

Manual Back-up Station Tool. This lightweight tool can generate up to 3,000 lbs. of press force using a standard 3/4" wrench while meeting all ergonomic guidelines for repair tooling.

Cylinder Head Lift Assist. This has an automatic locking latch mechanism and is load tested for 3x the weight. Cylinder head weighs 300lbs.

Cylinder Head Lift Assist. This has an automatic locking latch mechanism and is load tested for 3x the weight. Cylinder head weighs 300lbs.

RDI designed this Window Door Frame Pallet for this small assembly line. The tool handing above the pallet is a Pneumatic Clock Spring Install Tool. The operator loads the spring to the tool, presses the button to preload the spring then locates it into the door frame.

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7591 Chubb Road, Northville, MI, 48168, USA | PHONE 734-634-6930 | FAX 734-261-1830