There are fewer global vehicle platforms that churn out hundreds of thousands -- sometimes even millions -- of the same type of car. Instead, carmakers are making dozens of different “niche” vehicles.

Without a demand for massive volume, Honda wanted to find ways to cut costs at lower production levels.

Aluminum alloy molds for injection molding held promise, and thanks to an extensive network of molders, mold makers and material supplier partnerships Honda has created, the company was in the right place to see just what aluminum tooling could do.

“It really gave us more than we bargained for,” said Tim Myers, senior manager for North American purchasing with Honda’s American manufacturing unit, based in Marysville. “We started to realize very quickly that not only is it savings in the tooling cost, but also in the processing time because the machines can run faster.”

Improved cycle time in the presses meant savings for molders as well as toolmakers and Honda itself, Myers said in an April 24 telephone interview, and lighter tools and faster production also add up to lower capital equipment expenses for molders.

To test aluminum’s capabilities, Honda had two tools made for the same part for the Accord sedan -- one of standard P20 tool steel, and one with new aluminum alloys. With nearly 400,000 parts shot, the aluminum continued to perform just as well as the steel, and with the added benefit of lower operating costs. A second set of tools -- one of steel and one of aluminum -- backed up those same findings.

“There are still a few bugs we need to work out,” Myers said. “It may not be the answer to every single injection molding application, but it certainly has its uses.”

For now, Honda is focusing on parts using polypropylene, and will be using aluminum tooling in more applications in the future. The North American group also has shared information on aluminum with its counterparts in Japan, where parent company Honda Motor Co. Ltd. is based in Tokyo.

“The biggest [issue] has been the mind-set changing,” Myers said. “Everyone’s comfortable with P20 steel. Now that we’re getting into aluminum and finding it’s very suitable for our production volumes, we’ve had better results than we would have expected.”

Myers added that other improvements created through Honda’s extended partnerships with toolmakers and other companies will yield other breakthroughs in the future, but for now aluminum is proving that the collaboration between the automaker and companies throughout its supply chain has real benefits.