SoloCam: The ultimate example of "addition by subtraction"
Mini Max Cam, 1996
Max Cam, 1996
Since its inception in 1992, and starting with Single Cam technology, Mathews has been responsible for a multitude of innovations that have not only enhanced performance by quantum leaps, but have also reduced complexity.
“The essence of engineering is to make something function better while also making it simpler.”
Icon Cam, 2001
Legacy Cam, 2001
In 1992 Matt McPherson introduced the revolutionary idea of single cam technology. Before Mathews bows had two cams. The problem with two cams is their tendency to “fight” each other. They’re almost never in perfect synch, which means accuracy and tuning problems. And recoil.
Single Cam technology changed all that! With just one cam, there is no longer a timing problem. Tuning is much easier. Accuracy much greater. Recoil and noise reduced.
The invention that changed archery forever, launched Mathews to the top and directly resulted in the following advantages:
Advanced Vectoring System (AVS) Cam
The Advanced Vectoring System (AVS) is a totally new and revolutionary cam system developed and patented by Mathews Inc. This system enables us to achieve higher levels of bow performance and efficiency than were obtainable with any previous cam system we’ve tested.
All of the compounding cam systems in wide use today have a harness system consisting of three cable connections at one end of the bow. One of these cables is the power / buss cable which is taken up in one of the tracks of a cam and pulls the bows limb tips together as the bow is drawn. At least one of the other two cables is attached to the cam and works against the power / buss cable causing the cam to rotate in the direction of the archer as the bow is drawn. On a conventional twin-cam bow and on One-Cam bows the second end of the anchor cable is attached to the axle at the opposite limb tip of the bow. The entire system is designed to pull the limb tips of the bow toward each other, storing the energy required to launch the arrow.
With the true One-Cam system there is no synchronization problem, even with high-energy storage cams. Simply put, one cam cannot be out of synchronization with itself. On the other hand the conventional twin cam systems experienced synchronization problems that became noticeable with the advent of profiled high-energy cam development and was further aggravated with the trend toward higher let-off cams. A good solution to the twin-cam synchronization problem was actually proposed in 1976 with the issue of patent 3,990,425 (the first Binary cam type cam system).
In any cam system the forces that the cables exert on the cam are actually vectors. Vector is an engineering term which indicates that these forces have both direction and magnitude. While the magnitude of the force exerted by the power / buss cable increases as the bow is drawn, the direction of that force (in all previous designs) has been mainly determined by the distance between the centerline of the axle and the cable’s contact point on the take-up track of the cam. At no time since the conception of the compound bow has the anchor cable force vector been able to traverse from one side of the cam axle to the other. Mathews realized that this same limitation had been imposed on all of the previous compounding systems. The result of that realization is this year’s introduction of another industry first, The Advanced Power Cable Vectoring System (AVS).
This new system allows more control over the draw force profile than has ever been possible in the past. The new AVS system allows us to dynamically move the force vector of the anchored cable from one side of the cam axle to the complete other side of the axle. If desired this concept can be used to “take up” on both ends of each power / buss cable simultaneously during the beginning of the draw cycle, allowing for a quicker build rate on the front side of the draw force curve and increased stored energy. Then by allowing the anchored end of the buss cable to pass through the center of the axle to the other side, we can completely control cam balance to achieve any desired amount of let-off. This gives us the ability to optimize draw force profiles for energy storage, maximum bow performance and efficiency. The result is that we are capable of building the fastest and highest performing bows in the archery industry. The new Advanced Vectoring System also allows Mathews Inc. to create the most efficient compound bows ever produced. All this provides the latest reason we can continue to state “Catch us if You Can”.
Cam Manufacturing Process
The manufacturing process begins with various machined aluminum components including the riser, cam and idler wheel. Our Machine Shop starts with solid bars or forgings of aircraft-grade aluminum and machines, buffs and deburrs these components, as well as others intended for accessory assembly. In this department, we operate three shifts, five days per week and process about 1.5 million pounds of aluminum per year to produce the aluminum components needed to meet our customer demand:
Before 1998, 95% of Mathews’ machining process was outsourced. To achieve higher quality standards and exert more process control, we began bringing our machining processes in house, and by 2004, virtually all of our aluminum parts were machined internally. Our next challenge was a powerful growth trend that strained our machining capacities. With three shifts working 24 hours per day, it appeared that our only option might be an expensive investment in facility expansion. Instead, we creatively pursued an aggressive plan to increase capacity without expanding space.
Expanding Capacity without Expanding Floor Space
The first initiative was to replace selective machines with state-of-the-art Mori Seiki machines, resulting in an immediate favorable impact, decreasing our per part cycle time by 62% and increasing our overall productivity by 240%. Our cost and time savings were so significant that in 2005, we were featured in Modern Machine Shop magazine.
