Actuator of a connecting-rod fracture splitting apparatus includes: a piston rod having one end portion extending through a lid of the cylinder and connected to a wedge; and a free piston slidably mounted on the piston rod and abuttable against the upper surface of the piston. By pressure fluid being supplied to act on the upper surface of the piston, the free piston imparts a preload to a hole of a big end section of the connecting rod. By pressure fluid being supplied to act on a region upward of the free piston, the free piston is driven downward to collide against the upper surface of the piston, so that divided mandrel members are moved apart from each other, via the piston rod and the wedge, to fracture a large end section of the connecting rod.

Machine for cracking a connecting rod having a small end and a big end, into a rod part and a cap part, the machine including positioning elements for positioning the connecting rod in a position for cracking, and an expandable element arranged to be inserted into a bore in said big end of the connecting rod so as to allow for splitting of the connecting rod into a rod part and a cap part by expanding the expandable element, where the machine further includes an electro press with a servomotor for actuating the expandable element.

Exemplary connecting rod cracking mandrels and methods are disclosed. A mandrel may include a pair of jaw elements slidably mounted relative to one another and separated from each other. Each one of the jaw elements has a pair of opposing side portions and a center portion disposed between the opposing side portions. Each one of the side portions is configured to contact an inner diameter surface of a bore of a connecting rod when the jaws are moved away from one another within the bore so as to break the connecting rod. The center portion is configured to be spaced apart from the inner diameter surface of the bore when the jaws are moved away from one another within the bore, such that the opposing side portions contact the connecting rod bore.

The machine for cracking a connecting rod comprises an electro press with an electric motor (400) for actuating an expandable element. The electro press comprises a first S actuator part (410) and a second actuator part (430) arranged so that when the first actuator part is driven by the electric motor (400) from a first position to a second position, (a) the first actuator part (410) is first driven by the electric motor (400) from said first position (FIG. 12A) to an intermediate position (FIG. 12B), without displacing the second actuator part (430), and (b) subsequently the first actuator part (410) is further driven by the electric motor (400) from said intermediate position (FIG. 12B) to said second position (FIG. 12C), displacing the second actuator part from a non-expanding position to an expanding position.

After a connecting rod for an engine is formed, it is broken or fractured at a fracture point to allow the connecting rod to assemble around a portion of a crankshaft. However, before fracturing the connecting rod, the connecting rod is provided with a layer of paint across the eventual fracture point such that when the connecting rod is fractured the paint extends across both sides of the fracture point. Also before fracturing the connecting rod, serial numbers or symbols are etched into the paint on either side of the eventual fracture point. These serial numbers are unique to that connecting rod, and have similar indicia on either side of the connecting rod. The combination of the paint and serial numbers increase the ability of an assembly worker to assure matching parts of an original connecting rod are re-attached during assembly about the crankshaft.

After a connecting rod for an engine is formed, it is broken or fractured at a fracture point to allow the connecting rod to assemble around a portion of a crankshaft. However, before fracturing the connecting rod, the connecting rod is provided with a layer of paint across the eventual fracture point such that when the connecting rod is fractured the paint extends across both sides of the fracture point. Also before fracturing the connecting rod, serial numbers or symbols are etched into the paint on either side of the eventual fracture point. These serial numbers are unique to that connecting rod, and have similar indicia on either side of the connecting rod. The combination of the paint and serial numbers increase the ability of an assembly worker to assure matching parts of an original connecting rod are re-attached during assembly about the crankshaft.

After a connecting rod for an engine is formed, it is broken or fractured at a fracture point to allow the connecting rod to assemble around a portion of a crankshaft. However, before fracturing the connecting rod, the connecting rod is provided with a layer of paint across the eventual fracture point such that when the connecting rod is fractured the paint extends across both sides of the fracture point. Also before fracturing the connecting rod, serial numbers or symbols are etched into the paint on either side of the eventual fracture point. These serial numbers are unique to that connecting rod, and have similar indicia on either side of the connecting rod. The combination of the paint and serial numbers increase the ability of an assembly worker to assure matching parts of an original connecting rod are re-attached during assembly about the crankshaft.

After a connecting rod for an engine is formed, it is broken or fractured at a fracture point to allow the connecting rod to assemble around a portion of a crankshaft. However, before fracturing the connecting rod, the connecting rod is provided with a layer of paint across the eventual fracture point such that when the connecting rod is fractured the paint extends across both sides of the fracture point. Also before fracturing the connecting rod, serial numbers or symbols are etched into the paint on either side of the eventual fracture point. These serial numbers are unique to that connecting rod, and have similar indicia on either side of the connecting rod. The combination of the paint and serial numbers increase the ability of an assembly worker to assure matching parts of an original connecting rod are re-attached during assembly about the crankshaft.