MORIROKU TECHNOLOGY
Instrument panel module development
Serving as a total supplier of peripheral parts for instrument panels
We also place a thorough emphasis on how air-conditioning outlets and other moving parts feel to touch, simultaneously giving them a smooth, gentle movement and a firm clicking sensation.
Combined with our richly-varied decoration technology, such as coating that gives off a sense of softness and warmth, we offer a total lineup of instrument panel parts.
Technology featuresTechnology features
We participate in customer projects from the initial car development stage and build the basic frame structure of the instrument panel based on already developed technology.
In the design phase, we use CAE* to perform molding flow and rigidity predictions, and evaluate the completed prototype for performance using our own test equipment.
Also, peripheral components (glove compartments, panels, outlets, ducts, etc.) to be integrated into the instrument panel can be developed and designed simultaneously and the assembled instrument panel module delivered.
CAE is a technology that performs simulation analysis with a prototype simulated on a PC, instead of testing or experimenting with a prototype made of actual materials that is used in the R&D process.
Instrument panel design technology features
Consistent handling of the instrument panel and the parts that are integrated into the panel achieves the following advantages.
- Minimizes bumps and cracks on the mating surfaces of parts.
- Standardizes how moving parts (air conditioner vent, etc.) feel when touched or adjusted during operation.
- Produces a uniform appearance in color, polish, texture, etc.
SRS*airbag tear-line machining
A challenge of ours has been to make bodies lighter in weight by substituting resin for metal.
When the airbag is deployed, it must be specially machined so that fragments will not scatter and injure the passengers. Moriroku Technology has the most visually appealing, fastest, and least expensive tear line technology for SRS airbags.
SRS is the acronym for Supplemental Restraint System
SRS airbag tear-line machining technology features
- Tear-line machining marks (incisions that enable the airbag to deploy from its interior location) are not easily seen on the surface, ensuring a high-quality appearance and market appeal.
- Saves more power and space than conventional machining equipment, thus reducing the environmental burden.
- Shortens the machining cycle and requires no coating, leading to lower production costs.
Moriroku's instrument panel module development technology—from design to production
Molding flow and rigidity prediction through CAE analysis
Performance evaluation
Technical research center testing equipment
temperature and
humidity tank
impact tester
Factory manufacturing equipment
machine
coater
Application example
Example of instrument panel module design
Car instrument panel module
Example of SRS airbag tear-line machining technology
Car instrument panel and SRS airbag lid
Instrument panels for the “Honda e,” whose sights are set on the world market
Upon sitting in a “Honda e,” Honda’s first dedicated electric vehicle for the Japanese market, the first thing one notices is the display spread out in a single row from left to right.
Hidden in that display are ideas for offering a lineup of automobiles with the steering wheel on either side while keeping costs down. One example is the glove compartment on the passenger’s seat side. Normally, that area is bent to avoid the leg area of passengers, and different symmetrical parts are required for cars with left-hand and right-hand steering. With the Honda e, however, we accommodated the specification of both types using a single type of part.
Also, we adopted universal design for the three air-conditioning outlets (air vent) lined up on the passenger’s seat side. With these simple ideas, we curbed development costs and maximized the effects of mass production. The specifications of all of those outlets enable them to be fully shut down in accordance with needs in Europe.
Lower covers have been equipped with pockets lined with fabric, a prominent feature of the Honda e’s interior that creates a feeling of familiarity.
Moreover, although simple in appearance, glove compartments as moveable parts are highly difficult to design, and constitute one form of Moriroku Technology’s leading product offerings.
Nearly all instrument panels in the “Fit” are by Moriroku
For “Fit,” Honda’s mass-market car model, it was necessary to have an abundant variety at the ready despite limited costs in order to accommodate the needs of a wide-ranging customer base, including veteran drivers downsizing from higher-end models and young individuals who has just acquired their driver’s license.Moriroku Technology has had a hand in nearly all of the diverse instrument panel parts that went into the Fit.
The image, just one sample of that variety, show how we used synthetic leather and fabric covering on parts found from the compartment lids on the passenger seat side up to the area around the steering wheel. Their soft touch that conveys a small sense of thickness gives the parts a luxury feel, reflecting current trends.
These have been featured in great number in Honda’s new “Vezel” model as well.
