THE BEST MATERIALS

Akrapovič shows an attention to detail for the highest grade of base materials that is second to none in the premier exhaust category. Its fully equipped metallurgical laboratory for metallography assessment is a necessary tool for evaluating the properties and quality of products and for gauging the end results. Through the use of over 35 years of in-house knowledge and technologies in handling special materials for exhaust systems, such as titanium, stainless steel, and aluminium alloys, Akrapovič devotes meticulous care to chemical compositions and gas content, which is crucial for the quality of cast titanium parts. Hardness and micro-hardness measurements, tensile properties, plastic properties, and formability determinations are carried out for all incoming and new materials. Such regular procedures ensure the highest quality of the final product and the use of the best materials.

SPECIAL TITANIUM ALLOYS

Akrapovič exhaust systems are crafted from proprietary titanium alloys. These are three times stronger than “commercial pure” alloys at elevated temperatures. Their high quality and strength make them more difficult to form than common alloys, but they ensure products that are substantially more durable and dimensionally more stable, and have significantly increased heat resistance. Titanium is 40% lighter than stainless steel; as such, it helps improve performance and handling.

CARBON FIBRE

Akrapovič carbon-fibre components are produced in-house with temperature-resistant carbon-fibre composites. Through innovative production techniques, the company can produce parts with very complex shapes in various sizes. These handcrafted high-quality components are used as parts of exhaust systems such as carbon-fibre muffler outer sleeves and heatshields on motorcycles, and the appearance of a car can be further personalized with handcrafted carbon-fibre rear diffusers and carbon-fibre tailpipes. There are many benefits of using a composite material like carbon-fibre; it weighs as little as an eighth of stainless steel, and its tensile strength can be eighty times greater per unit weight compared to steel.

STAINLESS STEEL

Austenitic stainless steel is renowned for its good corrosion resistance, improved high-temperature properties, and enhanced formability. For steel exhaust parts, only high-grade austenitic stainless steels are used to manufacture our exhaust systems.

INCONEL

The family of nickel-based super alloys that are alloyed with chrome, molybdenum, and niobium are also commercially known as Inconel alloys. These kinds of alloys have exceptional mechanical properties at extremely low and high temperatures. They are also extremely resistant to corrosion and corrosive acids (both surface resistance and at the crystal level) and have very high oxidation resistance (they can be used at temperatures up to 1,000 °C). Due to their excellent mechanical properties, they can be half as thick as stainless steel for use at elevated temperatures.

MATERIAL LABORATORY

All major material properties are checked and evaluated in our material testing laboratory, which directly supports foundry, production, and R&D activities. Regular monitoring and ongoing evaluations and testing of standardized and new advanced materials, semifinished products, and final products during the production process ensure the highest quality standards for the end products. The purpose of the testing is to understand material behaviour and its limits to improve the long-term sustainability of final products.

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

The chemical compositions of titanium, stainless steel, and aluminium alloys are controlled. Controlling gas content in titanium castings is crucial for the quality of cast parts.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES EVALUATION

Hardness and micro-hardness measurements, tensile properties, plastic properties, and formability determinations are performed regularly for all incoming and new materials, and so the quality and use of the most appropriate materials in various applications and products are guaranteed.

METALLOGRAPHY

Complete metallographic sample preparation for microstructure evaluations and weld quality determination ensures better understanding of the materials and helps to better control technology processes and parameters such as welding, bending, forming, and casting.

MEASURING LABORATORY

In the Akrapovič measuring laboratory, prototype, exhaust system, and cast part measurements are carried out with a Zeiss Contura measuring machine, a GOM Atos Triplescan III scanning camera, a Romer Sigma measuring arm, and other ultra-precision measuring equipment.

Measurements on motorcycles and cars are performed with the Romer mobile measuring arm and GOM Atos Triplescan III scanning camera.

3D COORDINATE MEASURING

For the most accurate 3D measurements, Zeiss Contura G2 CMM and Spectrum CMM coordinate measuring machines are used.

NO-CONTACT OPTICAL MEASURING

Atos optical systems are used for measuring, quality control, and especially reverse engineering; these systems allow the digitalization of even the most complex shapes in an exceptionally short time. The systems offer a very clear comparison between a mathematical model and the product measurements.

SOUND ENGINEERING

An exhaust system is like a musical instrument, converting rough pressure pulsations from combustion to sound, which defines the overall character and appearance of the vehicle. Akrapovič is taking the sound of the exhaust system to the next level, while a team of NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) engineers carefully tune every tube, muffler, and tailpipe to a specific vehicle. Prototypes are designed with attention to detail to extract the best-possible sound potential. Every prototype is measured with state-of-the-art measuring equipment, which measures the sound of the vehicle’s interior and exterior.

In addition to sound, many other vehicle parameters, such as vehicle speed, rpm, exhaust gas temperatures, and vibrations, are measured and correlated with the measured sound. Data are processed in the frequency domain and converted to 3D graphs, also known as colour maps. Every colour map represents an exhaust system’s sound signature, its identity card, where the sound level is presented in dependence on frequency and rpm.

The team of engineers spends countless days searching for the perfect balance of sound, navigating between sporty and comfortable, refined and rough, and quiet and loud. Prototypes are constantly being improved through on-road tests, dyno testing, acoustic transmission loss, flow testing, and simulations until the required sound perfection is achieved. The sound itself is ultimately still in the domain of the engineers’ subjective judgement, but is supported by objective sound engineering data. Every step in the creation of an exhaust system, from development to production, is careful planned – to the last detail and to the last millimetre.

PRODUCTION

Great ideas need to be brought to fruition in a great and state-of-the-art product. Various technologies in the production process makes this possible. It is a synthesis of expertise from various engineering spheres such as tube making, bending, cold forming and deep drawing, stamping, cutting, welding, assembly processing, modern CNC machining, quality inspection, and many others. Of course, the basis for everything is proper tooling – it is the key to success. The company boasts an in-house tooling design and tooling workshop, and so it is able to design and produce unique tools and jigs. Furthermore, Akrapovič has over two decades of experience using titanium alloys for exhaust system applications.

In the constant search for the latest technology solutions, many advanced processes have been introduced to Akrapovič production: the hydroforming process for tube forming, using a medium based on water emulsion with lubricant additives, is just one of many. The introduction of this technology allows the complete realization of technological ideas that are developed by Akrapovič R&D. One such idea is the patented D-type header tubes, which until now have been manufactured through other production processes.