SMT Machining Produces Photo-Realistic Renderings with Visualize
“SOLIDWORKS Visualize really took our company to the next level, while at the same time saving us time and money!”
Introduction
SMT Machining is an industry leader in the custom forged billet motorcycle wheel industry, offering everything from 34” 3D Wheels to 18”x13” wide chopper wheels with a “fit like a glove guarantee” for almost any motorcycle.
SMT Machining is a manufacturer and distributor of high-precision billet aluminum motorcycle wheels and custom parts, serving a global customer base since 2001 from Glendale, Arizona. Their core expertise includes:
- Specializing in sizes up to 34″, designed for precision performance and aesthetic impact.
- Produces durable, corrosion-resistant components through precision billet machining and rigorous quality control.
- Offers bespoke designs, an extensive range of finishes and colors (including over 6,500 powder-coating options), and flexible payment plans.
SMT Machining operates primarily in the custom motorcycle sector, catering to brands like Harley‑Davidson, Indian, Victory, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and Honda—with a niche focus on big-wheel bagger builds. They also support builders and show-bike fabricators across the high-performance aftermarket industry.
The Challenge
SMT Machining was spending thousands of dollars machining prototypes for their custom wheel orders, marketing material, and website content. They needed a tool that would help reduce the enormous cost of machining physical prototypes, as well as speed up the entire process of ordering custom-designed wheels.
New wheel designs were first modeled in SOLIDWORKS, then sent to the programmer to be programmed in Mastercam. The wheel prototype would then be machined and finished by polishing, chrome plating, or black powder coating. Once the prototype was complete, the customer would see the wheel or professional-grade photographs would be taken for the customer’s review and approval. The photographs would also be edited and placed in the SMT Machining catalogue or website as a new product offering. This process would take 2-3 weeks for a single prototype, and many times, 2 or 3 iterations of the new wheel would be required before the design was finalized, which would double or triple the time and cost.
The Solution
SMT recognized the need to reduce time and cost while building a diverse and creative product offering. SOLIDWORKS Visualize was chosen to speed up creation of imagery for the website and marketing materials without requiring prototypes and professional photography for each design and finish combination. SOLIDWORKS Visualize allows SMT Machining to create photorealistic renderings in minutes versus weeks.
Before adopting SOLIDWORKS Visualize, a full prototype was required before a custom product could be approved by the customer, and additional prototypes were required if changes were required to achieve the ultimate wheel design. The result of adding SOLIDWORKS Visualize to the process is a reduction in time, cost, and quantity of manufactured wheel prototypes. Now, the design is opened directly in SOLIDWORKS Visualize and in minutes a photo-realistic rendering is developed to send to customer for approval, be placed in the parts catalogue, or be uploaded to the website.
Implementation
MLC CAD Systems played a key role in helping SMT Machining transform their product development process by implementing SOLIDWORKS Visualize. Faced with high costs and long lead times for producing physical wheel prototypes for customer approval and marketing use, SMT needed a faster, more cost-effective solution. MLC introduced SOLIDWORKS Visualize to the workflow, enabling SMT to create photorealistic renderings of custom wheel designs in minutes—bypassing the need for multiple physical prototypes and expensive photography. With MLC’s support, SMT was able to reduce their design approval process from 2–3 weeks to just a few days, cut prototype costs by over $1,000 per design, and streamline how new products are marketed and sold through their catalog and website.
Results
SOLIDWORKS Visualize reduces the time required to develop and approve new wheel designs by streamlining the process for custom wheel design approval from 2-3 weeks to a couple of days. The first design sent to the programmer for fabrication can be the one that has already been approved or purchased from the catalog by a customer, eliminating extra work and risk if the design concept and finish doesn’t meet the customer expectations. SMT Machining sees savings of over $1,000 per wheel per design by eliminating the requirement to create physical prototypes for every design iteration.
