Pro Comp Rotary-Forged Wheel - Roll Model

This time around in our ongoing "How They Build It" series, we examine how a Pro Comp forged wheel is manufactured. Recently we had the unique opportunity to tour the facility that manufactures the forged Pro Comp Stryker, Squadrant, and Sabre wheels. We were graciously provided access to the entire plant so that we could show you the fascinating process of how these wheels are created.

Producing these good-looking and extremely durable wheels is no easy task. Every step-from research and development to testing to material selection to manufacturing-is scrutinized, analyzed, and intensely monitored to ensure a top-quality product.

1. Before a wheel ever takes physical form, it resides in a powerful computer. Using high-tech software, an engineer creates a computer model of the wheel structure and all of its critical components. The next step is to actually create a wheel and then put it through a battery of grueling tests for things like radial and lateral fatigue. Once it passes, the wheel goes into production.	2. Luis Sanchez, National Sales Manager for the company that makes Pro Comp wheels, shows us the beginnings of every forged Pro Comp wheel. These T6061 aircraft-quality aluminum "logs" range in length from 20 to 24 feet and vary from 6 to 10 inches in diameter. The larger-diameter logs are used to make larger-diameter wheels. For instance, a 10-inch-diameter log is used to make a 20-inch wheel. Each log comes from the manufacturer with a spec sheet that details the alloy elements that were used in the "recipe" to make that alloy log.	3. The logs are cut into individual "slugs." This is accomplished by what is basically a high-tech, industrial-grade bandsaw. The time it takes to cut each slug is dependent on the diameter of the log. It takes the saw approximately 30 to 90 seconds to cut each slug. It is critical that each slug is cut to the proper thickness; otherwise there will be quality-control glitches down the line. This is why quality-control measures are instituted during each component of the manufacturing process.
4. Before an aluminum slug can be forged, it must be heated to soften it up. For this reason a slug is put into a furnace for 40 minutes where it will reach a temperature of 800 degrees.	5. Pro Comp wheels are forged using a very unique rotary forging press. Normal forging compresses a chunk of material that is sitting motionless...	...Rotary forging compresses the solid billet of aluminum with 4,000 tons of force while the billet is spinning at 300 revolutions per minute. This process rearranges the aluminum molecules, aligning them in a circular pattern...
...This results in a wheel that has a much tighter grain structure and is super strong. In this sequence of images, you can see the rotary forge compressing the aluminum slug.	6. Following the forging process, the forged slug is sent to the flow forming machine. This machine creates the lip radiuses and the depth of the outer barrel. It does this by using rollers and dies to form the wheel.	7. The "forgings" are then sent to a free-standing, drop-bottom heat-treat furnace where they are heat-treated to the proper tensile strength. This brings the temper of the aluminum from what is known as a "zero condition" to a T6 temper. The forgings are loaded into racks and hoisted into the furnace where they are baked at approximately 985 degrees. Following heat-treating, they are quenched in 100-degree water. Significant attention is paid to this process in an effort to ensure that the aluminum does not distort.
8. After heat-treating, the front and back of the forgings are machined using CNC lathes. This process ensures that the wheel is true to zero (in other words, round) as possible and it removes unwanted material from the flange area.	9. The milling procedure is next. This is where the wheel style, bolt pattern, and valve-stem hole are machined into the wheel using a numerically controlled milling machine. Here you can see a Pro Comp Stryker after this process is completed. At this point, the wheel is inspected to ensure it has minimum runout to spec. From this point, the wheels are either sent out for plating or moved to the polishing area.	10. Finished wheels are polished one of two ways. This is the manual polishing room. Here, the operators control the tension on the buffer pads and they add the different types of cutting waxes to create a high luster. Larger quantities of identical wheels can be polished automatically using a five-axis polish center. This center allows the wheels to be loaded by an operator and they are polished by machine.
11. After polishing, the wheels go through a washing center. This machine cleans them with a concentrated washing solution, rinses, and then blows them dry.	12. Before packaging, each wheel goes through a final inspection to ensure that they meet factory specifications.	13. All of the painstaking work and attention to detail culminates with the packaging and shipment of a tough, good-looking Pro Comp forged wheel. All of the Pro Comp eight-lug wheels have a load capacity of 3,500 pounds on a 40-inch tire, while the six- and five-lug bolt pattern wheels have a load capacity of 2,200 pounds on a 40-inch tire.