Johnson Controls, Inc (JCI) in Athens, TN has the capacity to produce 60,000 automotive seat frames per day. When JCI could not find a supplier for a Mercedes SUV seat belt hardware component, they came to Protomet. With a target price in hand, Protomet was given the task of finding a solution. After 4 weeks of evaluating different manufacturing options, Protomet presented a concept to JCI engineers that required a slight design change and this would need to be accepted by the Mercedes engineers.

At stake for Mercedes was the potential for a 38% COST REDUCTION which was later improved to a 43% COST REDUCTION. On a $4 million contract this becomes real money!

The Mercedes engineers quickly agreed to allow Protomet to make the necessary changes to produce the part using an innovative combination of manufacturing processes.

Initially, the part was designed to have a vertical perimeter. During installation, this edge was to be welded. With the allowance for a tapered edge, Protomet proposed to blank out the part via a 2-stage stamping operation and then generate the finished part with a secondary machining operation.

As this required stamping 10mm (.390") thick material, this process required some process development to hold features in their proper location.

To control these process variables, Protomet designed a stamping inspection fixture which was able to provide real time feedback to the press operator.

Over 5 years, Protomet produced approximately 1,000,000 Seat Belt Bushings. This was a challenging project to get up and running but the cost savings were significant and the rewards for all involved were worth it…