Project: To reverse engineer and manufacture antique motorocycle components for a customer group.
Customers: A group of antique motorcycle cross country racers. Most of them race motorcycles made prior to WW1 and so have problems locating parts. Because of the lack of manufacturing standards at the time, each piece was hand made using materials that would politly be called questionable today.
My Job: Create 3D models of components with the goal of manufacturing them in limited quantities. In this particular case, it was determined I should model the assembly, and arrange for manufacturing a set of 10. (Such runs are refered to as limited volume or short run manufacturing.)
What I provided to the customers: Digital 3D models of each component, manufacturing and assembly drawings, complete with demensional specifications, 3D printed models of each component for test fitting, as well as arranging for the manufacturing and shipping of the parts. I also provide reciepts and quotes, detailing what is provided for the customers records.
Modifications: Because manufacturing industry standards barely existed at the time these parts were made, I was asked to make minor modifications to allow them to use modern, off the shelf components. Things like bushings, pins, bolts and hole sizes were modified to use modern components. The most notable change was addapting the kick gear to use a press fit bushing to reduce wear.
Additional Benifits: What I consider to be the greatest benifit to my services is that because I'm using moder materials and standards to reproduce these parts, the replacements parts I design will far outlast the service live of the originals, allowing these owners to keep ridding for another 100 years.
