innovations CASTING
Cast Hammerhead Housing Turns Heads F
red Lee’s dream to pro- duce an aftermarket part for the Gen V Camaro re- lied on the casting process to make it aff ordable.
T e Hammerhead, off ered through
Lee’s ET Enterprises, Muskegon, Mich., is a 12-bolt housing that at- taches to the Camaro’s factory inde- pendent rear suspension to beef up the drivetrain’s ability to handle the power- ful engine’s horsepower and torque. “[T e fabricated prototype] held
up during testing to 900-plus horse- power,” Lee said. “I knew it had to become a production casting to make it aff ordable in the market.” Lee consulted with Wes Rice, RL
Cast Tech, Spring Lake, Mich., to develop a 3-D CAD model of the part and contacted an old friend, Jack Cunningham at Non-Ferrous Cast Al- loys (NFCA), Norton Shores, Mich., to make the production castings. T e Hammerhead’s key requirements were the ability to withstand the engine’s torque and a surface fi nish that would satisfy the most discerning gear-head. “We ran the casting in the [nobake]
process due to the high torque require- ments. T is process provides the right characteristics for solidifi cation which enhance the strength of the alloy used, not to mention it gives us the best surface fi nish,” said Andy Schelke, NFCA’s director of business develop- ment. “When you supply a casting to a gear-head, it has to look perfect.” T e nobake process also facilitated the use of an intricate core stack as- sembly glued in place to produce the complex features of the 28.5-lb. alumi- num housing. According to Schelke, the casting tooling, which was built by Eagle Manufacturing, Clinton Town- ship, Mich., had to meet tight toler- ances in order to produce the exterior cored features to specifi cation. “T e pattern was CNC-cut accord- ing to the CAD model,” Schelke said. “And we had to have the core prints’ interlocking features placed appropri- ately within the tooling design.” Lee has been bringing samples of the production castings with him to
shows and aftermarket part shops, taking advantage of the popularity of the Gen V Camaro, which was fi rst introduced in the 2010 model year. “In less than two years since its in-
troduction, the new Camaro has swiftly sold over 120,000 units and is proving to be a huge catalyst for the automotive aftermarket,” Lee said. T e popularity of the Camaro has
made the Hammerhead housing a popular casting on NFCA’s shop fl oor. “We specialize in aftermarket auto-
motive, and [the shop] takes pride in see- ing the fi nished assembly,” Schelke said. “T is [Hammerhead housing] has been in numerous magazines, and the NFCA team loves seeing its castings in print.”
Visit
www.nfca.com for more information on aluminum casting.
The nobake casting process provided a pleasing surface fi nish to the aftermarket aluminum casting.
The Hammerhead Housing bolts onto the rear differential of Gen V Camaros to beef up the drivetrain’s ability to handle a more powerful engine. 48 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | May/Jun 2012
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