Testing the Limits
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MOTORSPORT PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES IN PARTNERSHIP Testing the limits Andrew Allcock visited Mori Seiki Formula One stronghold Mercedes-Ilmor to see its new Woodpark facility and hear more about the two companies’ partnership ercedes-Ilmor,Brixworth,Northants Mcounts machine tool maker Mori Seiki as one of its manufacturing technology partners (others include Charmilles,Iscar and Renishaw). Indeed, so good is the relationship that Mori Seiki has loaned the company one of its linear motor horizontal machining centres – for almost a whole year,and at no cost. The machine,a HVM 630 was,it is believed, the first Mori Seiki linear motor machine to find its way into Europe and is located in the company’s main site machine shop. Of course,the quid pro quo for this loan has been feedback from Mercedes- Ilmor about the machine’s performance. The Formula One engine specialist will not reveal what it has been making on the machine,but operations director Peter Collins said:“The major benefit has been the increase in value added time.” Raceway Honda Racing – Phoenix International And as an example he offers that in a particular case,a cycle time in the mid-20 The company has also reduced returned to Mori Seiki. Will Mercedes- minute range was reduced to10 minutes. changeover times through the use of the Ilmor actually buy the machine? Mr Accuracy and “reproducibility”are modular MicroLoc fixturing system,Mr Collins is not sure;it has a high price tag, measurably better against previous Collins adds. but the performance has been ballscrew-driven machines,he confirms. The machine is,in fact,due to be “outstanding”. Mori Seiki has recently supplied two less unusual machine tools to the company’s new Woodpark facility, Renishaw at Mercedes-Ilmor although,once again,the special relationship came into play. Earlier this year, in March, following a successful inaugural technical partnership Literally across the road from the established in November 1999, a further three-year extension of their technical company’s main building,the futuristic partnership was agreed between Renishaw and Mercedes-Ilmor. Woodpark facility houses the company’s Mercedes-Ilmor decided to maintain the partnership with Renishaw due to Special Projects group. the positive contribution made to its manufacturing operations. Half of the 23 600 ft2,£20 million-plus Under the terms of the partnership agreement, Renishaw continues as the facility is devoted to Formula One-related sole supplier of probing systems and machine tool performance testing products, activities including four new with an increased focus on the field-testing of Renishaw’s metrology products. dynamometer rooms,while the other half concentrates on design and manufacture www.machinery.co.uk ● MACHINERY 17 October 2003 15 MOTORSPORT of Indy Racing League (IRL) Honda engines for the Andretti Green Racing team. Indy engines — specifications However,as head of special projects, Steve Miller,explained, at the time the Indy Racing League engines are 3.5 litre, V8 models with dual overhead cams — building was conceived,the company four camshafts in total and four valves per cylinder. Cubic capacity is 213.580 in, had not established what it was going to with a maximum bore diameter of 93 mm. The engines are normally aspirated – do within this half, so it was only partially no turbochargers – and they take methanol fuel through an electronic fuel- finished at the building’s completion at injection system. the end of 2001. Not such an extravagant All engines must meet minimum weight and size requirements and must fit all gesture,as Mr Miller explains:“As a Indy Racing chassis. All of the engines also are required to be available for one company grows,you always end up with set price, again established by the league. Minimum engine weight is 280 lbs dry tensions in your existing floor layout. The – no headers, clutch, ECU, spark box or filters — with engine cost set at $125 000. only way you can resolve them is to have Indy Racing rules do not require engines to be production-based, but each space to expand into while you sort it all engine design must be submitted for approval by an automobile manufacturer. out. And the company has expanded This allows manufacturers that do not have dual-overhead cam, V8 engines in continuously since its inception in 1984.” their road cars to produce engines for Indy Racing competition. Indeed,it now numbers 500 employees. This year’s engine models are: Chevy Indy V8; Honda Racing HI3R Indy V-8; And,as it turned out,it wasn’t long and Toyota Indy V8. before the company had something to put into the empty space. Almost three years ago,Mercedes- one third of the engine designed,the But to achieve this,the pressure was Ilmor started developing the GM IRL company worked through 2002, on and its special relationship with Mori engine. The company subsequently completing the design,establishing the Seiki called upon. Two,330-tool,twin- produced components and rebuilt machining facility – with it commissioned pallet SH 8000 horizontals were required engines at its US office. But this led to a and ready to run in November – and to kit out the workshop — these much bigger contract to design and refurbishing two dynamometers. The supplemented with existing machine produce IRL engines for Honda during Honda engine was ready for the first IRL tools from the main Formula One facility. 