Kennametal and Kraus Motor Innovate Together

When you strive for innovation, you can’t get much more advanced or even cooler than the partnership between Kennametal and Kraus Motor. High-performance tooling and sleek surface finishes make the perfect combination for unequaled craftsmanship.

Kraus Motor is a custom CNC shop that designs and manufactures ergonomics, suspensions and braking systems for motorcycles. Their focus is on consumer products based in an industry that is all about aesthetics and quality of finish. And that is super important to them because each product is front and center for the customer to see.

When Kennametal learned that Kraus Motor had been fighting with different tooling for their aluminum and stainless steel products to obtain the right finish quality they needed, our representatives stepped in and presented solutions to solve their machining challenges. 

“The quality of the tooling has been great. The support and being able to speak with people who know what you're talking about -- and are machinists and have done machining makes a big difference when you have a technical question. There's somebody there who understands what you're talking about and has some experience with it. I've found we get that with Kennametal.” – Satya Kraus, Owner of Kraus Motor Co.

Kraus Motor runs a ton of tooling through their shop and is making a big push to transform a majority of their drilling and milling solutions to Kennametal. Satya highlights that his machinists and programmers appreciate the Kennametal systems, tooling, and catalogs. A key benefit is the ability to load tooling models into their CAM systems directly.

As a leader in their industry, Kraus Motor designs and fabricates their products using lathes, 5-axis machines and horizontal and vertical machines. Some of their complex tooling includes the use of 3D machining for their ball-end finishes. With so many machines and the need for several types of tools including  Beyond™ Evolution cut-off inserts, Kennametal provides innovative options at every stage of product development.

“[Kennametal is] creating product sets across the board. They do drills well. They do inserts well. We’re getting really good finishes out of the mills. You want to work with companies that are continuing to develop,” said Satya.

As the industry continues to shift towards performance, ergonomics has become Kraus Motor's primary focus. Their research and development team, composed of experienced riders, understands what customers seek to experience.

“Ergonomics is the first thing we attack. We set that bike up for the individual. If they are comfortable on that bike, they are confident on that bike. Then they are going to be able to use the OEM performance to its extent before they start adding some really high-grade suspension and braking technologies.” – Kraus said.

Kraus Motor is dedicated to producing products that require multiple operations and have features that must be precisely aligned with each other. With Kennametal’s precision tooling solutions and Kraus Motor’s dedication to creating a new functional experience for the rider, their partnership is set to push the boundaries of motorcycle design and manufacturing.