Pat Teaford - Nitro Street


	Pat Teaford - Nitro Street

Pat Teaford has been a maker of custom car engines and parts, as well as a builder of hot rods for over 20 years. Pat grew up on a farm in Kansas and in addition to learning all of the responsibilities of raising pigs, beef and dairy cows; he began, at an early age, to be interested in things mechanical in nature. He began by designing go-carts and by the 5th grade, was actually starting to weld his designs together!
Pat started using TurboCAD in the mid-1990’s, when his younger brother (who’s an aerospace engineer) gave him a copy of TurboCAD V6. Pat reckons he didn’t get serious with using TurboCAD as a design tool until around 2000, when he upgraded to version 8. In 2006, Pat upgraded to v12, and began using the CAM plug-in.
Pat starts his design process using TurboCAD, creating both conceptual designs of the car he is going to create, as well as precision designs for individual parts.

Idler Bracket Design in TurboCAD:
Once a part has been designed in TurboCAD, he uses the TurboCAD CAM plug-in to create tool paths and the associated G-code, which tells his different CNC (Computer Numeric Control) machines how to ‘make’ the part. Pat though, has really pushed the capabilities of the CAM plug-in, which is essentially a 2 ½D CAM software program.
By going in and modifying the G-code, which the TurboCAD Cam plug-in allows you to do, Pat has been able to have his milling machine make curvilinear cuts in the metal being machined that would normally only be able to be done with a true 3D CAM software product. Pat really likes this ability to modify the G-code and has found it much easier to do with TurboCAD, than with other CADCAM software he’s tested.

Fully Machined Idler Bracket:
For manufacturing, Pat uses a 1982 Tree 320 milling machine that he’s retrofitted with a 2007 CamSoft controller and a Thermal Dynamics hand held plasma cutter that will cut up to 3/8” thick material, that he’s mounted on his milling machine. See sparks fly with Pat’s plasma cutter in action Click here , or watch the TurboCAD CAM plug-in machine a custom car part Click here

For more information about Pat’s custom part and hot rod creation, visit www.nitrostreet.com. And to see Pat’s end mill in action using the TurboCAD and the CAM plug-in check out this Youtube video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O3warokp-M