BEHIND THE SCENES – WHEEL DEVELOPMENT

Arden Automobilbau has been developing and selling exclusive wheels for British premium automobiles since the 1980s. Starting with a 17-inch alloy wheel for the Jaguar XJS, the current range of wheels includes a variety of designs and sizes up to 23 inches. Just this year, the range of forged wheels has been extended by two more designs: Arden “Sportline GT” in 21 inches and the “Sportline II” in 23 inches. Another cast wheel is currently in the final development and to be released in early 2019.

The very first step in the process of developing a completely new wheel is to create a design. For this purpose, a variety of designs are first sketched by the Arden Design Team and then evaluated and discussed by employees of various departments. In the next step a small selection of a maximum of three designs will be created as a model and demonstrated on different vehicles using modern computer technology. After taking the opinion of the Arden team, customers and dealers into account, the final design will be adopted.

Now the actual product development follows. Therefore, the Arden engineers deal with the numerical calculation of various driving and behavioral situations in order to optimize the wheel in terms of weight, load capacity and durability. This ensures that every Arden rim will always meet the highest quality standards.

Once the rim has passed all computer-based stress tests, the preparation for the series production begins. If a cast light alloy wheel is produced, the necessary tool, the so-called “mold”, has to be constructed and elaborately manufactured. After completing the mold, the series production of the Arden alloy wheel can begin.

Forged Arden rims can be produced without the construction of a mold. But writing the program to feed the modern 5-axis CNC milling machine with corresponding information is still very elaborate. The forged aluminum blank has to be shaped to a millimeter accuracy according to the previously programmed production specifications. This process can take several hours, depending on the design. Subsequently, the painting is carried out with the appropriate finish or surface treatment. Be curious about the result!