Harley Davidson is well known for it’s high quality durable motorcycles; and with that reputation comes the need for only the strongest materials, frequently metal investment castings. Unfortunately, these materials often have tool lead times unacceptable in today’s world. This is just what faced Harley’s fuel handling group when an unexpected need for 200 aluminum fuel tank brackets suddenly came up.

General Pattern, founded in 1922 as a provider of foundry tooling, is well versed in the needs of the investment casting industry. Using our Rapid Tool technology, we have the speed and knowledge to design, gate, build and cast aluminum and steel investment castings in a little under 2 weeks. Combined with our in-house machining capabilities, Harley was in good hands.

2 weeks and 200 pieces later, Harley Davidson was busy assembling and testing their new line of motorcycles. Opting not to go with the traditional tooling and 6+ week leadtime, Harley was well ahead of schedule thanks to General Pattern’s Rapid Tooling technology.