Machining stages of the crankshaft Crankshaft assembly. Before assembly of the crankshaft the stroke pin is ground and, on the mating piece, the stroke-pin hole is hard turned. Then the shaft can be assembled with the connecting rod and bearing over the stroke pin. After assembly the journals are machined in one chucking. As a result the crankpins are centered to one another, ensuring little vibration and extreme durability.

What is so special about the STIHL crankshaft? Is there something typical for STIHL? Yes, we machine our crankshaft journals after assembly. This ensures only minimal runout of the two journals in relation to each other. A crankshaft requires very tight tolerances. How do you manage to keep the process stable? Already during the grinding process we start monitoring the diameter - fully automatic and for every part. As a basic principle, no shaft leaves our plant without thorough quality inspection. How are the individual components of the crankshaft joined together? At STIHL, the individual components are assembled on hydraulic presses. This method is another factor ensuring an optimal run-out condition. Numerous processing steps are required to make a crankshaft. Is it therefore a very expensive part? The time required from forging to completed crankshaft is about 2 weeks - which we call the throughput time. Craftsmanship and parts quality take time and have their price, but this is what we owe our customers.