Car services are known to everyone. If you have a flat tire or hear strange noises coming from your car, drive to an auto repair shop. Mechanics there can analyze what's wrong with the car and solve the problem, such as: B. changing the oil, repairing the wiring, or offering a replacement part if nothing else works. But few of you know that there is also a CNC car service. What's different about them? And how can they make your car better than ever?
What is CNC Auto Services
Have you seen the show “Pimp My Ride”? Otherwise, you will hardly understand the full scope that a CNC automotive service offers. However, let me try to explain at least a little. These car services have many more options for repairing and modifying cars. In addition to hiring technicians and investing in repair equipment, CNC automotive services use manufacturing equipment to complement their services and can not only purchase and install replacement parts when needed, but also manufacture the part themselves.
This is very useful if your car is old and replacement parts are extremely difficult to find. But most importantly, CNC car services are essential if you want to customize your car. While recently these services struggled with complex geometric elements, today modern manufacturing technologies allow anyone to have virtually any type of custom car.
Steps to Develop Custom Auto Parts
1. Reverse engineering the original part
Whether you want to replace a worn-out part or get a custom item, you are essentially entering the realm of automotive prototyping. But unlike prototyping, you already have a product and want your new part to fit perfectly on the car. To achieve this, you must copy all equipment and perimeters. You need to measure them carefully as they need to fit perfectly otherwise they may come loose while driving.
Depending on the complexity of the project, there are different ways to measure cabin installations.
With simple measurement tools. This method is only available for the simplest geometries, such as: B. a threaded hole or a plug-in connection. Because these devices are often standardized, you can easily look up all actual sizes in the appropriate ISO or ASTM document.
Using a coordinate measuring machine. Modern cars have complex designs with many curved lines and complex surfaces, making measurement with a micrometer impossible. In these cases, a coordinate measuring machine can be used to draw some characteristic lines of the part so that its contour fits the car body. The coordinate measuring machine consists of a base plate and an electrical probe that touches or traces the features of the part with excellent precision.
Using a 3D optical scanner. This is a modern technology for measuring entire parts with extreme speed and accuracy, without even touching them. 3D scanning allows you to quickly measure not only the surfaces of the device, but also the entire part. This is really useful if you want to replace an existing part or if you just want to make some changes to the geometry. The measurement is typically performed using structured light to highlight the part while the triangulation device measures the geometry of the part.
2. Design verification and prototype production
Once all measurements have been taken, the replacement part can be designed. When designing a custom part, you can use your imagination, but be sure to consult CNC automotive service to make sure the design can be manufactured. You can probably send them your sketches and technical drawings and they will come back with an actual design that you can confirm.
Verification prototype
Once this is done, the actual manufacturing can begin. But before that, some modern service providers adopted modern rapid prototyping services like 3D printing. Therefore, if you have doubts about whether your part will fit perfectly into the car and what proportions it will have, you can order a 3D printed plastic model. The production time for this prototype is only 1 to 2 days, depending on size and precision.
Custom parts manufacturing
Most of the car parts that are replaced in the car (if we ignore various rubber sealing rings and electrical components) are made of metal. Probably made of aluminum alloys or steel. And since you only need one or two of the pieces described, you're limited to just a few options. The most common is 5-axis CNC machining. CNC automotive parts manufacturers have been quick to adopt 5-axis machining because of the numerous benefits it offers.
5 Axis CNC Machining for Custom Auto Parts
5-axis machining centers have penetrated all industries and levels of manufacturing. The same applies to the production of special parts. A 5-axis CNC machining center is usually based on a milling machine. It is equipped with a milling cutter, but the spindle can not only move along the linear axes, but also tilt. This made it possible to produce complex custom parts: car headlight lenses from a single block of material with a mirror finish and any type of reflective surface desired, car windows with complex designs, aesthetic elements such as custom car steering wheels, interface panels and many, many more options.
3. Customize and test the prototype
We are used to buying a spare part for a car, going to the car, removing the old part and installing the new one without any problems. These are the advantages of mass production. The situation is different for custom-made products. You are creating the design for a first or second attempt and it will probably have some imperfections. Finishing is usually done manually. So don't worry if the custom-made bulb you ordered doesn't fit so well in the socket. Machinists will finish it to fit using hand tools.
No matter what type of custom part you make, you need to test it. Especially if the part is functional. Therefore, before you can leave with your new engine pumps or car lights, technicians will likely keep your car to test all the important parameters while the car is operating in different conditions.
