New Honda Pilot Produced Without Physical Prototypes

Honda Motor Co.'s plant in Lincoln, Ala., relied solely on computer simulation and test parts made by 3-D printers to validate manufacturing equipment and processes before launching the 2016 Pilot crossover vehicle this summer, Automotive News reports.

The virtual system cut the three-year development process by "several months," Jeff Tomko, president of Honda Manufacturing Alabama, tells the newspaper. He says it's the first time Honda has fully used the approach, which eliminates the use of hand-built prototypes, at a North American facility.

Computer simulation was used to design, engineer and validate all the manufacturing processes used to build the new Pilot. Design and process changes made during the development process were validated with test parts made by 3-D printers.

In addition to reducing development time, computer simulation also allows companies to test more design and production variations. This also has helped enable Honda to produce more variants of the new Pilot than it did of the previous model. The Lincoln facility will export the Pilot to 46 countries around the world.

Honda previously used the approach in Japan for its "StepWgn" small MPV and for some variants of the Acura TLX sedan made at the company's Marysville, Ohio, facility. AN says the company is using a virtual process for the redesigned Ridgeline pickup truck due next year. The Ridgeline shares a platform with the Pilot, Acura MDX crossover and next-generation Odyssey minivan due within the next two years.