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MAY 2002 NEWSLETTER |
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May Meeting Speaker – Larry Kubes – GM Racing |
| The AFS Toledo chapter would like to welcome Larry Kubes of GM Racing as the May technical speaker. Larry, a self professed gearhead, is a Project Engineer for the GM Performance Parts Program at GM Racing. His responsibilities include working with GM factory sponsored teams and GM customers to design, develop and manufacture parts that are suitable for the extreme duty that racing and high performance street cars can deliver. |  |
| Larry began his career
with GM in 1989 after graduating from the University of Nebraska with a
Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. Initially he worked
at the General Motors Proving Grounds doing product assurance and validation
testing along with some vehicle development, and also spent some time
working in noise and vibration testing. However the production vehicle world was not Larry’s forte’, since he already had racing in his blood, and only wanted to make cars faster. In 1992, he joined Herb Fishel’s newly formed GM Motorsports Technology group as the Engine Block Engineer, and was responsible for the design, development, and production of GM Racing Blocks for all the venues that GM vehicles compete in. A significant highlight to his career in this assignment was the creation of the affordable CNC (computer numerically controlled) racing engine block, which reduced engine build time some 70 hours. Along with the CNC blocks, he developed the compacted graphite iron blocks for use in racing applications, and was also one of the first users of Nikasil bore coatings in iron blocks. Larry has also been the Program Engineer of several engine programs, including the revised Aurora Series 2.0 engine for IMSA WSC competition and the short deck SCCA Trans Am series engine, which now sees much use in all forms of racing. He has been the Program and Powertrain Manager for many racing series including Off-Road, Baja 100, and Pikes Peak Truck Racing, Showroom Stock Road Racing, and NHRA Drag Racing. To his credit, he has had many successful engine programs as well as many racing manufacturer and drivers championships, and has made many good friends along the way. Larry lives in Clawson, Michigan with his collection of over 100 vintage motocross racing motorcycles. He spends his time racing motorcycles and designing and fabricating parts for race cars and motorcycles, as well as building a street legal Corvette to achieve a top speed of 275mph -- with the air on of course! |
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April Meeting Highlights - Robert D. Luckett – Trialco Aluminum Company |
| At the April meeting, the AFS Toledo chapter welcomed Robert D. Luckett and his presentation on aluminum casting defects. As the chief metallurgist and sales director for the Trialco Aluminum Company, Robert described many of the quality issues and solutions found within the aluminum casting industry. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Robert stated that many of the quality issues he finds in aluminum foundries are due to alloy melting cross contamination, improper grain refining, inadequate degassing techniques, and poor material chemistry. He states that for each of these conditions, there is usually a simple solution. For instance, Robert presented that one way aluminum foundries can prevent alloy melting cross contamination is to clean crucibals through wash heating with the desired aluminum alloy, and then pigging that alloy. This will ensure that the crucibal will be clean of any unwanted contaminates before the final melting of the desired alloy. In conclusion, Robert stated that he is always looking for new challenges in the aluminum foundry industry and enjoys consulting with aluminum foundries throughout the United States! |
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May 2002 Meeting
5:00 Board Meeting
Dinner
Prices:
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