Motorcycle Engine Case Study

          Job Specification:

            Project: Motorcycle Engine Component

            Material: Aluminum 6061-T6

            Processes Involved: 4-Axis CNC Machining, EDM

            Split or Not: No

            Finishing: Hand Polishing

            Quantity: 5 Pcs

            Lead Time: 7 Working Days

            Tolerance Requirement：General ± 0.005’’ ;

                                                       Partial ±0.001’’

   Design For Manufacturing Review And Recommendations

      Once our engineers received the product design for this Motorcycle Engine Component they completed a design for

 manufacturing review. The technical team found that there were a few areas that needed special attention to maximize the part’s appearance and functionality. With customer’s discussion and permission, our colleague finished the final process flow plan.

How The Parts Were Made:

    We chose Aluminum 6061-T6 for the parts. This is a commonly available aluminum alloy that machines well, is not too expensive and looks great after polishing. 

    With the need for such tolerances (Partial ±0.001’’) we decided to machine these parts on our 4-axis CNC mill. Having such equipment helps to avoid moving the piece from one holding fixture to another on different machines, which makes it tough to hold tight tolerances. Also, internal EDM was used to route the profile of the case.

    After milling there were some fine machine marks and scratches on the metal. To remove these and get a good appearance, we applied hand polishing on these external surfaces.