Compact VMC contributes to the success of high performance
gas-flowed cylinder heads.
It’s a gas
TUCKED away inside Whitegates Garage in
Stockport, Cheshire is a small engineering
company that has carved out a niche for itself
in the manufacture of high performance gas
flowed cylinder heads. Motorsport enthusiast
Ric Wood is the driving force behind two
businesses, with Whitegates Garage
specialising in high quality vehicle repair and
maintenance, and CNC Heads combining
state-of-the-art engineering technology with
hands-on race experience to design, replicate
and manufacture ‘the very best cylinder head
for your race or road car’.
According to CNC Heads’ Alastair Heywood,
the key to achieving optimum engine
performance improvements for race, trackday
and road cars is the accuracy to which the
cylinder head is modified. He says that every
head produced by CNC Heads for a particular
make and model will be identical, with each one
guaranteed to perform to exactly the same
standard. In fact, CNC Heads claims that ‘the
performance and quality of our ‘fully gas flowed
and fully balanced across all cylinders’ cylinder
heads cannot be beaten and our prices are very
much less than a fully developed hand-ported
head’.
Gas flowing and modifying a cylinder head
can be a very time-consuming and expensive
experience, but CNC Heads’ investment in
computer-based technology has resulted in
significant reductions in production times and
an extremely competitive pricing structure. The
july 2009
manufacturing process begins with the scanning
of a fully developed and flow tested cylinder
head. This information is then used to generate
machine code for all cylinders, ensuring that they
are all identical. The code is then used to machine
the valve throats, chambers and ports via the
recently installed XYZ Mini Mill 560 compact
vertical machining centre, with the resulting
machined finish described by CNC Heads as
‘superbly smooth, visually and to the touch’.
‘Each cylinder head type is optimised once and
the digital data used to replicate the design
exactly, with the more popular types machined in
batches,’ says Alastair Heywood. ‘CNC
technology means that once you have machined
the first optimised head, the next one will be
machined in a much shorter time and will be
identical to the original modified head.’
The decision to install the XYZ Mini Mill 560
was prompted by a requirement to remanufacture
V12 cylinder heads for a historic
race engine, which presented a problem when it
came to machining the two end faces. ‘XYZ
initially suggested inserting a riser block to
provide the additional 150 mm daylight between
table and spindle needed to be able to machine
these faces,’ says Heywood. ‘However, XYZ then
chose to redesign the machine’s base casting, so
the Mini Mill 560 installed in late 2008 does have
an extended Z axis and came complete with
bespoke rather than modified guarding.’
With the machine installed and ready to run,
Heywood says the Siemens 810D ShopMill
automotive sector report
conversational
control proved to be
very user-friendly and the machine has since
performed perfectly. XYZ’s regional showroom
in nearby Blackburn was the preferred venue for
his initial training course as ‘it was just 20
minutes drive away, which enabled me to come
back to work and put into practice what I had
learned that day’.
The concept behind the XYZ Mini Mill 560 is
a compact VMC configuration capable of
machining the widest possible range of
components within the smallest possible
machine footprint. Hence the 560mm (X) by
400mm (Y) by 500mm (650mm optional) (Z)
working envelope that is contained within a
2000mm (width) by 2060mm (depth) footprint.
The standard machine weighs 3100kg, with its
Meehanite ribbed cast iron construction ensuring
that full use can be made of the 15 hp (11
kW)/8000 rev/min (12,000 rev/min optional) BT
40 spindle. Induction hardened and ground box
ways are Turcite-B coated to ensure smooth
operation at axis travel rates up to 20m/min, and
the XYZ Mini Mill 560 is equipped as standard
with a 12-station toolchanger holding tools up to
100mm diameter. www.xyzmachinetools.com
JJAD responds to government call by making P1-E technology available to other electric vehicle manufacturers.
Shock of the
new
THE government wants to make Britain a world leader in electric cars, and plans to encourage the public to buy them. In response to this initiative, the
technology behind the all-British JJAD P1-E electric sports car is to be made available to other EV manufacturers.The P1-E will be one of the world’s first
purpose-designed electric sports cars and offers class-leading acceleration (0-60mph in 2.9 secs), practical range (230 miles) and low weight (1,055kg) for
around £55,000. Says the project’s founder, ex-McLaren designer Jim Dowle: ‘There are two things that particularly excite people about P1-E - its dramatic
looks, and the cutting-edge technology within. In order to support the Government’s aim and help accelerate the production of our own car, we have decided
to make the core technology available to the manufacturers of other electric vehicles. P1-E employs the same electric motor/suspension sub-assembly at both
front and rear. The packaging and specification of these components could readily be adapted to operate in any type of vehicle from city car to van and saloon
to MPV. By adopting our powertrain and related technology, other companies could dramatically reduce the time to market for their proposed EV products.
Such stimulation of the market would also help change public perception of electric vehicles, as we can instantly endow any car/van with the combination of
exciting performance and a practical range between charges.‘Initial interest has made us realise just how much potential demand there could be for our
technology, so we are now producing a working prototype which will be completed within the next four months.’ www.jjad.co.uk
MWP
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