You might see as many as 20 separate materials in one helmet. Superfiber is threaded on a loom-like machine—mesh, matte, and reinforcement pieces are stamped out with huge die cutting presses, and all those components are distributed amongst the various factories.
In Shinto, skilled employees preassemble each set of the reinforcement pieces, either by stapling them to together or tacking them together with a heat-gun. Those preassembled sets of reinforcement material are then inspected and weighed before introduced into the production line. Again, all these reinforcement sets are unique to the model and size of their respective helmets — a Ram-X will feature different construction than a Corsair-X, for example.
A simple open-faced helmet made for low-speed riding may not feature the same mesh technology designed to keep the laminate pieces from sheering apart during high-speed impacts, for example.
Mesh technology is exactly that — a mesh that is introduced to the laminate process to help improve durability. When the shell laminates are pressed together, the cross-section of the mesh is the thickest point and digs into each side, effectively acting like rebar and preventing the two halves from delaminating.
Another example is the peripheral belt, a feature found on most Arai lids, which supports the upper area of the viewport from deformation during an accident. Again, not all helmets employ this feature. Even things like resin, which I previously thought were one dimensional, are always being analyzed and remixed to capitalize on their respective properties to improve the performance of the helmets.
Each helmet calls out for specific formula of resin and, in the case of certain helmets, these resins can have shelf lives as low as six hours—shell makers need to work fast.
What goes in the mold is crucial to our story, but equally important is who is doing it: The Shell Expert. Each Shell Expert goes through a rigorous training process that can last over a year, working directly with a mentor before eventually being left to their own devices among the piping hot steel molds.
Even then, these Experts are initially only allowed to operate one molding station in the beginning, working their way to greater independence and responsibility. By the end, a well-rounded Shell Expert can command up to five molding stations at once.
The Shell Expert lays all the materials into the mold, which changes for each make, size, and model. He then puts his signature stamp with his actual name on it, pours the resin in, and seals the mold up. Should you credit an Arai lid with saving your life, you could rip the EPS liner out and know the name of the man who built your shell.
Each shell spends roughly 15 minutes in the mold, and the Shell Expert must be able to determine the exact time to pull the shell, based on experience.
It feels primitive as an observer. The workshops are undeniably hot and uncomfortable, especially when you factor in the humid Japanese summer. Shell Experts watch the clock, managing multiple molds at once, moving down the row, prepping each station and repeating the process over again. Once a shell is done, the Shell Expert pulls it and carefully inspects it for any issues.
If it passes, he signs off on it. The significant difference in quality control between Arai and other manufacturers is its quality control process, which was instituted 42 years ago. At a location just a few miles away from the Arai offices is the Amanuma factory. There, the thickness of the shells is measured a second time. The same inspection process is repeated by Shell Experts who do inspections exclusively. The shells are then signed off on by the Shell Expert for a second time and sent to paint at a separate location.
In either case, it requires the shells to be shipped by truck. That means that shells are made in one facility, loaded onto a truck, driven to Amanuma where they receive the final inspection, and hurried back to the original facility for further production.
It also means that each shell is signed off by three separate Shell Experts — the maker, the first inspector and the final inspector at the Amanuma plant — not to mention being weighed twice. That is the kind of rigorous QC that Arai has always touted, but never articulated to the consumer so clearly. Shell Experts work their way from the hot, muggy, shell molding floor, and will often end up as inspectors as they gain experience.
Eventually, they may return to the molding floor and mentor the next generation. Interestingly, if a shell needs to be patched because it has a thin spot, the whole inspection process starts over again. One or two thin spots are okay. Brian Weston, Managing Director at Arai Helmet, informed us that it means the shells are getting as close as to the threshold as possible, meeting their standards for thickness, strength, and weight.
This also highlights how outstanding the job of the Shell Expert is when working the molds. If one of their shells is rejected, they will stay back and make additional shells on their own time under their own volition.
To give you an idea of this, a well-trained Shell Expert can crank out roughly shells in a single shift. The same expert will produce two carbon fiber shells in the same amount of time. We need to back up a second.
How does a mold become a mold? To do that, an original helmet is sculpted by hand, scanned by a newfangled 3D scanner, and analyzed so that the helmet is entirely symmetrical. The clay form is then reworked until it is ready to be used as the reference guide for the steel molds. This process needs to be done for every model and every shell size, as the molds are unique. Arai puts an emphasis on the human element, citing that even with advanced technology, a human hand is an extremely sensitive tool, which is the exact reason why the original shell shapes are all designed by hand.
Essentially, the 3D scanner is there to check their work and aid in CNC milling. From there, a steel mold can be developed by using the scan from the 3D rendering and letting a modern CNC mill cut one out. The milling process takes about 24 hours, so a new model can enter production quite quickly.
Each steel mold can produce roughly , units before being retired. Arai has often been criticized for their seeming lack of interest in following technology trends.
Basing judgment solely on the appearance of their helmets, one could draw that conclusion. Standard steel is used in place of costlier, but more robust, stainless steel for the molds. For example, an engineer could alter the design of a Corsair-X and, in less than 24 hours, new molds are seamlessly put into production. According to Michio, Arai is not focused on revolution. New technologies need to be integrated into their products without compromising what is performing better in internal and standardized testing.
