Process Innovation in Practice: Redesigning the Leg Support Tube Workflow

When an automaker approached CBIES with an order for leg support tubes, the requirement appeared straightforward at first glance. While leg support tubes are widely adopted within automotive seating systems, they are custom-engineered components rather than off-the-shelf standard parts. For components of this category, tube bending paired with end necking represents the conventional manufacturing route, the go-to solution most suppliers would instinctively adopt, being familiar, proven, and well-understood across the industry.

For CBIES, however, no seemingly routine customer project is treated as a run-of-the-mill task. Every project kicks off with a thorough engineering review. This process not only verifies manufacturing feasibility, but also assesses whether the conventional forming method truly delivers the optimal solution for the customer.

The bending and necking process, although mature, relies on a multi-step production chain. Each step requires its own equipment setup, material loading and unloading, and part transfer between workstations. Tube bending establishes the main geometry of the tube, and subsequent necking reduces or shapes the tube ends. Further operations, such as trimming, deburring, and inspection, are often required, adding extra links to the process chain.

The engineering team's assessment was clear: the process was technically capable of meeting production requirements, yet the multi-step process chain contained built-in inefficiencies. Every extra step translates to additional machine setup, part transfer, and cycle time, driving up cumulative costs. For a given batch size, an extended process chain increases lead time, equipment occupancy, and operational overhead.

This pain point unveiled an opportunity for CBIES engineers, one easily overlooked by other suppliers.

After a comprehensive analysis of cost, production flow, and efficiency, the engineering team proposed an alternative: a custom stamping approach. Rather than forming the tube through sequential bending and necking operations, they designed a dedicated die that could produce the finished geometry in a single stamping operation.

The stamping die consolidates what was previously a multi-stage process into a single, controlled forming operation. The geometry and tolerances are achieved in one pass, eliminating the need for intermediate handling and the variability that comes with it.

The custom die required a higher upfront investment than the bending and necking tooling. This is the trade-off that gives many manufacturers pause, and it is exactly where CBIES's long-term perspective made the difference.

The calculation is straightforward: while the custom die incurred higher upfront costs for design and fabrication, the streamlined process eliminated separate bending and necking operations. For the same order volume, the new forming method cuts substantial machine runtime, reduces equipment occupancy and minimises part handling labour. The multi-station process chain requiring repeated setups was compressed into one single, efficient forming step.

Most importantly, these recurring production savings translate into lower overall lifecycle costs for the customer. Despite the higher initial tooling investment, the simplified workflow delivers a favourable total cost of ownership over the project's production run.

In manufacturing, the instinct is often to add more steps, more machines, more capacity. But true process innovation frequently works in the opposite direction: removing steps, consolidating operations, and eliminating everything that does not add value to the finished product.

The leg support tube project perfectly embodies this principle. The conventional bending and necking method was technically viable, yet far from optimal. By challenging the industry's default production route and investing in an advanced integrated forming solution, CBIES rolled out a streamlined process with lower operational costs, shorter lead times, and superior dimensional consistency.

This is what it means to be more than a supplier. CBIES does not merely manufacture parts to meet specifications. Every project presents an opportunity to assess whether the conventional production route delivers the best outcome for the customer, and if not, to engineer a superior alternative.

That is innovation through simplification. That is the CBIES standard.