02-16-2008, 05:49 PM
<b>How Nano was built</b>
At the south-western corner of the 160-acre facility, home to the Engineering Research Centre, where a young chief engineer and his team of 500-odd engineers have slogged over the last four years, putting in 12-14 hours a day, six days a week. Girish A. Wagh, barely 37 years old, is thinking five years aheadâhe's already got some designs ready for the small car, Nano, variants that Tata Motors could offer in the years ahead.
The man in charge of the small car project is Girish A. Wagh, who was also very closely involved with the design of the Ace, a four-wheeler that serves as a load carrier. Wagh, whose father was on the Indica R&D team, was very closely involved with the design of the Ace as well. E. Balasubramoniam is the Head of Sourcing for the project. The graduate from IIT Madras is 45 years old and was earlier with Maruti Udyog (now Maruti Suzuki). Nikhil Jadhav, 29, is possibly the youngest member of the team. Jadhav, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, is the designer on the small car project.
The entire body was designed twice while the engine was designed thrice," points out Wagh. If that sounds surprising, the floor was designed 10 times and the seats too an equal number of times. Wagh recalls that the car's dashboard had two concepts running simultaneously. Both had detailed designs with respective cost estimates. The one that was eventually chosen was what the Nano team thought would look more attractive to the customer. "There were two concepts and we thought the second one added more utility. We went for it since it was also more contemporary" says Tata Technologies' Industrial Designer, Nikhil A. Jadhav.
The car had three concepts to begin with. "We picked the one that we thought looked the best, and from that we made a full-scale model," says Jadhav. In mid-2005, one model was completed, which then went through a stage of refinement. This was where the initial volume of the car was defined. "It was here where we got into details like lamps and doors. From that point onwards, we actually did another model, which was a second stage model. Eventually, a final refined model was done by design house, I.D.E.A., which was brought here." adds Jadhav. The style for the Nano was frozen in mid-2006-exactly a year after the first model was completed. Understandably, this stage was important since it had to be in line with the cost targets. From then, the story was about engineering development.
Tata Group and Tata Motors Chairman, Ratan Tata, felt that a slight change in the front part of the car was required. "Finally, we ended up increasing the length of the car by 100 mm," says Wagh. It is not as if there is no room for further change in styling or design. By Wagh's own admission, there will not be any change in the Nano's exterior although there could be a few changes in the interior of the car.
While the bit about design and styling took a while, the decision with respect to having a rear engine was less complicated. "We had decided on a rear engine four years ago. This was with the objective of getting the best, optimal layout," states the Jai Bolar, Senior Manager (Development), ERC. If there was one thing from which the focus could not be taken away, it was obviously cost. That was often easier said than done, since the rising input costs were beyond the company's control. "Rising input costs made our engineering targets difficult. For example, if steel prices went up, we had no choice but to reduce the amount of steel in the car," says Wagh. Again, it was important to look beyond costs as well. "The price of the car is what the customer pays in the beginning. Later on, what matters is the performance of the car," he adds.
Ideas for the Nano came from unexpected quarters and they were looked at closely before a decision was taken. For instance, in addition to the vendors, a small group of mechanics was part of the development phase. This was really a part of the serviceability and accessibility workshop. Wagh recalls that one of the suggestions was to have an additional opening on the rear floor which would provide access to the intake manifold and starter. "We were trying to avoid this for cost reasons but the mechanics were vehement," he says.
The importance of balancing design changes with their respective cost implications cannot be overstated. Every design, therefore, had to cater to three key requirementsâcost, regulatory requirements and acceptable performance standards. As Wagh puts it, "We did not want to make something that was an embarrassment of a car." Clearly, while the cost was hugely critical, the company was unwilling to make any kind of compromise on other areas. Fuel economy, according to Narendra Kumar Jain, Deputy General Manager (Engines), ERC, is a major driver for selling a vehicle in India. "It was important, for instance, to ensure that the car could be manoeuvred in the city. If your car requires less parking, then the material required is also less," he adds.
85 per cent of the vehicle will come from outside vendors. Tier-I ancillary manufacturers, based in and around the small car plant at Singur will manufacture complete sub-assemblies.
"This car is not over-engineered like, say, German cars are, this is a great example of frugal cost-effective and relevant engineering," says Surinder Kapur, Managing Director, Sona Group, which has made the steering column and the transmission. Lumax Industries too was heavily involved in the project. The company made and designed the head and tail light fixtures on the car. "The opportunity to work on this car also gave our engineers a chance to showcase their skills, because most other car products are designed abroad and we just have to manufacture components to a specific blueprint. In this project we designed light fixtures that meet all regulatory needs, fit the car and are low-cost", says Deepak Jain, Executive Chairman, Lumax Industries. The company got involved in the project at a very early stage and Jain thinks that was on major reason by which costs were reduced.
Nano caters to safety norms at two levels. "The Nano meets all regulations in the Indian market. The package protected car also meets all future regulations in Europe as well, which includes offset frontal and side impact," says Wagh. Environment too has been another area that has been a bit of a controversy, though the company points out that all norms have been met. "Currently, the car meets Bharat III norms, which are applicable in 11 cities while it meets the Bharat Stage II norms in the rest of the country. We will meet the Bharat Stage IV and Euro IV requirements as well," says R. G. Rajhans, Project Manager (Body Systems), Tata Technologies.
"There are alternate fuel technologies under development such as CNG and LPG", he says and he even hints that a future model "could have a diesel engine". If that is not enough, Wagh is also working on technologies that Ratan Tata mentioned in an interview to this publication that the car "in the future might well have continuously variable or automatic transmission." Wagh adds that the roadmap will be to have a second generation of the vehicle in the next 5-7 years.
