Orange County Choppers, the custom motorcycle shop popularized on the Discovery Channel show American Chopper, uses SolidWorks® software to design the sweeping exhaust pipes, daring wheels, and other key features that make its street machines unique. SolidWorks' ease of use allows Orange County's lead parts designer to convert cool ideas into 3D models without any prior computer-aided design software training.
"I'm an artist, not an engineer or a programmer," said Jason Pohl, designer at Orange County Choppers. "I usually just throw lines on paper to knock out a good concept for the part I am working on. SolidWorks was so easy to learn that in no time, I could put my sketch ideas into 3D models that I can perfect before machining begins. I am now sculpting my ideas rather than just sketching them."
In a niche industry where form and function both push the envelope, innovation is limited only by the designer's imagination. Orange County Choppers has earned international recognition with its creative designs -- and the daily explosive arguments aired on the show. Pohl, who honed his skills at the Illinois Institute of Art, uses SolidWorks to design everything from custom swing arms, which connect the rear wheel to the bike frame, to flashy wheels with sharp eye-catching tribal knife blades as spokes.
"SolidWorks brings our ideas to life, so we have a good idea of what they'll look like and how they'll perform," said Pohl. "It gives us cross-sectional views, exploded parts views, and light shading. The parts look like real chrome. SolidWorks lets me prove things out, so I can see how a new wheel design would look at 70 miles per hour, and then test the wheel's structural integrity."
SolidWorks helps Pohl save time in trying new ideas because he can change parts models as often as he wants without having to recreate the design from scratch. For example, he can use the software to check whether the rear suspension system in a softail motorcycle design will interfere with any other parts, and troubleshoot any problems before production begins.
Pohl also uses SolidWorks Gold Partner Product DezignWorks to convert his hand-drafted sketches into 3D models in SolidWorks that he then fleshes out, modifies, and refines. This step streamlines his design process so that he can quickly complete design concepts to show to the shop's owner, Paul Teutul Sr, and chief fabricator, Paul Teutul Jr. The teamwork and sometime theatrics between father and son have fueled the TV show's widespread popularity.
"Choppers and software. It's not a combination that immediately jumps to mind," said Paul Teutul Sr. "But Jason makes it work, and the results are the new part designs that give our choppers an edge."
Pohl creates edgy designs by bending exhaust pipes, handlebars, and other steel parts models in SolidWorks prior to the computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) process. He saves time by sending SolidWorks-generated 3D models to Mastercam, the SolidWorks Certified CAM partner application that creates the computer numerical control steps to automatically manufacture parts.
"To anyone in the motorcycle industry, be they designers, fabricators, or enthusiasts, the stylistic and creative possibilities are endless," said SolidWorks chief operating officer Jeff Ray. "SolidWorks lets artists like Jason Pohl reap the benefits of 3D CAD and explore all of the possibilities for innovation."
