Cylinder Head Development is an iterative process. Define the design, test it, modify it, retest and so on until you reach a model that meets your objectives. Ideally, the design is born in CAD and the surfaces that make up the ports and chamber are defined by design. However, the vast majority of the cylinder heads designed today are created by hand and copied. Accurately capturing the work done by a cylinder head expert can be challenging.
Thankfully, the process has been made very simple by using software specifically designed for this purpose. DezignWorks is purpose-built software with features that take the guess work out of reverse-engineering physical parts. We run DezignWorks from within SolidWorks and it can be used to place points, curves, lines and arcs in 3D space. These curves, lines and arcs can then be used as references for construction or they can be used as actual geometry through which the ports can be recreated. The user can create as few or as many cross-sections through which the surfaces or solids can be constructed. We choose to use the measured data as references for constructing a true parametric model. In doing so, not only can we create an exact replica of the original geometry, the model will be fully parametric which means it can easily be modified if desired. The replicated geometry is then duplicated throughout the head(s) when machined on a CNC machine so that all the intake ports, exhaust ports and combustion chambers are all exactly the same.
This process is not only useful for Cylinder Head Development. It can also be used for valvetrain geometry acquisition. Accurate measurement of the actual valvetrain mechanism is extremely valuable. Afterall, the output is only as good as the input!
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