Design Visionary Hikaru Ubukata, a Decorative Engineering Expert, Transforms Designers' Creative Vision into Reality
Master Craftsmanship Shines in the Luxurious Interior of the New Century
The new Century, a symbol of luxury and tradition, showcases the exceptional work of Hikaru Ubukata, a master of decorative engineering at Yamaha Fine Technologies. Ubukata's expertise is on full display in the car's interior, where he has crafted intricate decorative panels that embody the design concept of "comfort and convenience through luxurious simplicity."
Ubukata was presented with a mock-up of the new Century's interior to better understand the design requirements. The challenge was significant, as the decorative panels required extreme precision and intricacy, balancing traditional Japanese aesthetics with modern manufacturing technologies, and maintaining a luxurious feel with high-quality materials.
The decorative panels are made by Yamaha's skilled craftsmen and consist of three-ply sheets. These sheets feature a 0.2 mm-thick wooden veneer, an aluminum plate, and a backing material. After production, the panels undergo a finishing process that includes painting, coating, grinding, and polishing.
The finished panels in the new Century feature a neat, straight grain painted in black tones and inlaid with sharp aluminum lines. Unlike traditional panels that emphasize patterns within the wood, these panels eschew such detailing, instead focusing on a clean, minimalist design.
The woodworking, painting, and polishing processes draw on the technologies Yamaha has cultivated in the manufacture of grand pianos. This fusion of artisanal skill and advanced technology ensures that the decorative panels are both visually stunning and of the highest quality.
The decorative panels are a key element in bringing the interior design concept to life. They can be found in the instrument panel and traditional tower console, seamlessly blending aesthetics and practicality.
Tatsuya Sonoda, Design Division General Manager, oversaw the entire design process for the new Century's interior. Hikaru Ubukata, on the other hand, worked tirelessly at the Production Engineering Department, Chemical Engineering Group, Car Parts Division, Yamaha Fine Technologies Co., Ltd.
Despite the challenges posed by the project, Ubukata was determined to meet the high standards set for the Century car’s luxurious interior. He faced six specific challenges: achieving high precision and intricacy, balancing tradition with modern techniques, material selection and handling, consistency in mass production, integrating decorative elements into functional interior parts, and time constraints and cost efficiency.
These challenges required a combination of artisanal skill, advanced technology, and close collaboration with other teams to fulfill the Century car’s exceptional interior design. The result is a car that not only embodies luxury but also showcases the skill and craftsmanship of Yamaha Fine Technologies.
- The integration of traditional Japanese aesthetics with modern manufacturing technologies in the production of the decorative panels for the new Century's interior demonstrates the automotive industry's creatively harnessing technology to maintain luxuriousness.
- As the decorative panels in the new Century's interior are essential in marrying aesthetics and functionality, the finance department's support of Yamaha Fine Technologies' Production Engineering Department, Chemical Engineering Group, Car Parts Division, plays a crucial role in the overall success of the manufacture of the Century car.
- The adoption of technological expertise cultivated in the manufacture of grand pianters, along with the meticulous craftsmanship demonstrated by Hikaru Ubukata, in the production of the decorative panels for the new Century, underscores the intersection of the technology and transportation industries in realizing a luxurious automotive creation.
