Ball bearings are needed in every motor, shaft, drive, joint, wheel, casing, and roller imaginable. Some bearings are tiny; others as big as a softball.
Each is a different size.
And when automotive OEMs roll out new product models, each car might require dozens of custom-sized bearings in materials common and elusive.
Like a lot of automotive suppliers, JTEKT North America has multiple R&D facilities and fields OEM requests for large orders and contract manufacturing. Competitive and accurate pricing is paramount.
Sales engineers and R&D manufacturing specialists are always looking for an edge. And when OEMs want samples (sometimes with short turnaround) during the bidding process, a micro assembly line and short-run tooling must be created from scratch.
To make sure JTEKT’s R&D plants were all running at capacity and that the sales engineers could be aggressive with pricing and promises, Worthwhile turned a once-paper-process into an integrated visualization:
All in one.
