Before I get too far into their products.. I want to step back and talk more about our sit down. Steve also walked me through their CAD program and how they design stuff. He uses a software called BobCAD, mainly because the more expensive ones like SolidWorks are beyond the budget of a smaller operation such as theirs. BobCAD is a drawing and CNC tool (not only can it do the layout, but it can write the code for the cutting router). It allows them to compute tool paths and make adjustments for cutting. Another cool thing he showed me is it has a Virtual CNC Mill simulation, where it shows a demo of what path the tool will take when cutting. This ensures that the cutting/drilling order is accurate and you don’t waste material by having an incorrect adjustment somewhere. Think of it as a high-tech Print Preview.

A little side note about this software, and a funny comment Steve made while explaining all this… He said that he learned all of this stuff by necessity. He never really wanted to know how to program or draw stuff in CAD software, or how to build and run a CNC router. He just wanted to make nice chassis and parts. He gave me a funny example that went like this; “4.1 million people bought a drill last year. None of them actually wanted a drill.. they wanted a hole”. I guess it’s all a means to an end. He described some learning curves he endured, but those days are now behind them, and they are now making some very nice parts.

Alright, one thing I wanted to do on this tour is see a product go from conception to production. For this we wound up looking at their new Foam Tire Grooving Tool. It is a tool used to groove foam tires. First Steve showed me their CAD drawing for this product and ran through their virtual demo on cutting it. We then went out to the shop and watched them cut one. Here is a short video of that.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BMoLQdJQXk[/youtube]

A couple still images as well..

The CAD drawing

The screen on the actual CNC computer

The CNC router, also known as “The Beast”

“The Beast” can cut various thicknesses of carbon fiber, G10 Fiberglass, delrin, or even aluminum. PRW deals mostly with carbon fiber though, because it is light, stiff, and very strong. This is why it makes for such a perfect chassis material.

Getting ready to cut the carbon fiber

Joel manning the carbon dust collector

Scrap material

The final product

Pretty neat right? It was a very cool experience for me getting to see all of this in action. It was a wake up call on what it really takes to make a part. Though this particular part might not spend that much time on the router itself, there is development work, CAD-CAM programming, and other steps involved that you don’t always take into consideration. Check out the shot below of what this tool actually does. It’s a foam tire grooved using this tool.

Continue on the next page to see some of their awesome products!