NUMBER 02 - Haas Automation, Inc.

In This Issue
Welcome to the second issue of CNC Machining Europe.
For our cover story this issue we’d like to transport you to the rolling hills of Germany, where
mechanical engineer Karlheinz Nicolai and his team of bicycle enthusiasts have set up shop to
manufacture some of the world’s finest mountain bikes. Upon graduating from university, Karlheinz
ventured to the US to “broaden my view of the world, and business,” he claims. Through an internship
at a high-end design and development firm in Southern California, he learned the art of developing
simple solutions to complex problems. His engineering genius and his openness to new challenges
have since yielded race-winning mountain bike designs, and a revolutionary bicycle transmission
called the G-Boxx. We think you’ll agree, when it comes to bicycle design, a little travel obviously
broadens the creative mind.
Back in the States, we drop in to Orange County Choppers to see another kind of two-wheeled
genius. Paul Teutul Senior and his prodigal sons Paulie and Mikey require little introduction. Their
fame is very well established in the US, and they’re becoming just as well known around the world,
thanks to cable and satellite TV and our growing fascination for reality TV.
We take you inside OCC’s very public world of wild creativity and explosive tempers for a belowthe-surface
look at the machining behind the apparent mayhem. According to Paulie, “The CNC
machines are huge for us.” And so are the machinists. “You can have good machines,” he says, “but
if you don’t have good people to run them, you’re not going to be doing good stuff.”
Finally, in France, we visit Vallet, where although the latest project is partly still on the drawing
board, and has four-wheels instead of two, it is just as genius. This is one project to watch, if only
for its engineering audacity.
If you know of any similar stories of engineering genius (don’t be modest!), we’d love to hear
from you.
Happy reading.
On The Cover
Cover Photo:
Hoshi - K. Yoshida /
NICOLAI GmbH.
CNC MACHINING |