1. 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.