At the south-western corner of the 160-acre facility, home to the Engineering Research Centre, where a young chief engineer and his team of 500-odd engineers have slogged over the last four years, putting in 12-14 hours a day, six days a week. Girish A. Wagh, barely 37 years old, is thinking five years aheadâhe's already got some designs ready for the small car, Nano, variants that Tata Motors could offer in the years ahead.
The man in charge of the small car project is Girish A. Wagh, who was also very closely involved with the design of the Ace, a four-wheeler that serves as a load carrier. Wagh, whose father was on the Indica R&D team, was very closely involved with the design of the Ace as well. E. Balasubramoniam is the Head of Sourcing for the project. The graduate from IIT Madras is 45 years old and was earlier with Maruti Udyog (now Maruti Suzuki). Nikhil Jadhav, 29, is possibly the youngest member of the team. Jadhav, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, is the designer on the small car project.
The entire body was designed twice while the engine was designed thrice," points out Wagh. If that sounds surprising, the floor was designed 10 times and the seats too an equal number of times. Wagh recalls that the car's dashboard had two concepts running simultaneously. Both had detailed designs with respective cost estimates. The one that was eventually chosen was what the Nano team thought would look more attractive to the customer. "There were two concepts and we thought the second one added more utility. We went for it since it was also more contemporary" says Tata Technologies' Industrial Designer, Nikhil A. Jadhav.
The car had three concepts to begin with. "We picked the one that we thought looked the best, and from that we made a full-scale model," says Jadhav. In mid-2005, one model was completed, which then went through a stage of refinement. This was where the initial volume of the car was defined. "It was here where we got into details like lamps and doors. From that point onwards, we actually did another model, which was a second stage model. Eventually, a final refined model was done by design house, I.D.E.A., which was brought here." adds Jadhav. The style for the Nano was frozen in mid-2006-exactly a year after the first model was completed. Understandably, this stage was important since it had to be in line with the cost targets. From then, the story was about engineering development.
Tata Group and Tata Motors Chairman, Ratan Tata, felt that a slight change in the front part of the car was required. "Finally, we ended up increasing the length of the car by 100 mm," says Wagh. It is not as if there is no room for further change in styling or design. By Wagh's own admission, there will not be any change in the Nano's exterior although there could be a few changes in the interior of the car.
While the bit about design and styling took a while, the decision with respect to having a rear engine was less complicated. "We had decided on a rear engine four years ago. This was with the objective of getting the best, optimal layout," states the Jai Bolar, Senior Manager (Development), ERC. If there was one thing from which the focus could not be taken away, it was obviously cost. That was often easier said than done, since the rising input costs were beyond the company's control. "Rising input costs made our engineering targets difficult. For example, if steel prices went up, we had no choice but to reduce the amount of steel in the car," says Wagh. Again, it was important to look beyond costs as well. "The price of the car is what the customer pays in the beginning. Later on, what matters is the performance of the car," he adds.
Ideas for the Nano came from unexpected quarters and they were looked at closely before a decision was taken. For instance, in addition to the vendors, a small group of mechanics was part of the development phase. This was really a part of the serviceability and accessibility workshop. Wagh recalls that one of the suggestions was to have an additional opening on the rear floor which would provide access to the intake manifold and starter. "We were trying to avoid this for cost reasons but the mechanics were vehement," he says.
The importance of balancing design changes with their respective cost implications cannot be overstated. Every design, therefore, had to cater to three key requirementsâcost, regulatory requirements and acceptable performance standards. As Wagh puts it, "We did not want to make something that was an embarrassment of a car." Clearly, while the cost was hugely critical, the company was unwilling to make any kind of compromise on other areas. Fuel economy, according to Narendra Kumar Jain, Deputy General Manager (Engines), ERC, is a major driver for selling a vehicle in India. "It was important, for instance, to ensure that the car could be manoeuvred in the city. If your car requires less parking, then the material required is also less," he adds.
85 per cent of the vehicle will come from outside vendors. Tier-I ancillary manufacturers, based in and around the small car plant at Singur will manufacture complete sub-assemblies.
"This car is not over-engineered like, say, German cars are, this is a great example of frugal cost-effective and relevant engineering," says Surinder Kapur, Managing Director, Sona Group, which has made the steering column and the transmission. Lumax Industries too was heavily involved in the project. The company made and designed the head and tail light fixtures on the car. "The opportunity to work on this car also gave our engineers a chance to showcase their skills, because most other car products are designed abroad and we just have to manufacture components to a specific blueprint. In this project we designed light fixtures that meet all regulatory needs, fit the car and are low-cost", says Deepak Jain, Executive Chairman, Lumax Industries. The company got involved in the project at a very early stage and Jain thinks that was on major reason by which costs were reduced.
Nano caters to safety norms at two levels. "The Nano meets all regulations in the Indian market. The package protected car also meets all future regulations in Europe as well, which includes offset frontal and side impact," says Wagh. Environment too has been another area that has been a bit of a controversy, though the company points out that all norms have been met. "Currently, the car meets Bharat III norms, which are applicable in 11 cities while it meets the Bharat Stage II norms in the rest of the country. We will meet the Bharat Stage IV and Euro IV requirements as well," says R. G. Rajhans, Project Manager (Body Systems), Tata Technologies.
"There are alternate fuel technologies under development such as CNG and LPG", he says and he even hints that a future model "could have a diesel engine". If that is not enough, Wagh is also working on technologies that Ratan Tata mentioned in an interview to this publication that the car "in the future might well have continuously variable or automatic transmission." Wagh adds that the roadmap will be to have a second generation of the vehicle in the next 5-7 years.