The Parker Fly was an innovative electric guitar comprising many nuanced component designs. They were discontinued in 2015, leaving its estimated 100,000 owners without access to official replacement parts. Their intricately designed vibrato flat spring is in high demand from consumers but is difficult to replicate on an independent-market basis. The current available options do not function properly mainly due to incorrect heat treatment. In response to this issue, we manufactured replicas by reverse-engineering the patented springs. Alongside designing novel tools to successfully form the distinctive bends of the original design, we developed an austempering heat treatment protocol to optimize hardness and toughness values. We characterized the material properties with optical microscopy and Vickers microhardness measurements. The prototype springs had successful mechanical response in a Parker Fly guitar; future work may include manufacturing a series of thickness variations, small-group testing, and durability characterization.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Piccione, Thomas
• Milligan, Darcy
• Connolly, Chloe
• Barnes, Imogen

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• 121714
• E-project-042524-130031

Palavra-chave

• Heat Treatment
• Spring
• Flat Spring
• Manufacturing

Advisor

• Manzo, V J
• Levey, Fiona

Year

• 2024

Date created

• 2024-04-25

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Engineering - To Be Declared
• Mechanical Engineering

Source

• E-project-042524-130031

Rights statement

• In Copyright