There is the craftsman "skill" here

Precision, it's the pride of a craftsman

Japan tops the world in the precision of dimensional tolerance(*5). The person in charge of a CAD system(*6), who was always in pursuit of high precision of size, made a minor mistake in the difference between “millimeter” and “inch”(*7). That happened in making moulds for the radar wings of the anti-submarine patrol aircrafts(*8). According to the sales order received by the CAD, the prototype was made based on the “unit of millimeter”. At that time, the parts in all orders were made based on the unit of “millimeter”, and therefore he started to work without hesitation.

After manufacturing the moulds, he knew that “inch” is the standard unit of size in aviation industry. At that time aircrafts were mainly produced in countries other than Japan, the size of the drawings was measured based on the unit of “inch”. The actual size of a wing was equivalent to the size of two tables, and the weight of a wing was calculated based on “ton”. The budget, which was calculated based on “millimeter”, resulted in a huge deficit. Nakamura said, this event enabled him to understand that accuracy of communication was as important as precision of technology. In addition, in the process of wing production, materials requiring refrigerated storage must be used. In this way, a refrigerated truck was parked beside the factory until the completion date so that materials could be fetched when needed.

There were also other challenges. Because of scheduling errors, the company had done finishing days and nights on the parts moulds on the brink of volume production. Moreover, in order to shorten the manufacturing duration and cost, schemes were made on the basis of technologists’“experience” and “judgment” rather than introducing expensive equipment. One is known as the processing of “hydroforming”(*9) pipes. The fluctuation of water pressure leads to subtle changes in the shape of a pipe, which tests the techniques of a craftsman. No matter in what circumstances, Nakamura can ensure the precision of products, from which the pride of the “stars of Asano” comes.

It is the pride of a craftsman to inject life into the drawings for the customers and produce unique components. Nakamura will continue his dream and embrace the challenges.