CAM technology revs up racing business

Manufacturing Engineering, Sep 2003

CASE HISTORIES OF MANUFACTURING PROBLEM SOLVING

After losing nearly $20,000, four months of production time, and a patent opportunity because one of his suppliers simply couldn't deliver, John Dickey, founder and owner of AED Performance (Richmond, VA) decided to take matters into his own hands.

Right out of college, Dickey knew he wanted to work in the automotive racing industry. After stints with several different high-performance parts suppliers, his opportunity to set up his own business providing performance parts to the racing community came in 1981. AED Performance is now a major provider of high-performance fuel system components and carburetors, and also runs racing schools that operate on tracks in Nashville, TN and Dover, DE.

The business started out as a venture to simply resell existing performance parts to the racing community, but AED eventually began doing custom modifications, usually subbing out the machine work. Manufacturing began in earnest in 1990. The company's first CNC machine didn't arrive until 2000, after a supplier spent four months making a run of about 500 parts only to find that not one could pass the inspection process.

After spending $20,000 on these parts and watching a competitor file a patent on the same technology, Dickey decided that the time had come for AED Performance to take a more active role in its own manufacturing processes. The company eventually purchased a Cincinnati Arrow 750 VMC with a Siemens Windows-based control.

"The decision was based not simply on the capability of the machine, but also on the integrity and strength of the machine tool supplier," Dickey recalls. "Because we had little experience with automated manufacturing, it was extremely important for us to buy from someone that we could trust to be there after the sale as well. It was this same machine tool supplier who advised us to look at GibbsCAM software [from Gibbs and Associates, Moorpark, CA] as our CNC programming solution."

AED selected GibbsCAM for several reasons. First and foremost, the software could do the programming job that needed to be done. Second, it allowed part and fixture design right in the package. AED Performance staff could sit down to a blank screen and go through the process of part design, manufacturing process planning, and CNC code generation all in a single session.

AED Performance owns CAD software for part design, but company personnel prefer to use GibbsCAM. The software's integrated solids design capability allows development of complex, swept-shape porting design and machining operations, while the speeds and feeds capability enables quick turnaround of NC programs. The company also likes the package's Shop Floor Programming (SFP) capability, which allows machine operators to work directly in GibbsCAM for verification and fine-tuning of CNC code without G-code programming.

Even though automakers are phasing out carburetion technology in favor of fuel injection systems, about 75% of the racing industry still uses carburetors. To dominate this field, AED Performance spares no expense on technology that can help achieve its goals. The company's computerized wet-flow bench is an example of this commitment. The device uses mineral spirits to analyze both air and fuel flow and air/fuel ratios on production and custom carburetors. AED also operates two complete engine dynamometers for analysis and testing. Every custom carburetor that leaves AED Performance undergoes rigorous bench testing and run-time on an actual engine.

Thanks in part to adoption and use of technologies ranging from machining centers and CAM systems to wet-flow benches and dynamometers, AED Performance is a leading force in the high-performance parts market. The company is self-funded, holds no debt, employs 15 people, and has shown solid business growth for each year of its existence.

"Companies like Gibbs and Associates are the kind of partners that help make these business statistics possible," says Dickey. "The bottom line is that with very little manufacturing experience, we were able to implement a high-end automated manufacturing technology and successfully take more control of our own destiny. As a growing concern that means everything."* Circle 222