TECHNOLOGY NEWS:
Re-engineered car seat components
A bent wire assembly component used in the manufacture of car seats has been recently designed by William Hughes Ltd, UK, to speed assembly on the production line. The wire component is used to secure the seat trim to the frame in a car seat back and comprises a length of rigid wire with a loop at each end. The re-designed part needed to be strong, easy to manufacture at low-cost and quick to assemble into the seat. One option was to replace the rigid wire with a flexible cable with wire hooks at each end. The company developed this idea and evaluation of the improved design quickly established it met all the design criteria.
William Hughes then developed a process that could produce around 1.5 million of these parts annually. A special purpose machine was designed to drill the tiny hole in the centre of the leg of each hook to enable the cable to be securely crimped. The diameter and depth of this hole is critical, ensuring that the necessary force is applied to the cable when it is crimped. In addition, this special machine uses the latest technologies and electronic systems to monitor this operation.
Company: |
William Hughes Ltd |
Country: |
UK |
Fax: |
+44 1963 363640 |
Email: |
|
Website: |
www.wmhughes.co.uk |