The document summarizes a tour of Icom's manufacturing plant in Wakayama, Japan. Attendees of the Asia-Pacific DX Convention were invited to tour the factory. The factory uses advanced automated systems to produce 130,000 radio units per month across eight production lines. The tour showed various stages of the production process from component handling to board assembly, testing, chassis assembly, packaging, and storage. Icom aims to produce high-quality radios entirely within Japan.

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Icom Factory Tour
Wakayama, Japan – November 5, 2010
Adam Farson VA7OJ
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 1
2010

2. APDXC and Icom
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! Attendees at the Asia-Pacific DX Convention (APDXC 2010), held in Osaka,
were invited to tour the Icom manufacturing plant in Wakayama, about 100
km SW of Osaka. The tour took place on Friday, November 5, 2010.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 2
2010

3. Icom and APDXC 2010
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! Icom are the official sponsor of APDXC. Mr. Tokuzo Inoue, JA3FA,
Founder and Chairman of Icom Inc., was the patron of APDXC 2010.
In exalted company: Shigeru Ueda JO3BAV, the author, Mr. Inoue and Johnny Siu VR7XMC
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 3
2010

4. A few facts
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! Icom is a rare example of an electronics manufacturer that has not shifted production
to lower cost countries, but kept its production base 100% in Japan. All Icom radios
are built in Japan.
! Main product lines are: land-mobile, amateur, marine (VHF & HF radios, radar),
aeronautical (VHF) and wireless LAN.
! The Wakayama Icom plant has an advanced production system to produce small
volume/multi-model radio-communication products.
! 330 highly-trained production employees turn out 130,000 units/month in a highly-
automated manufacturing facility.
! The factory has eight automated production lines. A line can be switched from one
product to another in as little as 5 to 12 minutes.
! Icom’s R&D organization employs 270 engineers.
! We were given free access to the assembly line area and allowed to take all the
photographs we wanted.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 4
2010

5. The Icom production facilities
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We visited the Kinokawa factory.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 5
2010

6. Product showcase
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! Small product showcase in factory lobby.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 6
2010

7. Introductory talk
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! The factory manager gave a short introductory presentation on Icom’s
manufacturing capability and philosophy. The interpreter is to his left.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 7
2010

8. Automated component
handling
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! All components, from grain-of-sand-sized SMT diodes to small
integrated circuits, are delivered on Mylar tape spool cartridges.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 8
2010

9. Typical main radio board
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Once populated, the board will be separated from its surround
and mounted on a chassis by robot machines.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 9
2010

10. Overall view of production
floor
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! The technician is loading a tape cartridge into a board-stuffing machine.
The steam-jets in the ceiling
maintain the correct humidity
level for ESD suppression.
The automated PCB stuffing
machines pick parts off the
tape, then place the parts on
the circuit board which has
previously been wiped with
solder paste.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 10
2010

11. Automated component handling
systems
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! Component tape reels are being loaded for Line 2.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 11
2010

12. A view of Lines 1 and 2
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On left: Inspection machine,
then a row of SMT board-
stuffing machines
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 12
2010

13. Rack of completed boards
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The boards produced by
the PCB-stuffing machines
are loaded into racks that
are delivered by robot carts
to the correct position on
the assembly lines.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 13
2010

14. Real-time status displays
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Line status display.
Johnny VR2XMC at the line status
board. The displays show start & run
times, error counts, product model,
line manager ID etc.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 14
2010

15. Board-stuffing machine in action
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 15
2010

16. Control computer for board line
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Panic button!
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 16
2010

17. X-ray board inspection machine –
scans for soldering/assembly defects in multi-
layer PCB’s.
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The machine is totally
enclosed in a leaden
cabinet.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 17
2010

18. Mounted PCB inspection
machine
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Inside detail showing board in test
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 18
2010

19. Detail of anti-ESD steam jets
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 19
2010

20. Automated HT assembly
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HT PCB
prior to
insertion
in auto-
assembly
machine.
Surrounds
will be cut
off.
HT PCB fed
into the
machine for
radio
assembly.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 20
2010

21. “Come ride with us, Robbie.”
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 21
2010

22. Anti-ESD vacuum cleaner
and completed PCBs awaiting their chassis
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 22
2010

23. Final assembly area
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 23
2010

24. Final test/inspection area
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 24
2010

25. IC-718 front panels
awaiting mounting on radios
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 25
2010

26. Chassis assembly robots:
loading and operating
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 26
2010

27. A busy corner of the final
assembly/test area
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 27
2010

28. Final alignment of HT
chassis
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 28
2010

29. Final alignment bench
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 29
2010

30. IC-9100 chassis
partially assembled
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 30
2010

31. IC-9100 chassis, rear view
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 31
2010

32. IC-9100 chassis, front view
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 32
2010

33. IC-9100 chassis:
sub-assemblies added
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 33
2010

34. IC-9100 front-panel mouldings
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 34
2010

35. Chassis fan installation
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 35
2010

36. An RF test position
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 36
2010

37. Packaging area: individual radios are
packed in their cartons
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 37
2010

38. “Ship it, guys!”
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 38
2010

39. The package conveyor
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Xcvr
Battery case
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 39
2010

40. Carton-sealing robot: sealed cartons
are loaded onto a mobile robot, which takes them
to the stockroom
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Swiss NEMA (1948)
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 40
2010

41. The stockroom
(warehouse area)
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 41
2010

42. Related activities
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! At the end of the tour, we were taken to Icom’s corporate HQ in downtown
Osaka for a meeting with engineers and managers in the Amateur
Products Division.
! We were shown an exhibition of Icom products in the lobby, and then
taken to a conference room where we viewed a presentation on Icom’s
new RS-BA1 remote-control software suite. We also had an opportunity to
participate in a Q&A session with Icom engineering staff.
! Our day concluded with a superb welcoming party and buffet at
International House, Osaka-Uehonmachi, hosted by Mr. Inoue.
! The following Sunday, Johnny Siu VR2XMC and I attended an IC-9100
Dealer Preview at Icom’s Nipponbashi office in central Osaka.
03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 42
2010

43. Icom HQ, Osaka
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 43
2010

44. Lobby exhibit of Icom
products
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 44
2010

45. Part of Icom “mini-museum”
also in HQ lobby
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 45
2010

46. In the conference room
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 46
2010

47. RS-BA1 slide showing remote control
via Internet
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 47
2010

48. Johnny Siu VR2XMC operating
the IC-9100 at the Osaka Dealer Preview
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 48
2010

49. “It’s my turn!”
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 49
2010

50. RS-1BA Remote Control Suite
demo at the Osaka Dealer Preview
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 50
2010

51. Thanks for watching!
Future presentation: “Japan”
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03-Feb-2011 NSARC - ICOM Factory Tour, November 51
2010