Feb 17, 2017 | By Julia
A local motorcycle builder in Bellingham, Washington is trying to break the world record for fastest land speed in the 3000 CC class – and this summer, he may finally be able to do it.
Mike Eaton, president of custom motorcycle shop Jessco Racing Ltd, has had his sights set on breaking the world record at Bonneville Speedway for some time now. The company’s motto is, fittingly, “300 mph on a motorcycle.”
Mike Eaton in the Jessco workshop
While 300 miles per hour may not be achievable just yet, Jessco is well on the way to breaking the current record of 250 mph. How? The custom shop contracted 3DX Industries Inc, a nearby additive manufacturing company that specializes in 3D printed metal, for the production of its intake manifold flanges.
As Eaton details in a statement, the Bellingham shop couldn’t be happier with the results. “We had tremendous difficulty finding a process to manufacture the flanges for this specific application due to the intricate design and rigorous demands that will be on the bike and the engine.”
“The fit needed to be perfect and required some difficult angles dealing with tight tolerances to be incorporated into the design,” Eaton says.
Conventional manufacturing techniques were simply not up to the challenge. Thankfully, the 3D printed metal prototype made by 3DX turned out to be an excellent fit.
“I knew that machine would be a great tool,” Eaton says of the 3DX facility's M-Flex printer. Breaking the record land speed of 250 mph is now well within his reach.
Metal parts 3D printed at the 3DX facility
The 3DX-made engine components were 3D printed using Binder Jetting Technology, a powder bed process where a binder selectively creates the desired part shape by adhesively joining metal particles. Following the jetting process, the new part is sintered in a furnace. A bronze infiltrant is then melted down and drawn into the part, in order to fill the tiny spaces within the sintered metal powder skeleton. The result is a dense component that combines properties from both the metal powder and the infiltrant.
In Jessco’s case, that could mean the difference between breaking a world record, and going back to the drawing board. Currently the Washington-based motorcycle maker is hopeful that this year will be the one.
3DX President and CEO Roger Janssen is equally pleased with the progress. “It is an exciting project to be involved with and truly shows the capabilities of metal additive manufacturing,” he commented. “We will continue to work with Jessco on developing additional 3D Metal printed parts that may be required for their design."
Eaton expects the record-breaking event to take place late summer 2017. More information will be announced as soon as it becomes available, Jessco promises.
The stripped down motorcycle, ready for final assembly
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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Very Nice Mike....B