Rays Engineering
 | |
| Industry |
Motorsport Automotive engineering |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973 |
| Headquarters | 7-17-5 Nagayoshi Deto Hirano-ku Osaka-shi, Osaka |
Key people | Masumi Shiba (president) |
| Products | Alloy wheels |
| Revenue | ¥1,010,000,000 (2008) |
Number of employees | 231 (Sept. 2008) |
| Parent | Rays Co., Ltd. |
| Website | Rays International |
Rays Engineering Co., Ltd. (株式会社レイズエンジニアリング Kabushiki-gaisha Reizu Enjiniaringu), a part of Rays Co., Ltd. is a high-end Japanese wheel manufacturer for both motorsport and street use, mostly notable for manufacturing Volk Racing flagship brand of wheels. It is a common misconception that "Volk Racing" is the parent company of Rays Engineering, purely as it is its most associated with brand name. Their wheels feature high-tech forging processes that are exclusive to Rays Engineering.
They are the current wheel suppliers to winning factory race teams of Nissan, Honda, Toyota, and Mazda in racing series such as Super GT, Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTCC), British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), Formula Nippon, and Formula One.
Their Volk Racing wheels are popular with owners of sport compact and import cars on the race and show circuits.
Rays Engineering also manufactures wheels for car manufacturers' in-house tuning teams such as Nismo, Ralliart, STi, Mazdaspeed and Toyota Racing Development and also supply wheels to Williams Formula One team[1] as well as the cars of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.[2]
History
RAYS Engineering Timeline:[3]
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1973 | RAYS established. |
| 1977 | RAYS Co., Ltd. established. |
| 1979 | RAYS ENGINEERING Co., Ltd. established. |
| 1980 | Tokyo sales office established. |
| 1981 | Fukuoka & Takamatsu sales offices established.
The Racing Division organized. |
| 1982 | RAYS Creative Co., Ltd. established.
The Motorcycle Division organized. |
| 1983 | Design room BANANA MOON established.
Parts Bank Co., Ltd. & Twin Co., Ltd. established. Sendai sales office established. |
| 1984 | Construction of the RAYS Engineering Yao factory completed. |
| 1986 | Nishinomiya Distribution Center established.
Introduced 5,500 ton forge press machine. |
| 1988 | Hiroshima sales office established.
Casting section :Vesta Co., Ltd. established. |
| 1989 | Extension of the RAYS Engineering Yao factory completed.
Introduced second 3,500 ton forge press machine. |
| 1990 | Resu Co., Ltd. established. |
| 1991 | Sapporo sales office established.
Introduced third 3,500 ton forge press machine. |
| 1992 | Nagoya sales office established.
RAYS R&D Co., Ltd. established. RAYBROS established. |
| 1993 | Hokuriku sales offices established. |
| 1994 | Started automatic warehouse operations in the distribution center.
Casting section : Pacific Alloy Logistics Co., Ltd. established. |
| 1995 | RAYS Second sales division established.
Introduced RM8000 forge machine. Construction of the RAYS Engineering Nara factory completed. |
| 1997 | RAYS Overseas Division established.
Merged Resu Co., Ltd. and Parts Bank Co., Ltd. |
| 1999 | Introduced RM8000 forge machine.
Tsubaki Seimitsu Kanafata Co., Ltd. established. |
| 2000 | Company name changed from Vesta Co., Ltd. to RAYS FOUNDRY Co., Ltd. and HQ relocated. |
| 2001 | Tokyo Sales Division address moved. |
| 2003 | Fuji Pacific Alloy Co., Ltd. established. |
| 2004 | RAYS U.S.A. Inc. established. |
| 2005 | Casting manufacturing related companies integrated into RAYS C.W.P. Co., Ltd.
Introduced 10,000 ton forge press machine. |
| 2006 | Merged RAYS Co., Ltd. and Resu Co., Ltd. and Twin Co., Ltd. |
| 2008 | RAYS Co., Ltd. head office relocated |
| 2012 | RAYS CWP line addition to accommodate larger diameter production |
| 2013 | RAYS CWP R&D testing device building addition/reinforced. |
Wheel Construction
Rays Engineering wheels are manufactured through two different processes: forging and casting. After each wheel is manufactured, the wheel goes through strenuous inspection before being packaged and shipped out. The following is a video showing each manufacturing process of a Rays Engineering wheel: Rays Engineering Manufacturing Process.
Forging
The forging process for a Rays Wheel consists of seven steps:
- Hot Forging - Takes a billet and creates metal lines through volume distribution with a hot press.
- RM Forging - Forging method exclusively developed Rays Engineering. Finishing of designed parts on the wheel is completed during this process.
- Cold Spinning - Width of wheel is constructed during this process with a high-speed spinning machine.
- Heat Treatment - Wheel is quickly heated then immediately cooled down with a solution to form a strong structure for the wheel.
- Machine Work - Special cutting device used to improve roundness of the wheel.
- Shot Blast - This process smooths the surface of the wheel to prepare of aesthetic finishing.
- Surface Finishing - Various chemicals are used to prevent corrosion and protect the surface of the wheel
Types of Forged Wheels
- Forged 1 Piece Magnesium
- Forged 1 Piece Aluminum
- Forged (Seamless) Rim 2 Piece Wheel Aluminum
Casting
The casting process for a Rays Wheel consists of four steps:
- Fusion - Aluminum metal is heated up into molten liquid.
- Molten Metal Treating - Process of removing impurities from molten aluminum. Molten aluminum with no impurities are moved into a holding furnace.
- Casting - Molten aluminum is poured into a die to form the wheel.
- Machine Work - Various chemicals are used to prevent corrosion and protect the surface of the wheel
Types of Cast Wheels
- Cast 1 Piece Aluminum
- RCF (Rays Cast Flow Forming) Casting 1 Piece Aluminum
Product Lineup
- Volk Racing - Flagship forged sport wheels brand name of Rays Engineering.
- Gram Lights - Lightweight wheels manufactured through casting process.
- Eco Drive Gear - Lightweight wheels focused on being eco friendly.
- 57 Motor Sport - Cast racing wheels used in World Touring Car Championship and British Touring Car Championship.
- Versus - Fashion brand of wheels with influences from European styling.
- G-Games - Wheels used in the JDM scene with influences from American styling.
- Daytona - Performance wheels produced for Japanese Kei car.
- Black Fleet - Japan's dress-up culture for the sedan scene brings the newest design with a tuner taste.
- Garcia - Wheels bringing in the latest design trends for vans and Kei car.
- A/X RePLA/Y - The Arthur Exchange brand is revamped from 2010 with fresh new design wheels.
- Vesta
- Sebring - also the Japanese distributor for its exhaust pipes