CUSTOMER CHALLENGE
An Automotive Tier supplier of an interior functional part was experiencing unacceptable chrome plating quality issues including spotty plating and inconsistent appearance. There was a second issue as well: the part features a tight fitting tolerance with a mating part requiring masking, which caused the unplated, masked area to rust prior to assembly. Because of these issues, the automotive supplier performed 100% inspection with a 30% reject rate.
BRONSON SOLUTION
We designed two innovative solutions to address the challenge:
- Customized pre-plate cleaning cycle to address plating inconsistencies
- Custom tooling that permits minimal amount of plating on the masked area to prevent rusting and yet maintain tolerances
QUANTIFIABLE RESULTS
Our customer was able to eliminate the 100% inspection and we were able to lower their unit price as well. We’ve maintained a 100% Quality Satisfaction rating with this automotive supplier for over 9 years.