Legacy carburettor manufacturer refurbishes manufacturing site with 3D scanning and climate controlled dynamometer.
Salisbury niche automotive equipment supplier, Burlen has upgraded its manufacturing facility with new equipment to provide retro equipment to modern quality standards.
The company’s portfolio includes the SU, Amal and Zenith carburettor brands and the new equipment allows Burlen to continue to manufacturer these brands, which are still in high demand, as well as undertake new product development and rapid prototyping activities.
Production capable 3D scanning and printing allows engineers to accurately measure apertures, robustly verify prototype and production parts and reverse engineer many products that have been unavailable or deemed too time consuming to produce in the past.
A 5-axis Milling Machine, Universal Turning Centre and laser cutter give the company the ability to produce one-off parts to meet client demand as well as providing the ability to manufacture many of the metal parts needed for SU and Amal products, which are difficult to produce.
A hub-mounted vehicle dynamometer completes Burlen’s in-house research and development investment and allows for immediate testing of new applications in a controlled environment. Burlen’s newly created, bespoke dyno cell allows for consistent results due to its combined extraction and cooling system that is capable of a complete room air change every 6 seconds and can provide air speeds of up to 50mph.
Rather than choose a traditional roller dyno, Burlen has installed a Dynapack chassis dynamometer, a modular system which couples to the wheel hubs and applies a precisely controlled hydraulic load. This method eliminates tyre slip, offers no rolling resistance, and ensures there is no chance of the vehicle coming off the dyno at high speeds. Direct coupling also provides improved sensitivity and repeatability which significantly reduces time needed on the dyno.