Thailand | LudemannEngineering

Second batch of laser-cut parts.

I received my second batch of laser-cut parts, this time from a new supplier that has some more reasonable aluminum. They did a reasonable job, but man were they slow. It took three visits and more than two weeks to get a quotation, then I forget how long to do the work. Then when they were finished, I had to call them to find out. This is Thailand.

The parts are cut from both steel and aluminum of several different thicknesses, and include the radiator and oil cooler mounts, differential mounts, some engine mounts, the entire pedal cluster, parts of the steering column, chain tensioner, nose mounts, steering rack mounts, steering column mounts, lap belt mounts, chassis side panels, seat panels, the firewall, fuel tank, and even an idler sprocket.

Laser-cut panels including sides, seat and fuel tank

Found a supplier of anodizing and plating services up in Chonburi called Thai Silvec. I kind of got the impression they’d never had someone just walk in the front door with parts that needed plating and anodizing, but they accommodated me just fine. Very serious Japanese management, everything organized and clean, and reasonable prices. They gave me a detailed quality report when they delivered the parts, so now I know just how much allowance to leave for plating a mating parts. For next time, that is. This time around, I’ve had to do a lot of hand work to get everything to fit due to the stack-up of plating and anodizing thicknesses. At least I had them mask the wheel bearing bores, so the bearings later pressed in smoothly.