1 The first thing Frank Zupan...
1 The first thing Frank Zupan did was decide what size headlights he wanted for his Zoops Coupe. He finally found a set of Adjure headlights. Their 51/4-inch diameter was what Zupan was looking for. The Adjure headlights are found mostly on motorcycles but are perfectly suited for cars, too.
This is the forging that Frank...
This is the forging that Frank dreamed about. Its normally used to make a Zoops water-pump pulley. The advantages of using this piece over an actual billet are substantial. They already have stacks of these in the materials room and the shape of the forging is close to the basic shape of a headlight housing. Add to that the fact that its already hollow, which means there will be far less waste compared to machining it from a solid block of aluminum. Thats two cost savings from using one part.
Frank test-fit the bulb into...
Frank test-fit the bulb into the forging just to be sure it was going to fit. The diameter and depth were right on the money and the flat area on the back could be solved with a bit of ingenuity.
Frank chucked the part into...
Frank chucked the part into the lathe and machined the outer surface to his desired shape, following it with an interior cut. He told us hes actually more comfortable using the manual machineshe knows whats going to happen next, because hes the one that will make it happen.
Frank likes the deco look...
Frank likes the deco look and so added some splines to the tapered section of the light. He already has four or five different possible treatments for this section floating around in his head and plans to offer different styles once the part is introduced into the production lines. Here it is compared to the original forging.
This is the raw forging for...
This is the raw forging for Zoops big-block crank pulley. The ring leaning against it is normally waste once it is trepanned (cut) from the base during the first step of the machining process. Frank realized that it was perfectly suited to act as a retention ring for the bulb, and so he saved this part from the scrap heap. This is recycling at its best.
Heres a before and after...
Heres a before and after of the retention ring. It has also been machined and threaded to fit the threads cut into the housing. Just behind, you can see the aluminum cap that covers the rear of the housing and turns the flat surface into a convex one.
Since the depth of the original...
Since the depth of the original casting was a tad shallow for the bulbs wiring and plug, Frank machined a hole in the rear of the housing and included enough clearance in the rear cap to allow for the electrical connection.
The rear cap is assembled...
The rear cap is assembled with an inner ring and countersunk machine screws. This makes the housing modular and easy to modify for future designs.
Frank made a pair of gaskets...
Frank made a pair of gaskets out of a sheet of rubber gasket material. He scribed concentric circles with his compass and cut them out with a pair of scissors. The gaskets help cushion both the front and back of the bulb from the metal housing; they also help waterproof both the bulb and the housing.
A thin strip of the rubber...
A thin strip of the rubber gasket material gives a much firmer grip on the retaining ring, allowing the bulb to be easily removed for replacement.
With the housing done, Frank...
With the housing done, Frank moved on to fabricating a mount for the lights. He knew that they would need to be adjustable, so he machined a pair of ball-socket bushings to make light-aiming a snap. He used a radius cutter during the prototyping, but will trust the CNC machines to generate the radius once the details have been worked out.
Frank had already figured...
Frank had already figured out that he wanted to mount the lights on the shock mounts, which are part of the front crossmember on the Zoops Coupe. He measured the angle and transferred it to a block of aluminum that was coated with Dye-Kem (a machinists dye). A bandsaw was used to cut the basic shape of the bracket, and then it was on to the mill for final machining and drilling.
Frank used a ball mill matching...
Frank used a ball mill matching the radius of the bushings (which he made a couple of steps ago) to create the socket in the mounting bracket.
The ball mill hogs out a socket...
The ball mill hogs out a socket on the top and bottom of the bracket to provide some light adjustability. The hole that the mounting stud passes through is slightly oversized to allow movement in all directions.
This cutaway shows the threaded...
This cutaway shows the threaded tube and upper bushing mounted to the housing. The bracket goes on next and is followed by the other bushing, a washer, and retaining nut. You can see why it was necessary to make the end cap hollow to give an extra bit of space needed for the electrical plug.
Once all of the bugs are worked...
Once all of the bugs are worked out and everything is designed to the Zupans satisfaction, one of the junior Zupans will write the program to put this new part into production. By using existing forgings and by recycling pieces that were formerly scrap, Zoops Products can keep production costs down and pass the savings on to you.
Have you ever wondered how aftermarket companies come up with new stuff? New products dont just appear from thin air, and there are no vending machines full of ideas. We were recently kicking tires with Frank and Terry Zupan of Zoops Products and got on the subject of product development. Our timing couldnt have been better; they were developing a set of custom headlights and invited us over for a demonstration.
The Zupan brothers, along with their respective sons, Frank Jr. (Frankie) and Terry Jr. (TJ) run the business together and all share in the product-development process. The elder Zupans are both tool-and-die makers by trade and have 35 years of experience behind them. They typically hand-machine a rough prototype, which then gets passed around for a week or two until everyone has a chance to critique it. Then changes are made until a final design is achieved. This final design is again hand-machined by one of the seniors, then handed over to one of the junior Zupans, who go about producing the piece on a CNC mill.
Frank Sr. made himself available for this story, but it just as easily could have been Terry Sr. making the cuts. Frank told us he usually begins the process in his head. As an accomplished tool-and-die maker, he thinks in three dimensions, and when he decided that a trick set of headlights was in order for the Zoops Coupe project they had under construction, he quickly realized that there werent many custom headlights on the market. Frank says recognizing a need in the market is the first step in coming up with a new product. Once the need is identified, Zupan has to figure out how to make the part as inexpensively as he can to keep the retail price as low as possible for the consumer.
Interestingly enough, Zupan solves most of his problems in his sleep, My brain works best when its relaxed. The pressures of the day are off and I can think around corners that normally elude me. During one of his nighttime brainstorms, he realized he had a forging in his inventory that would lend itself perfectly to the headlight he wanted to build. The following day, he started taking some measurements and hand-machining new parts. Take a look at how he does it.