2D and 3D Wires Formability for Car Seats: A Novel Full-Automatic Equipment Concept towards High Productivity and Flexibility

Abstract

The automotive industry demands high quality at very low prices. To this end, it is necessary to constantly innovate, making processes increasingly competitive, while continuing to ensure high levels of quality. Model diversification has forced the automotive industry to make its manufacturing processes more flexible, without losing competitiveness. This has been the case for car seats, where the quantities to be produced per batch are significantly lowering due to the diversity of existing models. The objective of this work was to increase the production rate of bent wires used in car seat cushions and increase the flexibility of changing wire types in production. After benchmarking the existing solutions so far, it was verified that none are capable of complying with the required production rate, while also offering the desired flexibility. Thus, it is necessary to start with a new concept of conformation of the wires used in these seat cushions. The new concept developed and integrated some of the previously known solutions, developing other systems capable of providing the desired response in terms of productivity and flexibility. To this end, new mechanical solutions and automated systems were developed, which, together with other existing ones, made it possible to design equipment that complies with all the necessary requirements. The developed concept is innovative and can be employed to other types of products in which it can be applied. The new concept developed yields a production rate of 950 parts/hour (initial goal: 800 parts/hour), features a setup time of around 30 min, ensuring the desired flexibility, and the tool costs about 90% less than traditional tools. The payback period is around 5 months, given that the equipment cost was EUR 122.000 in terms of construction and assembly, and generated a gain of EUR 280.000 in the first year of service.