Can you spot what’s wrong with this brand new Comp Cam?

[Kern Dog]

In 2020 I bought a Comp hydraulic flat tappet from Summit....

When cleaning it, I found several lobes had edges that were not properly machined. The sharp edges caught the cloth from the towel...

I was concerned that those edges could have chewed up the lifters...

Maybe...maybe I could have taken a file and dressed down the sharp edges and would have been fine but it made me nervous enough to send it back.
Quality control could have been better here. Keep in mind, ANY company that has 50 % of the market will have more reported failures than any other company BUT they will also have MORE successes as well. It is a matter of numbers.

 

[padam]

How would something like that groovy patch happen in the manufacturing process of a cam?

I’ll comment from past experience on OD/ID grinders, which are similar but not quite the same as cam grinders.

That’s from the grinding wheel. The sorta-diagonal pattern is from how the diamond dresser feeds across to true the wheel. It looks like the wheel dug in and maybe pushed the cam around. I’m not sure how a cam is driven in a grinder but I would not be surprised if some of the lobes were out of time.

 

[Sam69sat]

In 2020 I bought a Comp hydraulic flat tappet from Summit....

View attachment 2017259

When cleaning it, I found several lobes had edges that were not properly machined. The sharp edges caught the cloth from the towel...

View attachment 2017260

View attachment 2017261

I was concerned that those edges could have chewed up the lifters...

View attachment 2017263

View attachment 2017264

Maybe...maybe I could have taken a file and dressed down the sharp edges and would have been fine but it made me nervous enough to send it back.
Quality control could have been better here. Keep in mind, ANY company that has 50 % of the market will have more reported failures than any other company BUT they will also have MORE successes as well. It is a matter of numbers.

Jeez, that thing looks porous as hell like they machined it out of volcanic pumice. Should have thrown it in a tub of water to see it it would float.

 

[Kern Dog]

I don’t think it was porous, that was a coating that was on it.

 

[furious70]

I’ll comment from past experience on OD/ID grinders, which are similar but not quite the same as cam grinders.

That’s from the grinding wheel. The sorta-diagonal pattern is from how the diamond dresser feeds across to true the wheel. It looks like the wheel dug in and maybe pushed the cam around. I’m not sure how a cam is driven in a grinder but I would not be surprised if some of the lobes were out of time.

Wouldn't final finishing have taken some of the roughness out of this or prolifically failed in the fixture itself? It's obviously not even close to the right shape or finish.