The development of carbon fiber helmets, which is a necessity for their F1 drivers. Cutting the viewport and trimming shells is done by robotic arms equipped with laser cutting devices.
Arai was one of the first non-automotive industries to integrate these into production lines. Now, it makes perfect sense. Initially, the helmet shell is extraordinarily porous and to fill the large cavities; a filler is used, and then scrubbed off. Once the filler is applied, dried adequately, and the excess is scrubbed off, the shell is then sprayed with a series of base coats and wet sanded at each step of the way, eventually becoming ready for its final priming stage.
Usually, a helmet manufacturer may only use a couple coats of primer and calls it good. However, having a perfectly smooth surface to work with is essential for the next step in the process—graphics. For an average full-face helmet, the total added weight in paint will be 25 grams. The complete shell is then able to be sprayed with a solid color and sent off to the graphics department where every intricate logo is laid by hand.
For example, the extremely loud Nicky-7 graphic is painstakingly done by a human. All registration marks for the graphics are penciled on the freshly primed helmets with a carefully designed template. A while ago, a colleague and I perused a variety of Arai helmets and noticed that some graphics would have minute discrepancies from helmet to helmet. Sometimes the lines between molded bits and the graphic were bang on, while others, were ever-so-slightly off.
It is something only revealed with extreme scrutiny. The truth is, human beings are laying these graphics down, and there is bound to be slight variations when inspected under a magnifying glass. Given the process, the graphics are incredibly consistent. What about Snell vs. DOT vs. ECE A helmet that you like.
A helmet that you want to wear, and always do. Arai has been making helmets motorcycle riders and countless successful racers want to wear for a very long time, since its first fiberglass-shelled model sold in Japan in Company founder Hirotake Arai, the son of a hat maker, was an enthusiastic motorcycle rider who established a headgear and textile factory in Saitama, Japan, near Tokyo, in the late s, and after World War II made helmets for construction workers.
When his buddies at the local racetrack asked him to make helmets for them, Arai created the first Japanese motorcycle helmets from fiberglass, resin and expanded polystyrene foam EPS , effectively launching the Japanese motorcycle helmet industry. Exports began and the U. Today Arai Helmet Ltd. Production has ranged from a pre-recessionary high of more than , helmets annually to about , today, all by hand with the exception of six robotic lasers used to cut and trim the shells.
Where technology and cost collide with tradition and safety is in the helmet shell, the designs for which vary greatly among manufacturers. Although the days of polycarbonate, injection-molded shells not holding up to more rigorous standards are long past, Arai believes that composite shells made of laminated fiberglass layers and resin can be stronger, lighter and safer, since the shell absorbs some of the impact by crushing or delaminating and better resists penetration both a polycarbonate and composite helmet must be replaced after a serious impact, since the EPS liner will have been compressed.
The only robotic process employed by Arai is the laser process used to precision-cut all eye ports and outer shell edge. All shell inspections include materials, material placements, shell thickness, laser cutting, and weight.
Because Arai shells use the least amount of resin possible to minimize weight, the shell surfaces are not smooth. So each shell is hand buffed with a special compound to create a smooth surface for painting. The paint process involves more than 10 steps, beginning with a hand-painted primer coating. Shells are then baked, and hand sanded with three different sanding compounds. A second coat of primer is applied, and then each helmet is wet sanded by hand, leaving only 25 grams of primer remaining.
After the initial primer coating process, each helmet is closely inspected before a complete second round of the primer coating process is done. After the second round an inspection is done again to ensure a flawless finish before the paint process begins. After passing inspection, each helmet receives its first coat of base paint by hand. Hand painting takes three days per color—one day of masking, one day painting and sanding, and one day of water graphics.
After the base coat is completed each helmet is inspected before the graphics or final paint is applied. Prior to applying water graphics, each helmet is hand-marked with templates for exact placements of water decals. Each helmet size requires a different template for the same graphic. For the Nicky 7 graphic, for example, there are guide marks—per helmet size—for perfect water graphic application.
Water decals are applied by highly skilled workers. Few people at the Arai factory qualify for this exacting task. Prior to the final clear coat process, every helmet is lightly scuffed by hand to ensure a flawless final finish.
Once painted, the next step is drilling holes by hand for the shield, chin strap, and ventilation. Because Arai shells are so strong, drill bits must be replaced after use on 80 shells.
Rivets are inserted first before they are threaded to ensure they are straight for ideal alignment. This design was developed for MotoGP to prevent shield fogging. Eye port and outer edge rubber trim is mounted utilizing a special weather resistant adhesive compound to ensure durability. Rubber trim is applied to the bottom edge of the helmet and a small inner rubber trim is also applied.
Arai developed the additional inner rubber trim for added protection in case of a crash. Installing the EPS liner is an art unto itself, and few associates qualify for the job. Each liner must be perfectly installed to ensure alignment with vent holes, and the task is so difficult only five people in the Arai factory are certified to install EPS liners. Chin straps are made and installed by hand, and a separate inspection ensures the quality of each installation.
Vent scoops are applied by hand and held in place by high-tension adhesives. They are designed to break away in the event of a crash to maximize the glancing-off capability of the helmet.
Visor vents are installed using special templates for each model and size helmet. If the visor vent is not perfectly installed, it could leak and allow debris into the helmet. A final inspection of each helmet includes a long check-list before the helmet is labeled, bagged and sent to shipping.
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