AUTOMATIC ASSEMBLY SYSTEM EMPLOYING FIRST AND SECOND HAMMER MECHANISMS FOR INSERTION OF WORKPIECES

An assembly machine is provided for automatically inserting blade-like foil inserts in a torque converter turbine drum or similar article. The assembly mechanism includes automatic apparatus for accomplishing the requisite assembly motions, including moving a turbine drum which is placed upon a translatable rack to a preliminary position, moving the drum from the rack to a work position upon a supporting mandrel, stripping a foil insert from a feeding magazine, urging the stripped insert along guides for insertion into the drum, camming and hammering a first foil ear into a preliminarily inserted portion in the drum, thereby locating the foil in a preliminary position, urging the foil into its final assembled position in the drum with a simultaneous camming and hammering motion, angularly indexing the drum or housing to a successive position so as to receive the next blade-like foil insert, counting the number of angular indexing steps imparted to the drum, and moving the drum with its assembled blade-like foil inserts back to the rack and then out of the assembly mechanism when the requisite number of foils have been inserted.