Custom Straight Wire Tube
Project Background
Our company has long been dedicated to the R&D and manufacturing of precision tubular components such as push-pull outer casings and flat wrap steel cable outer casings applicable to various industries, with mature process capabilities and a comprehensive quality control system. The customer in this project has been a stable purchaser for 6 years. The product is a straight wire tube for door locks, which is the core force-transmitting component that enables reliable door lock operation. On the basis of meeting conventional quality specifications, the customer proposed higher special requirements for the product’s traceability marking and mechanical performance.
Customer Requirements
To meet higher quality requirements, in addition to the original drawing standard requirements, new requirements were added for clear laser marking and increased pull-off force.
Traceability marking: The product surface must be specially treated to match the customer’s laser marking machine, with clear and durable markings required.
Mechanical performance: The pull-off force requirement for the door lock straight wire tube was significantly increased from the industry’s conventional baseline of ≥150N to ≥270N, to ensure reliable connection during frequent door lock opening/closing and unexpected force conditions, with no loosening or detachment allowed, and to guarantee traceability of each product.
Project Challenges
For laser marking, the coating material must match the customer’s laser marking machine, producing clear markings that do not peel off. It must also withstand assembly abrasion as well as environmental tests such as in-vehicle temperature/humidity and salt spray.
The pull-off force was increased from the conventional baseline of ≥150N to ≥270N, an increase of 80%, placing higher demands on the coating material and steel wire toughness, with no cracking at contact points. The door lock system is a vehicle safety component with high usage frequency and strong impact, and conventional solutions are highly susceptible to pull-off force degradation due to fatigue or instantaneous loads.
Solutions
For marking: By leveraging the compatibility between the chemical additive laser-engraving powder and the coating plastic, and through multiple ratio adjustments, the optimal fusion point was found, achieving the customer’s expected results.
For pull-off force: The company added a modified material production line to modify plastic materials according to different customer needs. For this product, which required a 70% increase in pull-off force, we added multiple additives to the coating material to satisfy both toughness and rigidity requirements.
Results Achieved
Verified by our quality inspection department and a third-party testing agency approved by the customer, all indicators of the mass-produced door lock straight wire tube products fully met the standards:
- The pull-off force measured values were stably maintained at ≥270N, with sufficient safety margin, and product consistency and process capability met mass production requirements.
- Laser markings were clear and wear-resistant, passing environmental tests including salt spray, solvent wipe resistance, and high-low temperature cycling, with durable and reliable markings.
Customer Feedback
The products successfully passed the customer’s door lock assembly durability test and vehicle installation verification, performing stably under frequent opening/closing and vibration conditions, and have entered the mass production supply stage with a delivery pass rate consistently maintained at 100%.
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