18

Racingwi th. . .

measuring point - no. 1

Supercar & Co.

ics and computer technology, but weshouldn’t forget the other components thatare needed to make up the whole product,frames, shells, rims and the chassis. It’s tothese components that Mr. Pierantozzistarted to put his mind to in 1984 and withhis expertise in the sector of compositematerials (carbon fiber), he personally madesome aerodynamic components for Minar-di of F2.

Today Umberto Pierantozzi runsa firm, the ATR of Colonnella, in the districtof Teramo (Italy), which has about 700employees, 9 plants, a turnover of 30 millioneuros in 2002 and is looking to expandfurther. His customers are for instance theautomotive manufacturers Minardi, Audi,Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, the motor-cycle manufacturers Ducati, Aprilia, Guzzi,Benelli, Yamaha, Cagiva, and the high-techbicycle manufacturer Colnago Ferrari.Among these treasures ATR helps to make:the Ferrari 456 GT, F50 and Enzo, theLamborghini Mucièlago, the PorscheCarrera GT, the Minardi M187 F1, the Audi’sthat have raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mansand others whose names are restricted.The fiber rims made for Ducati Corse maybe even 1 kg lighter than the magnesiumrims with same resistance and rigidity.Shaping carbon fiber frames, chassis andstructure parts requires great expertise inthe treatment of materials and a consid-erable artisanal experience. Each compo-nent is strictly hand made by teams ofexperts that mould on special templates

Luxury cars for the very rich.Race motorcycles - advanced technologicalmachines that challenge the boundaries ofphysics. Hi-tech bicycles making the mostof the extraordinary power of the humanbody. Each of these objects, made in smallnumbers are extreme performers, they aremade with great precision in great detailand have components of great technologicalvalue - these are the outcome of specialistresearch and of mainly skilled workmanship.Straightaway we think of engines, electron-

measuring point - no. 1

20

layers of monodirectional carbon fiberensuring higher rigidity and resistance ascompared to other methods of f iberprocessing. The technology used by ATRderives from aeronautics and allows to makecomponents in three stages only: fibermodelling, high-pressure high-temperaturefiring in giant autoclaves of all chassiscomponents so as to make the structuresmooth, continuous and even, and addi-tional machining when needed (boring and

measuring point - no. 1

Structuraland

dimensionalquality are

top priorityat ATR...

trimming). The chassis is now ready to moveto the painting and assembly line thanks toan efficient, high quality and reliability pro-cess.Structural and dimensional quality are toppriority at ATR. They run not only resistancetests on materials but also dimensionaltests - sometimes on every componentmade. This is done by using two gantry-type DEA measuring machines equippedwith PC-DMIS CAD++: a Beta CMM since

measuring point - no. 1

1999 and a brand new Alpha, installed lastOctober to meet growing manufacturingvolumes. The two machines inspect themodels on which the moulds - in carbon fiberas well - will be shaped, the moulds in variousprocessing stages and at last the finalcomponents of which the surface andmachining is inspected. 100% sampling onstart of production may drop to 20% whenon steady state, depending on thespecifications to be met. Some customers

22

measuring point - no. 1

request even a 100% dimensional inspection.

From 1997 to 2002, ATR has in-vested over 26 mil l ion euros in newequipment, research and development.To ensure future competitiveness on themarket, in 2000 they set up a strategicbusiness unit, the ATR R&D, entirely focusedon research and development. 30 highlyskilled technicians and engineers study newtechnologies that will allow ATR to draw upbeside their customers at the same speedof their supercars. (01/18)

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