POWERTRAIN
New Gen 2 Yaris GR exhaust developed at the Nürburgring by Milltek Sport EXAMINING EXHAUSTS
The casual observer could be forgiven for thinking that an exhaust pipe is just a tube with a silencer and technological change is rare. Nothing could be further from the truth, one aftermarket industry supplier tells Jon Lawson
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pecialising in exhausts, Milltek has crafted a reputation over the past four decades for fabricating components from
stainless steel and titanium, selling over 16,500 systems in the last 12 months alone. Kev Hall is the technical development manager, joining the company after years as a customer working in product development and calibration. Pondering industry changes,
he notes, “One area we have seen significant advances in, and have heavily invested in, is laser technology. Since the introduction of our £2.5
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million advanced manufacturing facility in 2022, we’ve been utilising our twin 5-axis robotic laser along with a tube and sheet laser to optimise the speed and efficiency of our production process, although we’re still heavily invested in our workforce and pride ourselves on the capabilities of our welding team. He continues, “This last year
we’ve been testing the capability of laser welding equipment and have embraced this technology, adding multiple laser welding bays to our production facilities. This equipment is perfect for more intricate parts as
there is less heat generated, therefore less heat affected zone (HAZ) and material distortion. Whilst it won’t replace traditional welding methods, it’s an expansion of our technical expertise and is an easier skill to teach new apprentices.” And this isn’t the only novel
technology the company is directing its efforts towards, as Hall explains. “We were early adopters of 3D printing technology,” he says. “We’ve used plastic prototyping for aesthetic reasons for tips and panels for years, increasingly we are now using more robust materials in the manufacturing
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