Nissan shorten lead-times and eliminate excessive programming costs with WorkNC

A major new vehicle project resulted in the simultaneous release of 6 new models by Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. Part of the 'Ghosn Revolution' led by Carlos Ghosn, President/CEO, this unprecedented event led to continuous growth in Nissan's business, and was made possible by the company's history of technical excellence.

A re-evaluation of its CAM systems was part of this revolution.

<< WorkNC was surprisingly easy and simple to learn and its installation had an immediate impact on our manhours. They dropped to one third instantly. >>
Kimio Honma, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.

Fumio Matsumoto, of Nissan's Powertrain Production Engineering Division, Die manufacturing section, outlined their previous CAM strategy, "We first considered introducing WorkNC around 4 years ago. At that time we used a CAM system which had been developed inhouse, but the development speed didn't meet our needs and the development costs were escalating."

Fumio Matsumoto continued, "We decided to evaluate other efficient CAM packages in the market. Our objective then was to improve productivity, and especially to reduce CNC programming as more than half of our production time was taken up by tasks such as toolpath setup and calculation. In order to cut down on programming time, automated NC data generation was necessary. The "Automation" concept of WorkNC was therefore very appealing. In addition, we needed and were developing functions such as automatic detection of flat area/rest material, Z-level toolpath for rest material, and stock model recognition. WorkNC already had it all."

His colleague Kimio Honma, continued, "The key factor in our decision was calculation time - WorkNC calculation was 20% faster on average compared to other packages and the operation was the simplest of all the packages we reviewed enabling us to achieve a drastic reduction in total manhours."

The Nissan Namamugi Plant manufactures major components in-house, such as engine parts, chassis, and bumpers, and also supplies dies and moulds to all the company's production lines, making the Namamugi Plant of crucial importance. Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. now has 19 WorkNC licences in Japan, split between the Namamugi Plant, the Iwaki Plant, and the Atsugi Technical Centre. Nissan also has 3 licences in the UK at Nissan Design Europe, including the WorkNC 5-axis module. Close collaboration between Sescoi and Nissan ensured that WorkNC was tailored to suit Nissan's needs. Fumio Matsumoto said, "Here at the Namamugi Plant we wanted to utilise WorkNC not as a standalone system but as a part of Nissan's production process. Key challenges were the transfer of our existing tool library into WorkNC, the integrity and automation of CAD data import and the automation of data transfer to DNC. WorkNC's flexibility and expandability were key factors in our decision-making, adding to the benefits accrued from installing WorkNC as part of the entire production process."

In the casting section, 100% of the geometry for machining is presented as CAD data. Incomplete CAD data is unacceptable. Kimio Honma said, "We would rather send our skilled programmer to the design section to complete the CAD data for our use." Machining conditions are standardised within the company, for example colours are used to indicate hole types, and tolerances are included as numbers. "Casting engineers and design engineers frequently work together from an early stage in the production process. Applying rules thoroughly within the company is another crucial factor in cost reduction."

<< WorkNC is easy to operate and guaranteed to shorten lead-times. What greater compliment could there be? >>
Fumio Matsumoto and Kimio Honma, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd

Kimio Honma elaborated, "We immediately recognised WorkNC's ease of use. It was surprisingly easy and simple to learn and man-hours immediately reflected the installation. They dropped to one third instantly, which was a remarkable improvement. Delivery dates now are less than half those of 3 years ago. Cost wise? Way lower than half. As you see, man-hour and cost reduction is a constant quest for Nissan."