Every so often, a customer has a requirement that can't be addressed with an off-the-shelf solution. Colorado Custom, a young and very successful automobile custom wheel manufacturer in Southern California needed a solution and MK Products answered the call.
Owners, Marc and Mina Susman, were originally manufacturing aluminum motorcycle wheels in the Classic & Custom Rides division of the organization (using CNC machining / 5 vertical mills and 3 lathes). But requests and pleas finally drove them to develop their premier custom aluminum automobile wheels. This was the start of their new division, Colorado Custom, in 2007.
Requirements were not for the standard wheel dimensions and design either. Fresh designs reflecting the latest trends in styling and quality included deep shelf contours. Perfect welds tucked under these contours were the problem. Try as they may, depth adjustment and angle adjustment wouldn’t allow them to get a standard welding barrel into the tight angle and depth required to achieve the perfect custom wheel weld.
"The standard 18 inch curved barrels are typically made with a 45 degree configuration." However "...a 60 degree curve would accomplish everything they needed.
Working closely with the local MK Products Representative, Kevin Karamanos, owner Mark Susman determined that an 18 inch water cooled barrel with a 60 degree curve would accomplish everything they needed. The standard 18 inch curved barrels are typically made with a 45 degree configuration. Issues that were taken into account on a tighter curve barrel were gas and water flow restrictions. |
