Toyota Racing Names GF Machining a Technology Partner

Toyota Racing Development (TRD) has named GF Machining Solutions as an official technical partner. After adding GF’s high-performance manufacturing and automation technology, TRD has accelerated production of key aluminum and cast-iron components for their 800-hp racing car engines—including the engines used in the #78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota Camry of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver and 2017 series champion Martin Truex Jr.

Approximately 200 TRD employees in Costa Mesa, California design and build race engines for NASCAR teams that field Toyota Camry’s in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series. To keep pace with a grueling 38 race annual schedule, strict series regulations and a highly-competitive racing environment, TRD designs, develops, manufactures and builds more than 300 engines in-house, annually. Precision, quality and speed of manufacture are the pillars of performance for TRD’s manufacturing operation.

TRD began their initial relationship with GF Machining Solutions in 2014 when they added a fully-automated production cell to their manufacturing facility. Comprised of seven five-axis machining centers connected to a shared pallet pool system, the system uses a rail-guided robot to load the machines from more than 80 open pallets along a 32-meter track.

Machining an individual part at TRD can take only a few minutes or up to 15 hours; with part sizes ranging between 1" and nearly 20" in a single dimension, and tolerances at or below 5µm. Complex contoured surfaces require full simultaneous five-axis production, which also provides better accessibility and fixturing for other parts. By using the automated cell, TRD is able to reduce component lead times, boost machining capacity and achieve a 22-percent increase in productivity.