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• Company Name: SWH Design
• Industry: Automotive
• Name: Steve Hetrick
• Part Description: Custom “One-Off” set of aluminum wheels for ’63 Chevrolet Nova Station Wagon
• Material Used: 6061-T6 rotary forged aluminum wheel blanks

Overview: This is a set of wheels that I’ve wanted to create for a very long time. After machining the parts they were not benched, polished, or touched up in any fashion (other than de-burring) prior to being clear-coated. Any and all slight “chatter” marks were left to add to the true machined character of the wheels. The clear-coat was applied to the wheels so that the natural “As-Milled” finish would not be tarnished and would retain its natural look under the conditions of driving and of course cleaning… (After all, the wheels are for a show car!)

This set of wheels was a straightforward 3-Axis job, done on straightforward machinery. The SURFCAM machining functionality used was 3-axis Z Rough, and 3-axis Cut. Where SURFCAM really shined on this part, and what most people can’t believe, is that 99% of the ENTIRE project was completed in SURFCAM. All 2D drafting, 3D modeling and toolpath creation was done in SURFCAM. (The other 1% was a surface created in Rhino). Most people don’t believe that a CAD/CAM package can create surfaces good enough to get a really nice surface finish. They all think you need Alias, or Catia, to get something really nice. Not so!

I learned really fast that all surface models are not created equal, and the input model has far more to do with the quality of the finished part than (I think) most people realize, especially using the 3-axis CUT feature. SURFCAM was (and is) my tool of choice, and I was pleased with the finished product. These aluminum wheels show SURFCAM in all its facets and functionality and its application in a “real-shop” type of environment.

— Steve Hetrick