What we see here is an image of Reid generating the model for the actual rocker. Where the image above had a representation of the entire rocker system, in this image, it’s the individual part. “You can see on the right-hand screen how many different levels we’re working with as we’re creating the parts. This shows you how much is involved that component,” Reid explains. There are many items which aren’t shown here, either, and he cited competitive secrets in not showing us all of those steps. Suffice it to say that there’s a lot going on here.
Engine components in particular have benefited from the use of computerized modeling programs, as these programs make it far simpler to develop new products than in years past, where parts had to be machined from scratch and blueprints had to be developed in order to manufacture more than one part consistently. With components that see stress levels like rocker arms down—for thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands or more cycles over their lifetimes—Finite Element Analysis and Mastercam CAD/CAM software has been a lifesaver for manufacturers like Reid Machine, especially when it comes to understanding the stress points in the rocker body.
“As I’m building the rocker, I know that the basic construction—the rib thickness and things of that nature—that doesn’t change, unless we go into a Top Fuel rocker. Once I get the rocker built into its configuration, I’ll move into SolidWorks and do the FEA. We’ll put loads on the roller and loads on the adjuster, and look at it to see what bright spots we get, and then come back and add material or remove material as necessary,” says Reid.
The 426 Fathead spring savers are manufactured for one reason and one reason only—to help combat valvetrain instability. Reid received feedback from several teams, who offered up that the rockers were bouncing off the stands, so they developed these to fit between the rocker and the stand in place of the spring. These provide a solid stop for the rocker, to keep it from moving side to side. They have proven to be a stabilizer, which also has the effect of increasing spring life.
They are also analyzing the rocker’s weight consistently to determine how much weight is over the nose of the rocker. With knowledge of the mass of the component, they can see where the center of gravity of the roller is at any given time with the roller and adjuster included. They also inspect the moment of inertia to visualize where the weight is on the rocker arm.
“The rocker itself may be ‘heavy,’ but it’s the proper distribution of weight that is most critical,” says Reid.
“Think of it as a big guy and a small guy. If the big guy is standing on the valve tip side, he becomes valve weight, which is going to affect the valvespring and the inertia of the valve going down. If it’s a high amount of weight, then the valve wants to loft, and the spring has to work harder—and slows the spring down—in the process of getting the rocker back up,” says Reid.
Weight is removed where possible, and retained where necessary, in the interest of manufacturing a product that will withstand immense spring loads and combustion pressures to function correctly, every time. Many, many hours of research and development have gone into the details of these pieces, from material selection to tooling construction to the choice material used in the shaft bushings and springs.
Since the manufacturing process at Reid Machine is kept under wraps, for the most part, we’re unable to show you how the tooling itself is configured. It’s cost Darrell many sleepless nights to determine the best ways to make the machinery do what he needs it to do in order to manufacture these products, so you’ll just have to take our word for it when we tell you it’s impressive.