Continuous Improvement at CBIES: From Manufacturing Processes to Delivery

Long-term customer trust rarely comes from a single major upgrade. More often, it develops through a series of practical improvements: reviewing a manufacturing route, preparing equipment before demand rises, clarifying product identification, or adapting packaging to protect components in transit. Each change addresses a specific need, and together they help CBIES become a more dependable long-term partner. This article outlines the practical improvement initiatives CBIES has implemented to deliver this consistent reliability.

A drawing defines the required part, but it does not always mean there is only one way to manufacture it. Reviewing the process behind a component can help identify alternatives worth evaluating, provided that the proposed route can meet the customer's technical, dimensional, functional, and commercial requirements.

Exploring an Alternative Fabrication Concept for a Processed Part

One example involves a component with a rounded-square-like profile that is currently envisaged as a laser-cut part made from 12 mm-thick plate. The original concept may involve a relatively high level of material waste. As an initial idea, CBIES has considered whether the part could instead be divided into two U-shaped pieces and then joined by welding.

This is still a preliminary concept, not a finalized proposal for customer approval or a production-ready alternative. Before it can be discussed as a formal option, the team needs to calculate the potential material and processing cost implications and review the relevant manufacturing considerations, including weld design, dimensional control, and the feasibility of the resulting part.

The value of this kind of review lies in the question it raises: is there a better way to achieve the required result? Continuous improvement includes investigating such possibilities carefully, rather than assuming that the first manufacturing route considered must be the only one.

Reassessing Surface Treatment for an Automotive Intake Pipe

A more established example concerns the surface treatment of an automotive intake pipe. Following a review of the project's requirements and relevant considerations, the original electroplating approach was changed to black cathodic electrodeposition coating, commonly known as cathodic electrodeposition (CED). The customer agreed to the revised approach, and it has been put into use for the project.

The decision considered more than appearance alone. Conventional electroplating can generate wastewater and sludge containing heavy metals, which require appropriate treatment. The selected black cathodic epoxy coating uses a water-based coating system with low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, while its continuous coating film can support the project's surface-protection requirements.

For this project, the change was intended to better address the combined requirements for appearance, environmental management, and corrosion protection. It illustrates how a process review can lead to a practical change when technical considerations and customer needs are evaluated together.

Continuous improvement also means preparing for demand before it becomes an immediate production pressure. For automotive programs, order volumes can fluctuate with vehicle production schedules and seasonal demand patterns. Waiting until orders peak to consider additional equipment may leave too little time for preparation.

Based on experience from previous years of cooperation, historical order patterns, and research conducted by the market team, CBIES anticipated that customer demand could rise significantly in the fourth quarter. In response, the company prepared one additional bending machine and two laser-processing machines in advance. All three machines have now been put into operation, including an upgrade to five-axis laser processing equipment.

The bending machine supports a CCB project, while the laser equipment is mainly used for battery pack brackets. Preparing these resources ahead of the anticipated peak gives the relevant programs additional manufacturing support when demand increases. The five-axis laser equipment upgrade also expands CBIES's processing capabilities, supporting the company's ongoing efforts to improve manufacturing readiness and respond to evolving product requirements.

Capacity planning is not simply about adding machines. It requires a view of customer demand, product requirements, process needs, and the time required to prepare resources. By connecting demand analysis with equipment planning, CBIES aims to make production readiness part of its ongoing improvement work.

Clear product identification is another area where technical improvements can support day-to-day operations. Product marking needs to be legible, consistently positioned, and suitable for the information that customers or downstream processes need to identify.

At CBIES, laser marking capabilities have continued to develop in several respects, including marking content, position, font, size, and the required direct-part-marking (DPM) readability level. One important step has been the transition from flat-surface marking to marking on curved surfaces, expanding the range of product geometries that can be accommodated. What's more, previously, marking generally focused on standard information such as product codes. The capability has also expanded to include QR codes on products currently in formal production.

Improving laser marking is not about adding technology for its own sake. It is about expanding the range of surfaces that can be marked, improving the clarity and consistency of product identification, and providing more options to meet different program requirements.

For products transported mainly by sea, packaging is part of the protection plan, not simply the final step before shipment. Extended transport and handling can expose components to movement, contact with other parts, and conditions that may affect surface appearance. Packaging improvements need to consider the product's characteristics as well as the transport method.

One improvement is to use internal dividers in the box to separate individual tube components. By reducing direct contact between parts, the dividers help prevent rubbing and protect the surface, including the electrophoretic coating on relevant products. This is a practical adjustment to the way components are packed, designed around a specific risk during transportation.

CBIES has also introduced volatile corrosion inhibitor (VCI) bags as an additional packaging option. Each component can be packed in an individual bag to provide corrosion protection during storage and transit.

Packaging requirements can also differ by customer and destination. For European programs, CBIES follows the packaging instructions specified by the relevant customers. The appropriate solution therefore depends on the component, surface treatment, transport conditions, customer requirements, and the cost implications of each option. The objective is to provide suitable protection without treating every product or shipment as if it had identical needs.

Continuous improvement is not a single project with a fixed finish line, but an ongoing practice. For CBIES, the goal is not to make change for its own sake. It is to keep looking for practical ways to meet customer requirements, manage manufacturing and delivery risks, and make each project work better over time. Long-term trust grows when improvement is treated as a consistent responsibility-one decision, one process, and one project at a time.