After the spectacle of the giant presses, we wondered if the rest of tour would be a bit of a letdown, but there were more wonders to see. Our next stop was the foundry, where the J-series V6 blocks, cylinder heads and intake manifolds are cast. Simply walking into the building was like entering an alien world. Despite the best efforts of massive HVAC equipment, the heat was palpable and the scent of hot metal pervasive.

Massive ingots of aluminum waited their turn to be melted down and turned into beautiful Honda engine parts. The actual casting equipment was huge, nearly on the scale of the giant presses, if not quite as massively dense. In went the aluminum and out came sizzling hot engine blocks and heads. Honda uses two primary casting processes: high pressure (12000 psi) for the engine block, and low pressure (6 psi) for the heads and water jackets. The high pressure castings are performed in about a second, while the low pressure forms can take up to 40 seconds. We were also invited to physically handle the sand inserts that are used to create the voids and passages within a sand casting. These inserts are made with a resin and fine textured sand. They are surprisingly smooth and intricate, yet are disposable, being vibrated out of the final casting once the metal has hardened - although the sand is recycled.

After the foundry, we returned to the main plant. We made a quick stop by the paint area and looked through the occasional window, but were not allowed inside. Honda is very serious about maintaining paint quality and if you're not in a clean suit, you don't go in the paint room - period. Somewhat disappointed, but fully understanding, we moved on to discover a den of prehistoric beasts and burning metal - the automated welding line. Like giant birds, dozens and dozens of robotic welders of all shapes and sizes whirled and pirouetted to precisely place hundreds of welds as the basic Odyssey unibody was constructed piece by piece from sheet metal stampings. The best view was from the beginning of the long line where it seemed that a nearly endless procession of sparks marched off into the distance. And those sparks came our way too, occasionally being thrown onto the walkway we occupied. While we jumped and dodged, our Honda tour guides simply watched the sparks bounce off their bodies and smiled at our antics.

The final stop on our tour was the engine assembly area where the J35 engine is built from the block up. Compared to the rest of the plant, the engine area is relatively small, but no less impressive. We were able to spend more time talking to the associates here than anywhere else. These friendly folks showed us how they quickly and efficiently put together an engine. Oh what any engine builder would give to have their equipment! The neatest piece was an automatic cylinder head bolt power wrench that torqued all the head bolts on a single head at the same time - great stuff.

While the TOV was fortunate enough to have been given a special tour of the plant, beginning in September of 2004, the public will also be able to tour plant. Stay tuned to the TOV for more details when that date approaches.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Lincoln facility and we'd like to express our special thanks to all the people who took time out of their day to show us around and explain the amazing technology and work they do.