FARO | Joins RFK TeK Alliance

FARO has put its corporate foot forward and joined eight-time NASCAR champion RFK Racing as part of its tech incubator, the TeK Alliance. The division is dedicated to exploring innovative technologies to advance performance and foster innovation within the racing industry. It is a testament to RFK's commitment to technological advancement, its pursuit of Industry 4.0, and the implementation of smart manufacturing practices.

With this alliance, FARO and RFK have opened a separate FARO Tech Center, featuring FARO’s leading 3D metrology hardware and software to support RFK’s wide-ranging competitive efforts.

Original Source - FARO Technologies

RFK Racing

RFK Racing, entering its 37th season in 2024, features an ownership lineup pairing one of the sport’s most iconic names, Jack Roush, along with NASCAR Champion, Brad Keselowski, and Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry. Roush initially founded the team in 1988 and it has since become one of the most successful racing operations in the world, propelling him to be the first NASCAR owner to amass three hundred wins and capturing eight championships, including back-to-back NASCAR Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. Keselowski, a former owner in the NASCAR Truck Series, is the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Champion.

In 2007, Roush partnered with Henry, who also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C., and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, to form Roush Fenway Racing. Off the track, RFK is a leader and proven winner in NASCAR marketing solutions, having produced multiple award-winning social media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns.

With the introduction of the NASCAR Next Gen car, metrology has resulted in a more advanced, competitive environment across the NASCAR industry. As a result, each part demands to be inspected at a higher level of accuracy and precision, which will drive the most detailed analysis of parts to date. This understanding of parts will lead to improved performance, and strict adherence to NASCAR regulations, an emphasis now more than ever. Beyond that, the enhancement of part measurements feeds other critical processes within RFK, such as multi-body vehicle simulation, PLM history, and optimisation of completed vehicle assemblies per race track.

“In this day and age of NASCAR, the finest level of details in every facet makes the difference in our team’s ability to compete for and win races and championships,” said Kevin Kidd, Director of Software and Analytics for RFK Racing. “The creation of the FARO technology center will provide our team access to world-class tools and software to build the top level of cars in the sport, and drive efficiencies within the organisation. Our partnership with FARO is a perfect fit to allow our company to excel as the premier ‘Tech’ team in the sport."

RFK will use various equipment within the FARO technology centre, including the FARO Quantum S Max FaroArm, Vantage E6 Max Laser Tracker, CAM2 Software, and RevEng™ Software.

The Quantum S Max FaroArm, along with its lineup of Laser Line Probes (LLPs), will enable RFK to perform precision inspections and generate 3D scans for individual parts and fully-assembled vehicle bodies. The Vantage E6 Max Laser Tracker will be used for overall quality control of larger parts, including chassis, large body panels and floor components, and will be the primary tool used in vehicle setup prior to events. Pairing the two hardware’s capabilities also enables the team to use multiple Quantum Max FaroArms for quality inspections in record time when necessary.

CAM2 Software serves as the backbone for these products. RFK will now reap the benefit of all measurement and inspection data residing in one software stack. The ease of use within this software will allow RFK’s quality inspection engineers to gain more insight at a more rapid pace than ever before. RevEng Software's ability to transition 3D scans into CAD models in record time will enable RFK to quickly reverse engineer needed parts.

RFK’s next step in the process with FARO includes a variety of exciting products that are in the pipeline, including capabilities the team currently doesn’t utilise, all of which will affect and determine RFK’s success in the future.

"We are thrilled to partner with RFK in their quest for racing excellence," commented Jeff Sexton, Senior Vice President of Global Sales for FARO. "Our innovation and metrology mastery aligns well with the RFK vision. We look forward to creating a symbiotic alliance where every measurement counts, and every fraction of a second matters on the track. We will work together to achieve success on and off the track."