Behind The Scenes: The Creation Of A 6-71 Supercharger
Ever wonder how an automotive supercharger is made? For those with some basic knowledge of machining, the process might be pretty straightforward, but for those that aren’t, a little look at the process is interesting, to say the least.
This 6-71 supercharger is being created at Phillips Patterns and Castings, a aluminum foundry and production CNC facility in Muncie, Indiana. The basic outer shape of the supercharger and then the finished designed were both developed using SolidWorks CAD software. A pattern of material was first machined, which will then become a casting to eventually transform into the final product.
Seen in these images, the pattern is created by CNC machine with three-inch layers of Renwood that are then super glued together. The tool paths are then post-processed and drip-fed into the machine. In the above photo, the machine is doing a Z plan cut and leaving 0.0500″ of the machine stock. The below shots shows the second layer of the casting being formed using 0.25″ ball mill machined within a 0.0005 tolerance. The third layer is then rough cut.
From there, two core boxes are laid out and machined from 1-inch thick aluminum. Once finished, the blower is mounted to the board and the pattern is complete. From there, the casting process can begin. The entire process, with additional photos and some upcoming videos of this intriguing process can be viewed over on the Yellow Bullet Supercharged Forum.