Godzilla and Robots and Team Members, OH MY!

By: the totally non-robotic MizRizSchyck
If my mother were an app, she would be Field Trip by Google.  Forever on the lookout for educational opportunities, she finds little gems for us to explore.  When I took the family for the annual summer visit, she wanted to tour the Toyota plant close by in Princeton, Indiana.  With the promise of robots all around us, Mikey and I enthusiastically agreed.

They don't let you take any cameras into the plant itself, but they had a whole visitor center to let you explore hands-on what it would take to be a team member.

The first exhibit was THE LOOM OF DESTINY!

The loom was important because it paved the way for automation which is a key component in most manufacturing plants in the world today.  Plus, how cool is it that the way to greatness was paved by a loom.  Say that work five times fast. Loomloomloomloomloom.  Weird.


Another interesting tidbit is the guiding principles of Toyota.  Like our school, they have a vision--a mission.  If you had to break down your beliefs into 7 core pieces, what would they be?  Quick - jot list your seven core beliefs, then write them out into complete sentences.  How can you set future goals from the Seven Truths You Hold To Be Self-Evident?

In the plant itself, robots do the heavy lifting and most of the welding.  Over 4,000 welds go into the Toyota Sienna alone!  The biggest robots - the ones that lift entire cars (say, 1,500 pounds) up and down onto the different manufacturing lines are nicknamed GODZILLA.  *love*  The smaller ones (pictured here) are just grunts, but watching the sparks fly from their welding prowess was like indoor fireworks!

At the plant, they stamp steel for car bodies, use injection molding for bumpers and other pieces, and submerge car bodies in vats of paint.  The team members on the floor rotate through four stations in order to avoid injury and boredom.  They have to learn four specific line jobs AND be physically fit in order to work in the plant.  Below are three videos showing how injection molding works (starring The Young Master of the House...MIKEY!) and how assembly works (some of you may recognize Coach Mike and my daughter Sarah).  The funny thing about assembly is that there is a time limit before the vehicle moves on to the next station.  As you can see, both my adult team members failed!

 

So what did I learn besides the fact that welding robots are awesome?  I should play more video games so my hand-eye coordination makes it easier to assemble ALL THE THINGS!