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Computer glitch nearly puts the brakes on new
off-road utility vehicle

With a new model of off-road utility vehicle scheduled to come on-line in 30 days, a redesigned component almost stopped production in its tracks for a major manufacturer. It seems that after the design of a new brake system was completed, one of the prints was not delivered to the purchasing department for procurement – and the problem wasn’t discovered until the eleventh hour.

Enter Signicast
The company called on Signicast to help avert a pending crisis, and a team was immediately dispatched to the customer’s location to conduct a collaborative design review. As an integral component in the vehicle’s brake system, the new part would need to withstand the rigors of an off-road environment. Working closely with the customer, the Signicast team left that day with specs in-hand for a part that was even more durable – not to mention more cost-effective – than the original design. Of course, the challenge was only partially met, because the customer still needed parts in less than thirty days.

...the Signicast team left that day with specs in-hand for a part that was even more durable – not to mention more cost-effective – than the original design...

Just getting started
Producing tooling using the same continuous flow techniques employed in our manufacturing facilities, Signicast completed a tool in only two weeks. Seven days later, the first shipment of investment cast components was out the door. In less than a month, the customer had a production tool, new parts to use for their prototype build, and manufacturing was able to begin on schedule