Making the entrepreneurial dream possible

How a Haas UMC-750 universal machining centre has helped in establishing OMC as a serious maker of cycling componentry

It’s rare to meet an Italian who isn’t passionate about some sort of wheeled transport – cars, motorcycles, scooters, etc. – and Ivan Cavallaro is no exception. Like so many of his compatriots, he’s a cycling nut – in particular, road cycling. His days as a “serious” racer may be behind him, but performance bicycles remain so much in his blood that he invested in a Haas UMC-750 universal machining centre to make some of the lightest, strongest high-performance components available.

The origin
Around ten years ago, Ivan and his brother, Walter, also a cyclist and CNC machine operator, went into business “to work for us and do something mechanical,” as Ivan recalls.

They machined small parts for local businesses until around 2008/9, when they came up with an idea to design, make, and sell their own-design cycling componentry, under the brand name OMC-Italia.

It may not have wheels, but signore Cavallaro is as passionate about his Haas as he is about his bikes. In fact, one of OMC’s most successful products – the one that really established the company as a serious maker of cycling componentry – is named in homage to Haas.

The machine tool cognoscenti know very well that the nomenclature of the company’s vertical machining centres originated with the VF-1: the Very First One, back in the late 1980s. The OMC single-piece combined, double chain ring and spider, with hollow pedal cranks, that Ivan machines on his UMC 750, is designated the V-Strong One.

“In 2012, we upgraded our CAD/CAM to TopSolid, and redesigned the part to make it even lighter and stronger,” says Ivan. “Walter and I invested the last of our money to bring the product to market during a very difficult time for the Italian economy. We took a big risk, but we knew we had a great component.”

Improved productivity

• The Haas UMC-750 has helped in reducing machining of the front chain rings from 10 ops to just a single setup
• Tolerances are around 4 microns which the machine handles easily

 

Traditionally, the two front chain rings are machined separately, and then bolted together on a central spider, to which the pedal cranks are also attached. On the OMC unit, the spider and the chain rings are all one part, machined from a 2-kilogram solid billet, and ending up at just 160 gram. The two separate pedal cranks are hollow, which saves a lot of weight, and are also machined from solid.

“We start with over 7 kilograms of aluminium, and we end up with a complete unit – a very strong assembly of front rings and cranks – weighing around 540 grams,” says Ivan.

“Saving weight and building-in strength are our two most important goals. Professional cyclists put huge amounts of power through the front chain rings and pedal cranks, so we test our products on a rig to make sure we get the very maximum strength-to-weight ratio. From a productivity point-of-view, the Haas UMC-750 has allowed us to reduce machining of the front chain rings from 10 ops to just a single setup. It’s proven to be a great investment. Tolerances are around 4 microns, which the Haas machine has no difficulty with, whatsoever.”

In 2012, we upgraded our CAD/CAM to TopSolid, and redesigned the part to make it even lighter and stronger

— Ivan Cavallaro, Founder, OMC

Walter would undoubtedly be proud. Like his brother, he was a cycling nut, and all cycling nuts are obsessed with the ride: going faster, traveling further, and having as much fun as possible.