The manufacturing steps, revealed
- Module: Made to measure
- Level: Intermediate
- Reading time: 5 min
In the previous lesson, you followed the path of a project, from the vision to delivery. Now, let us step into the workshop. Because behind every forged wheel lies a demanding manufacturing process, almost a craft, in which raw material gradually becomes an exceptional part. Here is what really happens, step by step.
Step 1: the raw block of aluminium
It all starts with a solid block of aluminium, the well-known 6061-T6 alloy. At this stage, it is only a cylinder of solid metal, with no shape and no soul. Hard to imagine it will become a wheel.
But this block has one essential quality: it does not have the porosity of a cast wheel. It is the raw material of parts that last.
Step 2: forging under high pressure
This is the heart of the process, the one that gives “forged” its name.
The block is placed under a colossal press, able to apply several thousand tonnes of pressure. Under this titanic force, the metal is compressed and takes a first shape. Its internal fibres line up.
It is precisely this step that gives the wheel its exceptional strength and its lightness. The metal is not poured: it is worked through its whole mass, as a blacksmith works steel, but with modern industrial precision.
Step 3: precision machining
After forging, you have a rough shape. This is when the design comes to life.
The part is machined by extremely precise computer-controlled machines. They carve the spokes, hollow out the concave profile, refine every detail. The design you imagined is finally revealed in the metal.
It is a fascinating step: material is removed, chip after chip, until the wheel appears. Like a sculptor revealing a shape hidden in the block.
Step 4: quality control
An exceptional wheel tolerates no defect.
It is this invisible rigour that ensures that, once on the road, the wheel will turn perfectly, without vibration, in complete safety.
Step 5: the finish
Finally comes the finishing. The wheel receives its shade and its texture: polishing, lacquer, a satin, brushed or mirror finish. Each finish calls for specific work, done by hand for the most demanding ones.
It is the finishing touch, the one that turns a technical part into an object of desire.
Expertise, not mere production
From the raw block to the finished wheel, it becomes clearer why a forged wheel has the value it has. It is not a product taken out of a mould in a few minutes: it is a succession of demanding steps, in which the material is worked, carved, checked and finished with care.
Every forged wheel carries this expertise within it. It is invisible once on the car, but it is precisely what makes the difference.
Only one lesson remains: the most useful of all. How to prepare your own project in practice so that it is a complete success.
The Onyx approach — This forging expertise is at the heart of every Onyx Forged creation. We have chosen never to compromise on this process, because it is what separates a genuinely exceptional wheel from an ordinary one. When you drive on Onyx Forged wheels, you drive on parts born of this standard.
This lesson is part of the Onyx Academy, the free course on custom forged wheels.