At 22 Metalworks, LLC, we work on numerous business-to-business (B2B) projects ranging from workholding fixtures for the aerospace industry to unique parts for racecars. Whatever the challenge, our team has the capacity and flexibility to assist you with efficient, quality design and manufacturing services to create reliable parts. Read our case study detailing how we helped a business owner refine and produce a clamp for vehicle chassis.
Problem
The owner of a race chassis manufacturing company had an idea for an innovative chassis that would improve usability. When you mount a seat within a car, this requires a lower and an upper mount. The upper mount is the component that manufacturers often struggle with because it’s welded in. When building a car frame, manufacturers aren’t taking into consideration the height of the car’s occupants, so they won’t ask at what height a customer needs that upper mounting bar to be placed.
To address this issue, the client came up with a chassis possessing a clamp component around the outer set of down tubes that would make the upper seat mount adjustable. They turned to 22 Metalworks for design and machining services.
Solution
We drew up the design for this complex chassis component utilizing our computer-aided design (CAD) and manufacturing (CAM) programming capabilities and suggested refinements based on our own experience manufacturing and racing cars ourselves. We worked with the client to take their idea and enhance its usability, reducing both installation and production time.
Our experienced machinists used CNC machining techniques to create multiple iterations of the part. In order to effectively build it, our team had to make custom fixtures to finish the component. During the process, we identified it would be difficult to actually install the product and suggested refinements to ensure ease of installation. Ultimately, the 22 Metalworks team completed an in-house inspection of the parts to ensure quality and functionality and then served as the company’s manufacturing point on the project.
The end result was a 4 x 3 x 1-inch clamp of 6061 aluminum in a black anodized finish, with ±0.005 as the tightest tolerance. With the development of this part, users can change seat height and fit seats from 12 to 18 inches in size, regardless of the seat manufacturer. The chassis gives users greater flexibility in mounting a seat in their car. Once we had the client’s approval on the design, we made a batch of 100 on time and on budget, and then approximately 300 total for this company as they required more, with a turnaround time of two to three weeks.
Why Partner With 22 Metalworks?
At 22 Metalworks, we pride ourselves on our end-to-end process. We assist clients in markets ranging from automotive and motorsports to aerospace, giving us a wide breadth of industry knowledge. Having that kind of insight enables us to help our clients avoid design and manufacturing pitfalls, creating custom parts that focus on:
- Manufacturability
- Reducing installation time
- Addressing your unique challenge and brainstorming to create an innovative solution
- Closely following your part specifications
- Enhancing performance and optimizing part design
Innovate With the Experts at 22 Metalworks
From design consultations and prototyping to manufacturing, assembly, and on-time delivery, the team at 22 Metalworks strives to deliver turnkey solutions to our customers. We have a passion for building things, and we emphasize quality, efficiency, and personalized service in all that we do. To learn more about the custom parts we can create for your vehicle chassis or a unique application all your own, contact us today.