Automotive seat spring assemblies are now subject to much closer tolerance control due to the new government safety standards which, in addition to outlining specific mounting force resistance specifications, have added such tolerance complicating components as front seat back latches and headrests.
Since these seat assemblies are made in many locations far remote from the automotive assembly plants, it is imperative that the quality control system operate at maximum effectiveness, using gaging and sampling techniques that cut rejects to an absolute minimum.
This paper discusses a new quality control system that has been installed in three different seat manufacturing plants. It includes a discussion of new photographic type assembly gages, new gages for springs that hold the springs in exact manner in which they are supported in the seat assembly, quality approval and rejection systems for evaluating die tooling and produced parts at both the beginning and end of the production runs, a quality control training program for new employees, methods of inspecting raw material upon receipt before production is begun, and flex testing of final assemblies to make certain that all seat deflection and contour specifications are met.