Wire Products Drives Down Falloput Rates and Revs Up Savings for Tier 2 Automotive Manufacturer
Summary: Wire Products, an AS9100D / ISO9001:2015 certified manufacturer, tackled an 18% fallout rate on bad parts for a Tier 2 automotive customer. Through extensive capability studies and innovative tooling, they drastically reduced the fallout rate to less than 4%. This quality improvement translated to 14% cost savings for the customer and elevated their position as a supplier to a Tier 1 automotive customer.
Industry: Automotive
Category: Quality Improvement
Processes: Four Slide Machines, CNC Wire Bending, Hard Tooling
A Tier 2 automotive customer was facing quality concerns, particularly an 18.0% fallout rate on automotive safety parts. A cross-functional team was formed, involving Production, Tooling, Engineering, Sales & Quality to address this pressing issue. Most of the bad part fallouts were occurring post-heat treating, affecting several similar under-the-hood applications.
After a thorough review of the scope and concerns, Wire Products Company accepted the challenge to enhance the quality and reduce the fallout rates. They initiated a capability study using low volume CNC wire benders for test parts. These were then sent to heat treating to understand the material movement post-process. Once they grasped the mechanics, Wire Products proposed new hard tooling for four slide machines and quoted competitive piece-prices.
The meticulous capability study and part trials revealed a potential fallout reduction from 18.0% to a remarkable 3.3%. Subsequently, production tooling was designed to compensate for material movement during heat treating. The final results were impressive—a fallout rate of less than 4%.
This leap in quality yielded 14% cost savings for the Tier 2 automotive customer and drastically reduced their operational downtime. An additional boon was their improved standing as a supplier to a Tier 1 automotive customer.
By prioritizing quality and utilizing rigorous testing and new tooling, Wire Products significantly improved fallout rates, resulting in substantial cost savings and an enhanced reputation for their Tier 2 automotive customer.
