Overview
Customer
A Major OEM
Customer Program
4F27E Transmission
Product Family
Splined Hub
Outcomes
- Reduced Machining
- Cost Reduction
- Component Consolidation
- Tooling Cost Reduction
- Quality Improvements
The Need
An OEM needed a splined hub component for an automatic transmission application.
Initial Customer Approach
An OEM created a process that involved tubes imported from Japan that required a rotary necking and spline rolling operation.
Limitations
The existing process utilizes tubes that undergo a rotary forming process to make a splined hub. These tubes have to be imported from Japan to meet significant formability requirements. In addition, the rotary process is not a fast process. Once the tubes are necked down to a certain profile, they are then put through an additional process for rolling in the splined teeth.
During the development of this component, the OEM discovered the cycle time was nearly twice that originally planned. This led to the OEM having to buy an additional machine (instead of the planned single machine). This led to higher capital expenditure, increased perishable tooling costs, and increased labor costs.
NETFORM Solution
NETFORM met with the transmission plant and reviewed the component and process in detail.
NETFORM came back with an alternate proposal. The new concept utilizes a flat blank hit in a press, cold-forming both the hub and the spline at the same time. This process produced teeth with the same profile as the original rolled design, but with the added benefit of work hardening. The new component would drop into the existing machining line, have improved dimensional quality and, most importantly, be a cost savings to the OEM.
The component was developed and tested from a product performance point of view, before samples were evaluated by the manufacturing department at the OEM. All the testing went well, and the component was introduced into production and launched without issue. This component is a perfect example of how NETFORM can redesign a component for cost saving.
