Home :. Table of Contents :. Index :. Nikkei Monozukuri July, 2004

Nikkei Monozukuri

July 2004 Issue

P. 6 Mastering Manufacturing

Fernandes ZO-3 (Nomad Electric Guitar): The “take it easy and have fun” idea stimulates manufacturing

P. 15 This Month’s Monologue

“Make false documents,” “Make false stories”: A behind-the-scenes look at Mitsubishi Motors’ cover-up of vehicle defects

P. 17 World News

The prices of the machines that you long for are now below ¥100,000, etc.

P. 38 Cover Story

Cellular Manufacturing Runs into Trouble When Nothing Is Done

P. 40 Part 1: Overview
The reform of cellular manufacturing gets under way, and the survival of factories hangs in the balance

P. 46 Part 2: Inability to Catch up with Demand Fluctuations
Using it in combination with conveyor manufacturing in order to compensate for the lack of skilled workers

P. 50 Part 3: An Increase in Inventory
Synchronizing components production in the vicinity of cellular manufacturing

P. 54 Part 4: Stagnation of Productivity Growth
Depending not only on the skills of workers, but informing them of the appropriate pace of work and having them maintain that pace

P. 58 Part 5: No Quality Improvement
Avoiding the omission of operations by assigning to machines the tasks of searching and confirming

P. 63 Kaizen in China: Part 4

Establishing a friendly relationship of mutual trust by placing the emphasis on actual work sites

P. 70 Reports

P. 70 Sanyo Electric aims at reviving its white goods business based on an excellent product-oriented approach

P. 72 Ceramics is successfully transformed into film without heating it; The thickness of the film ranges from one to several dozen _m, which has not been easily achieved using conventional methods

P. 74 Upbeat White Paper on Manufacturing Infrastructure: Digital consumer devices are a force to encourage manufacturers to return their focus to Japan

P. 76 Use of CAE is vital for realizing the vehicles of the future

P. 78 Heavy beds for vibration control are removed from the inspection apparatus

P. 89 Kitamura Machinery increases the rigidity of MC, making it “extremely heavy,” in accordance with common sense

P. 80 NHK Spring uses flat springs for supporting lens and mirrors

P. 81 Hitachi Cable develops a thin metal separator that can be used for DMFC

P. 82 UGS conducts a preview of “NX3,” which is to be marketed in the fall of 2004

P. 89 Features

P. 89 The world of 3-D designing is just around the corner

P. 101 The secret behind the strength of Sharp’s “Special Project”

P. 117 Along with rapid feed, high-accuracy processing becomes important in the development of linear motors

P. 130 Search for Manufacturing

This month’s research themes: test production, experimentation, and numerical simulation

P. 157 An Accident Speaks

The explosion of a raw garbage processor at a supermarket can be attributed to the disregard of safety by the manufacturer and the user

P. 160 Practical PLM Academy: Part 4

Realization of Cost Management

P. 164 The Method

Toyota Method and Work Restructuring (Part 1)
An activity for improvement continues to evolve while the search for its ideal form continues

P. 168 The Master: Part 2

You should hedge your bets

P. 233 Documentary

IXY DIGITAL (Part 4): Signal for Counterattack

P. 238 Studying Hot Products

Radio-Controlled Wrist Watches: The “Romance of Time” is created through an accuracy of +/- one second every 100,000 years

P. 240 Interview

Yuuji Takeo: Senior Manager, NPW Promotion Department, Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering Division, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

P. 134 Interesting News

P. 147 New Products

P. 173 Plaza

P. 176 Calendar