Special-shaped Tailpipe Development Case for Toyota

In 2012, as people's demands for automotive exterior aesthetics continued to rise, new design concepts emerged for the decorative parts at the end of automotive exhaust pipes—two exhaust decorative tailpipes of various shapes were added to the rear bumper.  Due to aesthetic design requirements, there was a deviation in the connection position between the decorative tailpipes and the underlying exhaust system;  the positional constraints made it impossible to use pipe-bending process parts for this connection.  Meanwhile, the continuous cost of using stamping and welding assemblies was relatively high.  Honda's designers raised this issue, and the procurement team began to seek manufacturers capable of implementing the production of this connecting pipe fitting using feasible processes.  When we received the design specifications, our company conducted a technical evaluation and analysis, concluding that our core internal high-pressure forming technology could realize the integrated forming of this part—and we had existing independently developed internal high-pressure forming equipment.  We then proposed our optimal process and price.  After Honda's final analysis and evaluation, we were identified as the most suitable manufacturer for this part among numerous suppliers.  Thus, it was decided that this part (special-shaped tailpipe) would be developed and manufactured by Hexin.

The project was initiated in August of the same year to start the development of the special-shaped tailpipe.  After a series of work including mold design and manufacturing, manufacturability verification of the designed part, material selection, finalization of the official product drawing, and verification of quality, production capacity, performance and other aspects at various stages, we successfully passed the safety declaration for the new vehicle's mass production launch in 2013 and obtained mass production approval.

During the development process, by integrating and controlling molds and equipment, we achieved a breakthrough in the dual-joining process of bending and diameter variation (round + oval + bent pipe).  Additionally, under production conditions with extreme material physical properties, we prevented material cracking—reducing the material cracking rate to 0—and the material thinning rate met the design requirements.  Furthermore, through process design, we realized the production of left and right parts in one mold, which effectively improved material utilization and processing efficiency while reducing costs.

Our internal high-pressure forming technology and special-shaped pipes are applied to major Honda models, including Crosstour, UR-V, Avancier, and Accord.

* Design and manufacturing of tooling and gauges;

* Design, development and manufacturing of special equipment for production capacity improvement;

* Various product performance testing and verification (including welding sensitization testing, welding strength testing, corrosion resistance testing, air tightness testing, material physical property testing, product precision section testing, etc.);

* Implementation of various PPAP requirements, etc.

Both efficiency and cost were improved. The procurement cycle was shortened from 6 months to 20 days, effectively reducing the supply risk caused by tight production capacity demand. The procurement BOM cost was reduced by 80%. For this, the customer awarded Hexin the "Special Contribution Award for Original Price" as the highest honor and recognition.