As systems integrator Johann A. Krause Maschinenfabrik (Bremen, Germany) was putting together an automated assembly line for car engines, one station quickly emerged as a potential trouble spot: the station where centering sleeves are pressed into the cylinder block.
The sleeves are automatically fed into a loading plate and readied for press-fitting. When the press die is positioned, the centering sleeve is picked up and pressed through the loading plate into the cylinder block. If the sleeve is missing or installed at an angle, the cylinder head cannot be mounted. At best, such an error will cause the line to stop while the problem was fixed. At worst, the block will be ruined.