Restoring Sovereignty Series, Episode 6: Revitalizing a Vehicle's Exterior: A Guide to Resurrecting a Car Carcass
The first-generation Crown restoration project, initiated in the spring of 2022 at the Motomachi Plant, has seen a significant breakthrough in the use of a modern manufacturing technique known as incremental forming. This innovative method is set to drastically reduce both machining costs and development time, making it crucial for achieving the project's goal of a low-cost, high-quality restoration.
Incremental forming is a technique for shaping thin metal sheets by pushing a tipped tool across surface sections, without removing material but by applying force to gradually deform it. This method, controlled by numerically controlled machinery, requires only processing data and the flick of a switch, making the work fully automated.
The benefits of incremental forming are particularly evident in low-volume restoration projects, such as the one for the first-generation Crown. The process offers several advantages over traditional forming techniques:
- No need for costly tooling: Incremental forming uses computer-controlled tools to shape each part directly, eliminating the high upfront expenses associated with traditional techniques that require custom tooling like dies and molds.
- Flexibility: The process can easily be reprogrammed to create different shapes or customizations, suitable for unique or complex classic car parts.
- Reduced material waste: The localized deformation allows efficient use of sheet metal, minimizing scrap.
- Shorter lead times: Without the time-consuming fabrication of tooling, parts can be produced faster.
This contrasts with traditional high-volume forming methods that rely heavily on custom tooling, which is cost-efficient only when producing large batches. Incremental forming removes these barriers, providing an economical solution for small-scale, intricate part production in restoration.
The team leading the project comprises skilled members from various Toyota plants and divisions, including Sato, a twelfth-year veteran in incremental forming, who is a specialist in stamping mold correction and has wide-ranging skills. Takahashi, another team member, boasts a diverse skillset including prototype parts fabrication, mold correction, and panel surface inspection, and has won a gold medal in sheet metal work at the 35th National Skills Competition.
The first-generation Crown's body and related parts were found to be in a poor state, with severe rusting, particularly on the underbody, bottom of doors, and wheelhouses. Resolving these issues was crucial, and the team discovered the solution in incremental forming, a technique already adopted by Toyota's Mobility Tooling Division that was first used in the restoration of the Publica.
Carmakers are competing fiercely to develop incremental forming technology, recognizing its potential to revolutionize the industry. In recent years, incremental forming has attracted attention in the auto industry and beyond as a plastic processing technology that reduces the cost of high-mix, low-volume production. It is ideal for situations such as fabricating additional spare parts.
Stamping body panels the same way as mass-produced vehicles would require an enormous outlay of time and money. Creating body panels from scratch presents a significant barrier due to high manufacturing costs. Incremental forming addresses these challenges, offering a more cost-effective and efficient solution for car restoration projects like the first-generation Crown.
- Data-and-cloud-computing technology is essential for controlling the numerically controlled machinery used in incremental forming, as the process relies on processing data and the simple flick of a switch to operate.
- Adopting data-and-cloud-computing technology in the first-generation Crown restoration project has enabled the team to produce body panels more cost-effectively and efficiently, reducing time and manufacturing costs compared to traditional forming techniques.
