You’re in the right place. You might be wondering why it seems we’re a little obsessed with racing. As you probably know, FiveAxisMachining.com is sponsored by Hurco. Our headquarters are in Indianapolis…the racing capital of the world. But there is a more important connection between 5-axis machining and motor sports.
Hurco entered a partnership with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing this year–our logo is on the number 22 car (Justin Wilson) and our 5-axis VMX42SR machining center is in their machine shop. The first part the race team machined on the Hurco 5-axis VMC was a proprietary rear rocker.
According to Director of Competition Larry Curry, the rear rocker helps the car rotate the corners faster without the need to put in more steering. Before Dreyer & Reinbold invested in the Hurco 5-axis VMC, they would have made the part on one of their manual machines, which would have taken an entire day, or farm it out to a machine shop. On the Hurco 5-axis VMX42SR, it takes them 30 minutes to make the rear rocker. Even better, the guys in the machine shop had a week of training and were up to speed, ready to make chips.
So…why do some racing insiders say the Mid-Ohio 200 matters more than Indy this year?
ANSWER: A driver who has finished on the podium at Mid-Ohio has gone on to win the championship each of the past three seasons. In 2010, Dario Franchitti overtook pole sitter Will Power on Lap 62 of 85 and went on to win the race by 0.5234 of a second. Helio Castroneves finished third and Alex Tagliani was fourth (leading a season-high 30 laps). Source IndyCar.com.
Let’s see if the trend continues. We’re rooting for #22 to make it to the podium!
