Shut Down Assembly Line Demands Rapid Response

A nearby molding company recently experienced a product failure that forced their customer to shut down their assembly line. The OEM is a well known, top-selling pickup truck manufacturer and the molding company’s most profitable product line. The urgency was unmistakable.

It began as a panic-stricken call on our toll-free number. The man on the other end of the line explained the predicament. The company molds a small plastic box that is used as a switch that sits under a brake pedal. The switch activates the brake lights on a popular full size pickup truck.

Press the brake pedal and the switch turns the brake lights on. However, the system was no longer working. After switching from a straight plastic polymer to a fiber-filled polymer, the product failed. After assembly, some of the fibers were breaking off and getting stuck in between the electrical contacts and causing the switch to fail.

The entire operation came to a standstill, the whole truck pickup assembly line shut down, and workers were sent home. PTI needed to help them solve the problem, saving both the American-made pickup truck manufacturer and the molding company from an immense potential setback.

Due to the high volume and fast turn times on this particular part, the molding company cleaned the boxes themselves in their own plant. However, they didn’t have a way to test the part for cleanliness. Cleanliness testing is a crucial step in proving the cleaning process adjustments are effective and producing FOD-free parts.

The molding company had a courier ready, and as each new iteration came off their cleaning line, he immediately drove the samples to PTI for cleanliness testing. PTI’s technician was on standby, testing the samples as soon as they arrived. Once PTI had the test results, the technician phoned the molding company.

Based on PTI’s findings, they tweaked their process accordingly and then sent another sample for evaluation. This process took three adjustments and three trips back and forth by the courier, but in the course of a single day, they got the parameters exactly right.

In this cleanliness case study, the customer corrected their problem within a matter of hours. PTI’s rapid response was critical to solving this part failure. Contact PTI at 1-800-318-8438 for immediate solutions to your special process needs. PTI sets the industry standard for accuracy, reliability, and customer-driven response.