Back in the fall of 2007, we noticed a substantial need for hoods for 356s. Getting a good quality hood was pricey and often difficult. So, we decided to start making them ourselves.
To start, we purchased one of these good quality hoods from the US. Painting it matte black and getting some of the minor imperfections out made it possible for us to use this as a template for scanning.
We got the scanning done by a third-party, who then sent us the scan. We imported the scan into our own computer system so we could design the dye. Designing each dye typically takes 100-200 hours – just for design time.
After the dye was designed, we had to design the different tool paths for 4-6 different tools.
From there, we had to machine the dye using steel and composite to withstand the pressure of the press.
After the dye is machined, it needs to be polished. Polishing the male and female parts of the dye for the 356 hood took about 16 weeks in total.
Check out the video to see the rest of the process and the finished product!