“American Chopper” Rides with FARO

FARO Technologies, Inc., the only company with a complete line of portable 3D coordinate measurement systems for the Computer-Aided Measuring (CAM2) market, announced it has signed a shop support agreement with Orange County Choppers (“OCC”) – the custom motorcycle shop featured on The Discovery Channel’s popular show “American Chopper”. The agreement came about when OCC Artist/Designer Jason Pohl had a chance to use one of FARO’s portable CMMs, the Platinum FaroArm. “I must say I was impressed,” Pohl said. “I spoke to Paul Teutul Sr. and our General Manager, Steve Moreau, and they both felt this was a great idea. We got the ball rolling right away.” Pohl, now a self-described "digitizing-freak", got hooked on the FaroArm while reverse engineering parts. He digitizes parts – and even the contours of the random objects that add to a vehicle’s individuality – then modifies them into designs for OCCs original, 120-horsepower works of art. In addition to utilizing the FaroArm’s reverse-engineering and design capabilities, OCC also uses it to program their CNC machines. For example, exhaust pipes and handlebars must be symmetrical, but once the first piece is formed, “eyeballing” the second piece to exactly match is almost impossible. The FaroArm empowers OCC fabricators to trace the shape of the first piece, then transfer the data to the company’s tube bender where it makes an exact match of the original in just a few minutes. “OCC's teams are artists to the highest degree,” FARO Hardware Product Director Shaun Mymudes said. "Our FaroArms help make their designs a reality, and ensure that entire process is more accurate and efficient than ever.” Because the machines that OCC produces are created from the ground up—not modified—the geometry and dynamics of the bike have to be precise to allow a rider to tackle winding roads without winding up in the ditch. In addition to simplifying fits between tanks and seats, fenders and frames, the designers at OCC check the alignment of critical dynamic parts such as axles, forks, and sprocket drives. The instrument captures each surface, and the relative position of each is displayed on the Arm’s companion laptop. A complete digital file of the items are generated, then stored for future recreation in the company’s CAD archives. “FARO’s technology is ground breaking on the chopper scene,” Pohl said. “We are all very excited to have this capability.” “American Chopper” airs Mondays at 10pm EST on The Discovery Channel.