HONDA CAR MANUFACTURING

Press Division

Key Information

April 1995 - mass production started Production capacity - 14.75 million shots per year 18 million car parts produced per year All excess metal is sent for recycling

The Process

The car manufacturing process begins in the Press Division where we press the body panels for the cars built on site. To start with we receive blanks: flat metal sheets that have already been cut into the basic shape of the panel. These are then loaded onto the press:

The first press draws or forms the panel The second press trims the panel to remove excess metal The third press bends the panel to create flanges for later processes The fourth and final press pierces holes for other fittings The panels are then inspected and transferred to automatic storage before being delivered to the Weld

Department in Car Plants 1 and 2

Material Logistics Division

Key information

Over 200 lorry deliveries per day 10,000 containers are handled per shift 41 tow trucks and 17 forklifts utilised

The process

The main function of Material Logistics is to receive and deliver parts for the Weld, Assembly Frame and Paint Departments on a ‘just in time’ basis, two hours before they are fitted. While some parts are received from multiple local distribution centres, wheels, seats, door linings and engines are received on a synchronised basis directly from suppliers.

Large parts are delivered to fitment points on an electronic monorail system. Parts are also delivered to the line-side via tow trucks following ‘first in first out’ principles. Empty returnable packaging is removed from line-side, sorted and taken to a specific distribution centre for return to our suppliers.

Material Logistics is also responsible for maintaining the accurate inventory control of production parts. This is supported by zone controllers who regularly undertake parts cycle counting.

Weld Division

Key information

Over 300 welding and handling robots Around 2,200 spot welds are performed by the robots per car body One vehicle body is produced every 85 seconds 650 bodies in white produced per shift      

The process

The Weld Department produces complete welded car bodies from panels supplied both by our own Press Department as well as external suppliers.

The process begins with the right and left wheel houses welded to the lower dash and front bulkhead to form the complete engine compartment. This is then combined with the front and rear floor assemblies to make the floor complete.

The right and left side panels are sub-assembled and transferred to the General Welder (GW). This is the heart of the department where the parts that have been produced within the various areas (side panels, floor, roof, upper dash and rear parcel tray) come together and the GW welds all the parts together to produce a completed body.

The car body is then transferred to a manual line for additional welding and door hinge installation. In the final part of the process, the doors, tailgates, fenders and bonnet are fitted and the body undergoes a series of final quality checks. The completed body is then transferred by the lift conveyor to the Paint Department.

Paint Division

Key information

Capability to paint over 1,000 cars per day in a broad spectrum of colours, complete with in house moulded bumpers

HUM has one of the fastest bumper moulding operations in the world, producing components every 42 seconds

At any one time, over 800 car bodies, of three different model types, are being worked on in the Paint Division

The process

The main objectives of the Paint Division are to provide vehicles with a high gloss, attractive, colourful finish, with a long term durable resistance to corrosion.

Honda completely immerses the car bodies in powerful chemicals to prepare the steel for painting. Following this, corrosion proof paint is applied to every metal surface both inside and out. All of the panel joints are

sealed to guarantee they are watertight before the final colour paint layers are applied, utilising state of the art robots.

Whilst the car bodies are being painted, the Plastic Operations Department are moulding and painting bumpers and other smaller components which will all be brought together for installation on the final assembly line.

Plastic Operations Division

Key information

3,000 parts a day are produced by the injection moulding process An average of 1,700 bumpers are made per day The bumper mould has a 42 second cycle time - the fastest in the world 90 minutes cycle time in bumper paint line Waterborne paints are used and any waste bumpers are recycled

The process

The Plastic Operations facility was officially opened in February 1998 and supplies bumpers to both car plants. Within the department, raw unpainted bumpers are received from injection moulding and three paint layers are applied in two stages. The first stage is sprayed by robots, while the second (and most important) stage is sprayed manually by highly skilled associates. This ensures a consistent and high quality paint application.

Assembly Frame Division

Key information

24,000m2 Assembly Frame Division in Car Plant 1 15,000m2 Assembly Frame Division in Car Plant 2

The process

The body shell is received from our Paint facility and begins the process of transformation into the finished product. Components are physically installed onto the painted body while larger components such as the dashboard, doors and engine are pre-assembled in sub-assembly areas next to the main line.

Although the cars are painted with their doors on, one of the first processes in Assembly Frame is to remove them. The doors are then transferred to a sub-assembly area before being re-united with the car during the final stages of production. This is done to improve safety, quality and production speed. With the doors removed, associates can access the cars much more easily and the risk of damage to the doors is greatly reduced. The doors also contain a variety of components which can be fitted more rapidly when they are removed from the body.

With the doors still removed, the cars are transferred on to the trim conveyor. Various processes are carried out here including fitting the wiring harness, roof lining and instrument panel. To save space, many parts travel by overhead conveyor to the correct location on the production line.

Next the cars transfer to an overhead conveyor where the bumpers, fuel lines and exhaust assemblies are fitted. Then the engine is fitted and the suspension and steering components are precisely aligned. Wheels and tyres are put in place and the front and rear windscreens are installed.

The cars are now entering the final stages of assembly. The carpets, seats and doors are installed and fluids (including screen wash, coolant and brake fluid) are filled. Each car also receives enough fuel for it to be driven off the production line straight into the Vehicle Quality Department for inspection.

Vehicle Quality Division

Key information

Each vehicle is statically and dynamically inspected Every car is dynamically tested down a purpose built onsite Test Track

The process

Every car entering the Vehicle Quality Department goes through a five stage process: Initial Vehicle Inspection. Completed vehicles are taken through a series of quality verification processes to

make sure that a range of dynamic, functional and cosmetic quality standards are met. These checks include the engine bay, wheel alignment, brake performance, chassis, water leakage, emissions and track tests.

Sampling Inspection. A series of specific confirmation processes are performed, with pre-determined aspects analysed to ensure that current production meets agreed homologation and conformance of production requirements.

Pre-Delivery Preparation. A final series of quality verification processes are carried out to ensure that vehicles passed to our customers consistently meet Honda’s high quality standards.

Analysis: This provides data that helps us maintain a consistent quality approach to all our completed vehicles.

Complete Inspection Certificate: A legal record of each manufactured vehicle, which is retained for future reference.

http://www.hondamanufacturing.co.uk/our_plants/car-manufacturing/vehicle-quality-division/