2001,Mr Miller said. event on 2 March this year – where it And just to complicate matters a little, However,September 11,2001 secured a fourth place position – with the both were to be serviced by a 2000iA intervened and Honda withdrew from the engine taking Andretti Green Racing to Fanuc robot for automatic project before coming back to Mercedes- first place in the second race three weeks loading/unloading of parts. The Ilmor again in February 2002. With only later. Woodpark machine shop actually only has seven operatives:“During the day we prove out programs,change tools and run manually-loaded jobs,then we run the Fuel efficient motorsport machines overnight for free,”says production engineer Duncan Walthew. Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands is to host a ‘green’ The machines are not standard either. motorsport conference on 22 October at the International Convention Centre in For a start,Mori Seiki builds those for Birmingham. Mercedes-Ilmor to a higher accuracy and Motor Sport Association (MSA) and British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) these particular two machines include a representatives will explain how green technologies are likely to feature more fifth,trunnion-type axis at one of the strongly in British motorsport in coming years. pallet positions. Temperature-controlled Attendees will learn how leading organisations involved in motorsport are coolant and spindle thermal growth already helping vehicle manufacturers use motorsport-derived innovations to compensation software also feature on develop fuel-efficient road cars. the 15 000 revs/min machines. Part of the DTI’s £16 million commitment to the UK’s motorsport and high In fact,the contract for the new performance engineering sectors focuses on the need to encourage machines was not signed until 10 May development of energy efficient technologies. and the machines were delivered in Shell Racing Solutions, MG Rover Group and the Low Carbon Vehicle November to a building that was Partnership are supporting the conference. Call Pim van Baarsen at the completely bare save for it being Motorsport Industry Association on 024 7669 2600. prepared for the machines’arrival. “We had polythene sheets as doors so we MACHINERY 17 October 2003 ● www.machinery.co.uk 16 tools,has amounted to some £7 million. heads and 160 blocks. The machine shop makes blocks,heads, In terms of accuracy,the greatest cam covers,lower crankcases and the challenge is in line-boring the crankshaft throttle assembly,while crankshafts, bearing features into the blocks,where a camshafts,con-rods and pistons are made tolerance of 6 microns must be achieved in the main F1 machine shop. One of the and where a Mapal line-boring tool is SH 8000s tackles mainly cylinder heads, applied. A temperature-controlled 1 the other mainly blocks. environment (to +/- /2 °C ) helps in such Although Mercedes-Ilmor was achievements,however. required to make only 69 engines for this But in the early stages,process year’s IRL season,there is a “huge volume stability had to be established,offers Mr of spares and replacements”,underlines Walthew,with temperature compensation Mr Miller. Indeed,at the peak of the a big issue. Initially the company probed season it was shipping 30 000 parts/week parts regularly and updated offsets from its two automated parts stores. And accordingly. Investigations,supported by could start to commission the machines,” the SH 8000 cylinder head set-up has Mori Seiki UK agent Fredk Pollard, highlights Mr Miller. For machines which regularly run at 140-plus hours a week. A concerned the size of coolant pump and might normally be on a 10- to 12-month cylinder head itself will only last two chiller,as well as the placing of coolant delivery time,this speedy performance races;there are16 races in the season and spray bars. And along with process was more than creditable. up to six cars take part in any single stability has come a reduced need to Investment in hardware within the event. So far this season,the two Mori probe parts and update offsets. Woodpark facility,including machine Seiki SH8000s have produced some 440 In the adjacent inspection room, MACHINERY 17 October 2003 ● www.machinery.co.uk 18 MOTORSPORT where the achievement of machined tolerances is confirmed and monitored,is another leading edge development,once Mori Seiki at Mercedes-Ilmor again underlining the way motorsport companies test and extend the limits.