Challenges
- Replace existing metal pulley used in automotive belt to reduce weight while maintaining low noise level
- Lower the production cost while maintaining stringent tolerances
- Sought a partner with scientific molding expertise
Kaysun Solution
- Gates provided Kaysun with a concept print of the pulley
- Utilizing their metals to plastics conversion services, Kaysun worked with Gates to finalize the product concept and completed a series of steps including:
- Analysis of imperfections of the initial molded product
- Compensating for imperfections via laser scanning
- Creating a model from scanned data
- Adjusting the mold steel accordingly
- Ultimately creating an ‘essentially perfect’ plastic pulley right out of the mold
Business Impact
- Converting the pulley from metal to plastic lowered the overall production cost significantly while maintaining stringent durability, noise and performance standards for this part within a car’s serpentine belt system.
“Kaysun performed well during the development of this program and has created a pulley that has been well-received by our customer base. We look forward to taking this pulley to the next level of development with Kaysun.”
Lead of Global Commodity Purchasing, Gates