| New Cars | 01908 978978 |
| Used Cars | 01908 753200 |
| Parts | 01908 978978 |
| Accounts | 01908 978978 |
The purpose of digitally capturing the surfaces of an entire vehicle in standard form is to ensure we create an incredibly accurate foundation to begin our design process from.
With industry-leading precision (from 0.03mm) we use state of the art equipment to produce a high-resolution 3D scan.
This process is also used for part surface inspection enabling the comparison of data to an existing CAD master model (or pattern) which allows us to quickly see deviations over the object or direct us to inspect specific points. Essentially, this all leads to ensuring our aftermarket part fits the vehicle to a standard that surpasses the standards met by OEM.
Important pickup points and the capturing of specific part data 'off vehicle' are key areas of importance at this stage.
It takes 2 days to completely scan the exterior of a new project vehicle, destined to have a replacement, Urban designed and manufactured, components.
Once 3D data is 'surfaced' into CAD software, our design team work in unison with initial vehicle design renderings, capturing and modelling our established and renowned Urban design roots. Often considered 'OEM Plus' Urban delivers a well-balanced ability to tastefully enhance the aesthetics of the chosen project vehicle.
The Urban Range Rover SVR body styling conversion consumed approximately 300 hours of design time, before presentation for final sign off.
The final design requires further CAD orientated expertise to be invested in order to become a viable and practical shape to mill on a 5-axis machine. This takes a further 80-100 hours plus machining time.
We use a variety of epoxy-based materials combined with accurate processes to create the 'master pattern' (or male plug). Multiple layers of carbon fibre are then hand laid over the patterns, capturing all of the surface detail and forming a production, female mould.
Depending on size and complexity, carbon fibre and epoxy resin moulds will sustain the ability to produce circa 500 x components. Where larger volumes are required, moulds are duplicated or replaced by repeating the tooling process.
Due to the sheer scale of design, the patterns and moulds for the URBAN G700S took quite literally thousands of hours to create, through a combination of machine time and man-hours. More than 50 individual moulds are used in the manufacturing process of the full conversion.
Without compromise, our approach to composites is executed with the highest level of manufacturing integrity there is and something the URBAN brand has become synonymous with since our inception.
Our highly skilled team hand lay, pre-impregnated (with resin) layers of carbon fibre material into the mould, consolidated inside a vacuum bag and then cured inside the autoclave. The intricate, aesthetic geometry of the mould is captured by the carbon fibre materials being held under atmospheric pressure at 120 degrees for 2.5 hours. Each component is removed from the mould and then hand trimmed to detail and assembled.
Urban components are completed to the same exacting structural and visual standards as found on high-end OEM and motorsport applications alike, using materials manufactured from both Italy and the UK.
An Urban Range Rover SVR carbon fibre rear bumper assembly is made up of 76 individual pre-cut pieces totalling 6m of material, taking 15 hours to laminate, remove from mould and trim in order to meet our stringent internal QC process, before finally being handed to our internal paint facility.
19,000 square feet of purpose-built production space in Northamptonshire, houses the epicentre of manufacture for the URBAN brand.
We currently manufacture using 2 x autoclaves (high-pressure ovens) measuring 1.35m x 3.5m and 1.45m x 5.5m, with a collective 30 x vacuum points and operating pressures of 90psi and capable of 150 degrees C.
As a true measure of our design and composite manufacturing success, URBAN has already won contractual, market-leading tenders from concept right through to end vehicle builds.
Not all of our white label programs are automotive-based, we have the ability to deliver an end to end service across a multitude of industries and markets. We look forward to being considered for any of your design and manufacturing projects and can present cost-effective and time-sensitive solutions for your business and brand.
