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Old 4th September 2017, 13:16   #16
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

Thanks for the nice words guys. Yeah, it was a wonderful and eye-opening experience to see how the entire process happens like clock work

What was more impressive is the overall cleaniless and hygiene maintained in the factory. Not sure it's due to lower volumes or Japanese ethics. I wonder if a Maruti factory (considering their massive volumes) will be as clean?

i74js : MaxTorque has answered your queries beautifully and makes perfect sense and concur with him

Regarding the paint booth, I initially was of opinion that it's some secret formula that they dont want to divulge to public

But, when I asked the factory guide this specific question, he grinned at me and said "Nothing like that Sir, there is no secret formula but, it's just a big headache to take people who dont belong in a paint booth inside as they take all precautions to keep the dirt away from that area like wash feet, wear gloves and socks and keep the hair tied down with a plastic head-cover etc.

Imagine a single speck of dirt getting mixed in a paint pallet can have a rippling effect in the entire manufacturing process
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Old 4th September 2017, 13:20   #17
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

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Originally Posted by mobike008 View Post
...

Different parts of the engine like crankshafts, connecting rods etc.:
Attachment 1655968

This is the beginning of a crankcase:
Attachment 1655969
Thank you for a very informative report on how Honda cars are made.

I would just like to point out that the images above show different stages of the crankshaft forging from left to right. The each stage forms the metal further and closer to the final shape. The last stage on the left side of the display shows the trimming of the forging. This stage just removes the excess material on the sides of the part.

The second picture shows the actual forging dies used to shape the metal, in stages from right to left. It is not the crankcase. The crankcase would be a casting.
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Old 4th September 2017, 14:55   #18
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

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- I don't think there is a crash testing facility in Honda Tapakura Plant, for that matter I don't think any of the car manufacturers (R&D units may have like Mahindra Research Valley) in India have a proper crash testing facility. My knowledge is limited.
Tata motors have their own crash test facility in Pune(part of the R&D division).

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Old 4th September 2017, 15:24   #19
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

Very interesting and detailed capture of the factory. Thanks for sharing Avi.

Do you have more details of painting, is it dip or spray painted? And any idea about what kind of paint is used? Water or oil based?
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Old 4th September 2017, 16:01   #20
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

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Do you have more details of the painting, is it dip or spray painted? And any idea about what kind of paint is used? Water or oil based?
In India, all primer (not exactly the primer before final coat) are dipping process. Dipping process is either anodic electrodeposition(AED) or cathodic electrodeposition (CED).

The final coats are spray process. Generally when there is limited model variants and volume is fewer interiors are painted manually and exteriors are painted using robots. As far I know, currently, water based painting is done in very few companies like TKML and Ford Sanand only.
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Old 4th September 2017, 16:42   #21
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

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In India, all primer (not exactly the primer before final coat) are dipping process. Dipping process is either anodic electrodeposition(AED) or cathodic electrodeposition (CED).

The final coats are spray process. Generally when there is limited model variants and volume is fewer interiors are painted manually and exteriors are painted using robots. As far I know, currently, water based painting is done in very few companies like TKML and Ford Sanand only.
I would like add that all colour coats and in some cases, clear coats (lacquer) are sprayed with electrostatic spray guns. In most cases, the spray guns are rotary atomiser applicators with ceramic discs or bells rotating at very high speeds. The main reason to use this technology is to maximise the amount of paint on the car compared to the amount of paint going waste. Paint is very expensive and even 5% improvement in effeciency will make a big difference in costs.
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Old 4th September 2017, 21:40   #22
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

Any inputs about the employees' duty shifts, social life, perks/hikes, facilities, female employees on the assembly lines, canteens/rest rooms, recreation activities? Any true motorheads on the employee list? saviour stories, outstanding employees (on the assembly lines)

Such info also would be nice.

Last edited by crdi : 4th September 2017 at 21:49.
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Old 4th September 2017, 22:59   #23
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

Its always a pleasure to see what goes on in a car factory ! Thanks to team-bhp for giving this opportunity to readers

Coming to the checks that each car undergoes, the small track is not enough to test the car's on road behavior in my opinion. I say this because the Brio my wife got had alignment issues and would steer left automatically just when we took it out of the showroom ! (Honda rectified it immediately the next day though) Similarly, my friend's Amaze had to get his wheels balanced in the first service !
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Old 4th September 2017, 23:21   #24
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

Nice to see the Rajasthan Honda plant. Would have to loved to see some scoop on the upcoming CRV diesel as well. Did you see any scoops on the WRV 1.5 AT ?
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Old 5th September 2017, 16:10   #25
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

