Designed for the brand new 2021 MT-09 motorcycle, SpinForged Yamaha rims have created a new and innovative way to reduce weight through the flow forming process they are made with. One of the key factors that led to the successful application of this method, on a production motorcycle for the first time in the world, was the development of a special aluminum alloy, specially created by Yamaha’s materials research and development department. On this occasion we present the special one Yamaha Aluminum which played a central role in the process of creating these new lightweight wheels and some of the difficulties it faced.
“Only by changing some conditions is it possible to completely change the way aluminum reacts, or rather its” personality “, so to speak” – Kahori Oshima explained of Yamaha Motor’s Materials Division and talks about metal as if cheerfully introducing a close friend or acquaintance. “Sometimes it can be very sensitive, often offering zero headroom for adjustments.” Despite this “personality”, aluminum is an essential material used to create motorcycles, outboard motors and many other Yamaha products. Since joining the company, Oshima has worked as a materials researcher, specializing in aluminum, and her results have led to significant improvements in the production of “arms” parts in the various types of Yamaha products. “He’s like an aluminum bartender: his skills in producing these” drinks “are something Yamaha is very proud of”. While the material itself can be referred to simply as “aluminum”, what is required can differ greatly depending on the product in question, the location in which the piece is to be used and the processing method required. “Yamaha has a huge collection of aluminum” recipes “created by our predecessors, and this is one of our strengths”, Oshima continued. “Our philosophy is that aluminum is an area of production where we have to be at the forefront and I believe that the basis is that Yamaha has had a factory dedicated to die casting for a long time”.
Machining this material involves careful control of the temperature of the glowing molten metal, mixing the secret mixture of additional elements and then proceeding to heat treatment of the formed piece to finish it. As a researcher, Oshima is tasked with drawing on her academic knowledge and applying new ideas to strike the right balance between stiffness and flexibility, while seeking not only excellent strength and overall toughness, but beauty as well. The new aluminum rims fitted to the new MT-09 are machined using flow forming and represent the extraordinary result of Oshima’s research. In the development of this model, Yamaha has ventured into a new and demanding challenge, in weight reduction, driven by the idea that, if we can somehow improve the basic characteristics of aluminum, other innovations will follow. starting from the production techniques of the plant. The design and manufacturing departments both jumped into the project and created a special aluminum alloy and heat treatment process that not even their predecessors could do. This combination allowed Yamaha to make the first mass-produced flow-formed wheels for the MT-09. Called Yamaha SpinForged, this process allows each rim to reach a thickness of just 2mm (compared to 3.5mm on the previous model) and the front wheels together are about 0.7kg lighter. Weight reduction is among the most demanding activities in the industry and such success makes these wheels worthy of being presented as innovative.
“The main difficulty was the lack of metrics to base ourselves on. Without them for the evaluation it is not possible to understand where to set the objective, so it was certainly difficult to develop a material and at the same time build an appropriate evaluation method “, admitted Oshima. “However, the effort and hard work made the result much more rewarding. For example, aluminum cannot beat iron in terms of strength alone. On the other hand, aluminum has advantages in terms of lightness, corrosion resistance, high machinability and beauty. Even if our Monozukuri will change in the future, I am sure that aluminum will continue to be an elite material. I believe that my role as a researcher of materials consists in identifying, extracting and enhancing this potential “.
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