Transmitting Regal Legacy: Instilling Skills Among Offspring in the Eighth Installment
In the spring of 2022, a unique restoration project began at the Motomachi Plant. The team took on the task of restoring a first-generation Toyota Crown, with a particular focus on the manufacturing of its lamp parts.
The project involved a diverse group of skilled members, including veteran technicians, mid-career, and junior employees. One of the key figures was Shuji Shudo, the materials team leader, who oversaw the interior and exterior parts of the restoration.
However, the team encountered several challenges. For instance, the Raw Material Development Division, which harnesses a wide array of monozukuri technologies, lacked expertise in working with zinc alloys, a material used for several lamp parts such as the side emblems and trunk handles.
To overcome this hurdle, Shudo passionately requested a zinc alloy casting, if possible, just like the original. Inspired by his request, Shizuka Nagato volunteered to attempt the production of these parts. The team, with the help of experts like Naomichi Terada, a die casting expert at the Raw Material Development Division, and Motoki, who guided Nagato and her peers in refining the metal pouring and cooling method for zinc alloys, managed to produce the parts.
Despite their success, challenges persisted. For example, Nagato enlarged the mold by 1 mm to account for blowholes, and finished the cast part with NC machining. Air bubbles were trapped in the molded lamp parts, but the Raw Material Development Division had the technology and expertise to eliminate them using degassing equipment.
Tiny pores remained on the surface of the zinc alloy parts, which needed to be filled and leveled to enable a beautiful finish when plated. Shinji Tanaka, who worked on restoring and fabricating the car's tail lamps and other lights, faced similar challenges in achieving a nice finish with zinc alloys.
In addition to the challenges posed by the materials, the team also faced issues with modern compatibility. For instance, Tanaka struggled to find the right acrylic material for the lamp parts, but with the help of Ats from the Raw Material Development Division, they found a suitable material.
The team's dedication to achieving a "better-than-new" quality for the restoration was evident in their efforts. While specific details on lamp parts manufacture and challenges in these projects are not provided in the available sources, common restoration challenges for lamp parts include sourcing original or reproduction parts, custom manufacturing of lamp lenses or housings, problems with modern compatibility of wiring or bulbs, and challenges matching original finishes.
Despite the challenges, the team's skill, dedication, and innovative approach have resulted in a beautifully restored first-generation Toyota Crown, with lamp parts that shine as bright as the day they were first manufactured.
- The Raw Material Development Division in the automotive industry, despite harnessing a wide variety of monozukuri technologies, lacked expertise in working with zinc alloys – a material often used in the manufacturing of lamp parts in the transportation sector.
- Shizuka Nagato, a team member, faced challenges in the finance aspect of the project when trying to source the right acrylic material for the lamp parts, but she found assistance from Ats at the Raw Material Development Division.
- The innovative approach of the team, including the manufacturing of the lamp parts, enabled them to restore a first-generation Toyota Crown to a "better-than-new" quality, demonstrating the integration of technological advancements in the manufacturing industry.
