New Acura NSX to use Automated MIG Welding Process

Honda Motor Co. says its new NSX hybrid sports car will be built by a team of 100 engineers and technicians in a dedicated center at its Marysville, Ohio, campus.

The process will include advances in body construction and painting, welding, final assembly and quality, according to the carmaker. A glass-enclosed observation area in the center of the manufacturing cell will enable workers from every department to monitor quality throughout the production process.

Among the innovations is an all-robotic metal-inert-gas (MIG) welding system, which Honda describes as a world first. Eight robots will apply about 900 MIG welds to the spaceframe of each vehicle to help improve precision and rigidity.

Exterior body panels will be installed manually from the inside out at the end of assembly to ensure symmetrical side-to-side fitment. Using lasers to align the panels will eliminate the need to make in-process adjustments, according to the carmaker.

The NSX's twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 engine will be hand assembled at Honda's nearby Anna, Ohio, engine plant. The process, including machine balancing, will take about six hours. Honda says it benchmarked the process against its race engine program.

The complete drivetrain engine, 9-speed dual clutch transmission with direct-drive electric motor, and Honda's twin motor unit will be bench-tested and broken-in (equivalent to as much as 150 driving miles) to ensure that every car is track-ready when a customer receives delivery.

Trial production of the new NSX already has started. But unspecified engine changes have pushed the car's launch back several months to sometime next spring.