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Nice to see the Rajasthan Honda plant. Would have to loved to see some scoop on the upcoming CRV diesel as well. Did you see any scoops on the WRV 1.5 AT ?
Unfortunately, there are many things that are guarded secretly by the manufacturers. There was a UK spec Civic parked in the grounds and they made sure that none of us took a picture of it


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Originally Posted by NiInJa View Post
Coming to the checks that each car undergoes, the small track is not enough to test the car's on road behavior in my opinion. I say this because the Brio my wife got had alignment issues and would steer left automatically just when we took it out of the showroom ! (Honda rectified it immediately the next day though) Similarly, my friend's Amaze had to get his wheels balanced in the first service !
Well, the track that you see where the car goes through the final check does take the alignment point into consideration apart from the head lamp leveling issues (if any)

I'm not sure your case and your friend's case was an exception as you can imagine a company like Honda would take it into consideration before it's dispatched to dealerships

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Originally Posted by crdi View Post
Any inputs about the employees' duty shifts, social life, perks/hikes, facilities, female employees on the assembly lines, canteens/rest rooms, recreation activities? Any true motorheads on the employee list? saviour stories, outstanding employees (on the assembly lines)Such info also would be nice.
That's a long wish list

There were quite a few female employees on the assembly line so I assume they do provide equal gender employment

Creches are available for female employees with children

And, as already mentioned the biggest perk is a 5-day working lifestyle compared to 6 days since beginning of this year

As mentioned the overall time spent in the factory was around 4 hours and we were practically ushered from one section to other as we had to wrap up the whole show by lunch time. As you can imagine, digesting the who manufacturing information in that limited time itself is not really possible

However, we got a lovely experience of enjoying lunch in their canteen which like the rest of there facilities was spic and span. Canteen was large, airy and extremely clean and was divided into two sections Indian and Expat (Japanese) and even the senior officials sit there and enjoy their lunch along with rest of the workers

What was served to us was Rotis, Dal, Rice, Curries and Salads and were offered a small cup of ice-cream as dessert

I dug out this one picture from my archives where you can see the canteen view !!

Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas-honda-lunch.jpeg
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Old 5th September 2017, 16:23   #26
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

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Paint Shop

Now, this is one area where no manufacturer allows any media to have a peep inside (even our earlier factory reports had no pics of the paint shop). When I asked this question with a lot of curiosity to the Tapukara in-charges, I was told that there is no secret formula that is being guarded out there, but a simple reason why it is prohibited to enter the paint shop. It is because the paint area is to be kept extremely clean with an absolute "zero-dust" environment as even a small speck can spoil the colour mixture.]
I have worked with Honda Noida plant & was connected to paint shop there. Absolute Zero dust environment is MUST for the level of quality customer expects from HONDA, but on other hand its an ideal requirement which is very difficult to maintain in dusty environment of India. Taking a group of people inside at once will surely run havoc with the dust control. Its not only dust but temperature & humidity is also controlled in any paint shop.
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Old 6th September 2017, 06:10   #27
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

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I have worked with Honda Noida plant & was connected to paint shop there. Absolute Zero dust environment is MUST for the level of quality customer expects from HONDA, but on other hand its an ideal requirement which is very difficult to maintain in dusty environment of India. Taking a group of people inside at once will surely run havoc with the dust control. Its not only dust but temperature & humidity is also controlled in any paint shop.
Just add few points related to dirt control in paint shops. Most of the paint shops (the whole shop) are pressurized by a continuous supply of clean air. That will help to avoid ingress of any dirt particles during opening and closing of access doors. Also, there will be multiple air curtains/air showers to remove the loose dirt from vehicle bodies and workers. In some of the paint shops, I have seen a small water pit to clean the shoes and multiple carpets to further ensure the cleanliness. No need to mention that all staffs are supposed to wear lint free clothes and caps, big no to belt buckles, rings etc.

Now related to visitor control in the paint shop, I remembered a funny but serious incident. There will be multiple fire/flash sensors in painting booths where robots are installed to detect any sparks/fire during painting. One fine day a group of business partners visited a paint shop. Before entering the shop, the visitors were informed about the dos and don'ts (specifically said not to take photographs).

When the group reached the robotic painting booth, a member (must be an auto enthusiast) took a snap of the painting robot. The single flash was sufficient to trigger the fire alarms and in turn, the entire shop was shut down for almost 2-3 hours. No manufacturer will be ready to take such risk.

(Sorry for unsolicited post)
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Old 6th September 2017, 10:34   #28
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Re: Pics: Inside Honda's Rajasthan Factory. Detailed report on the making of Hondas

Very nice and interesting report!

Did you get a chance to know about the chassis manufacturing? Is it made in-house or is it a bought-out item? Any idea what metal is used for chassis? Is it forged or cast?
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