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Nikkei Monozukuri

April 2004 Issue

P. 6 Mastering Manufacturing

TOYOTA2000GT: Toyota Motor did not stake its fate on just a five-person project

P. 15 This Month's Challenge

The accident in which a tire came off a truck manufactured by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus and crushed a pedestrian delays the recovery of trust in the company’s brand among the public

P. 17 Discovering Unique Manufacturing Around the World

Cell phones in Europe are also equipped with mega pixel cameras

P. 56 Features 1

Produced by JAPAN
Manufacturing strategy for beating the competition

P. 58 Part 1: Strategy for taking a giant leap for the next 10 years
Improve technologies in competitively advantageous areas to launch new products at lower prices more quickly

P. 66 Part 2: Research on the mechanisms for getting good results

1. Canon: Product development based on effective use of core competence
2. Komatsu: Manufacturing of outstanding products
3. Sony: Key device strategy
4. Ricoh: Direct model
5. Olympus: Enhancement of technological capabilities for manufacturing in Japan
6. Toyota Motor: Principles of lean production
7. Yamazaki Mazak: Unmanned machining system
8. Nachi-Fujikoshi: Meister system (under which skilled professionals hand down their specialist knowledge and skills to junior technicians)
9. Nissan Motor and Honda Motor: Flexible production system
   
   
   

P. 86 Features 2

Shock Caused by a ¥20 billion Court Decision
The patent lawsuit becomes an opportunity to review compensation system for employees

P. 88 Part 1: Ripple effects of the court order for the defendant to pay a large amount in compensation to the plaintiff
In order to avoid lawsuits regarding patents rights, corporations seek better compensation systems

P. 94 Part 2: Engineers’ argument
We resort to legal action because we are not rewarded adequately

P. 96 Part 3: Employers’ argument
We are dissatisfied with a court decision that does not permit a company’s original compensation system

P. 98 Part 4: Debate between Shuji Nakamura, the inventor of blue LEDs, and President of Nichia Corporation
Is it one genius or team effort that enables a company to grow?

P. 105 Report on Kaizen of a factory in the Chinese way: Part 1

Mixture of good and bad workers among mid-career employees

P. 110 Reports

P. 110 Toyota Motor accelerates the development of humanoid robots

P. 112 East Japan Railway steps up efforts to manufacture a prototype of next-generation Shinkansen vehicles

P. 113 Shinko Sellbic develops a small injection molding machine that can be placed on a desk

P. 114 Data management during the design stage becomes much easier

P. 116 Even non-CAD users can make effective use of CAD data

P. 118 Matsushita Electric Works develops video cameras that allow their users to record distances

P. 120 Postage stamp-size plastic media aim to replace CDs and DVDs

P. 122 In the next-generation version of SolidWorks, its display function is enhanced

P. 123 New reversible LCD can be seen from both sides

P. 124 Mitsubishi Motors makes efforts to improve the Product Data Quality (PDQ) of its products

P. 126 Graphtec sells 3D printers for less than ¥3 million

P. 127 TDK starts diagnosis of its suppliers
P. 128 Intel launches 64-bit CPUs that allow use of existing software

P. 129 A resin extracted from plants is now used for DVD players

P. 130 Risk management is useful for dealing with increasingly diversified risks at production sites

P. 155 Commentary

Reasons why “MOVE Is No. 1”

P. 163 Commentary

IC tags change manufacturing methods

P. 173 Commentary

Fuel Cells: Ceramics follow plastics

P. 181 Commentary

Methodology for designing in the 3D era

P. 188 Search for Manufacturing

The future of the manufacturing industry in Japan
More than 50% of respondents say they are confident in Japan’s competitiveness

P. 232 Structure of Errors

The accident in which a space mountain roller coaster at Tokyo Disneyland derailed

P. 236 Series: Practical PLM Academy: Part 1

Promotion of appropriate PLM

P. 240 Series: The Method that Makes Sense

Work restructuring based on TOC (Part 1): Difference between TOC and existing methods, and its basics

P. 285 Documentary

IXY DIGITAL (Part 1): Putting their pride on the line

P. 290 Examination of Contemporary Manufacturing

Design-oriented consumer electronics appeal to consumers as a part of interior design

P. 292 Interview

Daisuke Murakami: Director, Institute of Manufacturing, Human Resources Development Company, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

P. 197 Interesting News

P. 214 New Products

P. 245 Plaza

P. 248 Calendar