Integrated Computer Aided Engineering all within our controlled facility

Consistently achieving the required quality and standard

Continuous drive to reduce lead times

The close relationship between design, production engineering and manufacturing ensures that even the most complex parts are able to be manufactured.  In fact, our commitment to researching new processes has provided the opportunity to enhance product design, as a direct result of advances in manufacturing techniques.

The demands for short lead times and increased product quality are an everyday challenge at Xtrac. The ability to manufacture components entirely in-house is a major factor in satisfying both demands. Our policy of continual investment in the most sophisticated CNC machines, linked to our CAE capability, not only enhances existing capabilities, but also adds new in-house processes, allowing us to meet, and exceed, our customers’ requirements.

Gears, as you would expect from the world's leading supplier of motorsport gearboxes, is an area in which Xtrac excels. We can offer gear cutting by generating techniques such as shaping, hobbing, and hard cutting; and by forming techniques such as grinding, broaching, milling and Electrical Discharge Machine. Xtrac spiral bevel gears are full form ground after heat treatment to ensure the optimum tooth profile; whilst the majority of our spur final drive gears and engine timing gears are full form ground after heat treatment to meet the same quality grades.

The introduction of gear manufacturing cells for many products has enabled lead times to be substantially reduced.

Investing the design into the master model enables Xtrac to produce resin patterns directly from machined data or to transfer the CAD data for rapid prototype manufacture using stereo lithography or sintered sand moulds. The rapid prototyping techniques have many benefits and can be successfully used:-

• For thin walled castings where absolute precision is required
• To reduce the lead time for initial gearbox deliveries
• To provide engineers with a ‘finished structure’ for evaluation purposes and to aid initial car build
• To save costs and time where design alterations to the pattern are required
  
  
  
  

Xtrac is able to offer a whole host of different specification magnesium and aluminium castings with standard or ultra thin wall sections.  These can be sand, sintered sand or investment castings and can be produced to extremely high quality control standards, including full dye penetrant inspection, X Ray and CT Scanning.  These castings are, subject to size, machined within Xtrac’s CNC machining facility.

Ultra modern equipment, primarily CNC includes up to 5-axis machining with both horizontal and vertical platforms. Master model data is transferred into Xtrac’s off-line programming facility and once processed is downloaded direct to the platform. The introduction of driven tooling has enabled combined machining processes resulting in more efficient manufacture with reduced set up. Progress on cutter technology and coatings is achieving increased amounts of hard machining to produce previously unachievable surface finish and tolerance.

Xtrac has an extensive range of CNC machinery achieving both involute and free form profiles. Subject to peripheral considerations we are able to achieve parallel, tapered and non-orthogonal gear systems. Although traditionally racing transmissions are spur gears, Xtrac has a philosophy and capability to manufacture all forms of spur and helical tooth profiles.

Hobbed gear forms up to 300mm in diameter and up to 400mm lead
Shaped gear form from 4mm to 400mm and up to 120mm in lead
Vertical broaching to form internal splines and gears

Ground spur and helical gears both external and internal according to the Kapp method; by form grinding using ceramic and CBN wheels; up to 500mm in diameter

Straight cut bevels to the Gleason Coniflex© System
Spiral bevel gears, including Hypoid by the Klingelnberg Cyclo-Palloid method
Ground spiral bevel gears, including Hypoid by the Klingelnberg KOMIT method including data analysis, contact pattern simulation and total closed loop control.

Spiral bevels up to 300mm in diameter and up to 100mm of hypoid offset with complete freedom to shaft angle; can be considered subject to design constraints.

CNC chamfering for tooth clipping, rounding and free form leads.

EDM (Electrical discharge machining) is also used to form gear and spline profiles from the master CAD data.

Xtrac operates dedicated manufacture cells to achieve World Class Manufacturing Techniques, for Gear Ratios and Engine Timing Gears.

The concept of the cell is to dedicate a complete facility that combines all of the manufacturing machinery, measurement equipment, knowledge and people, necessary to achieve a reliable, efficient and consistent product. Set up to minimise travel between machines, the cell improves part visibility and thereby planning to reduce manufacturing lead-times and continuous improvement to on-time delivery.

At the heart of the cell is a Cell Manager who is responsible for his team and his CNC machinery. Including Okuma twin spindle lathes, Matsuura hard machining mills, Pfauter hobbers, a broach, a laser etcher, Studer grinders and a centralised inspection facility; continuous improvements are gained.

The use of quality improvement teams driven by Key Performance Indicators, provides a climate improvement where our multi-skilled operators are proud of their achievements and leading role to the Company.

Studer CNC grinders are used for both cylindrical and surface grinding where C-axis operations can also be performed for either off-axis grinding or where profile grinding is required.

Hauser CNC jig grinding is used where contour grinding or positional accuracy to a few microns is required, all housed in a strictly temperature controlled environment

Form gear grinding by the Kapp method where dressable or CBN wheels are used to produce gears of master gear quality.

Xtrac employ three CNC sealed quench furnaces which utilise complete monitored environment control during the carburising and quenching processes. Dependant on final material requirement, controlled sub zero freezers are used and temper furnaces ensure that the exact final specification is achieved. Xtrac have also invested in a cryogenic facility which is currently undergoing trials with positive results.

At the heart of the facility is a 3-axis Vacublast computer controlled cabinet enabling either single or duplex shot peening processes which can pin point the shot jet to the exact surfaces required.

Xtrac’s own facility utilises a high kV electron beam machine, which, under a partial vacuum, produces a precision focused electron beam to achieve high quality welds. Recent developments have produced  a welding capability over a wide range of materials including dissimilar materials and progressive control of the welding geometry.

Xtrac have developed two surface enhancing processes dependant on the final surface finish requirements and control of the parent geometry. XTREM is based on a vibratory platform and utilises a tumbling brick media to lightly polish all contact areas. XTEC is a spindle driven process that requires the components to be moved through a fine organic media. Irrespective of the process used, the improvements to the surface factors are proven to increase both fatigue life and contact stresses.

Non Destructive Testing

A full range of techniques are used at Xtrac dependant on detection and certification requirements. We operate a full range of Ultrasonic detection, Nital Etching, Dye Penetrant and UVMPI (Ultra Violet Magnetic Particle Inspection).