Industries · Sector file S-01

Automotive, just-in-time.

Just-in-time delivery cycles and the auto sector's quality standards make suppliers into partners or casualties. Protoplast chose partner — many times over, with GM and Tier 1 programs.

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Sector S-01

Molded black automotive components staged in a Protoplast assembly cell
Automotive components — assembly cell

Tier 1 discipline

No learning curve on quality.

Working with many Tier 1 suppliers, Protoplast standardized its manufacturing methods around the auto sector's SPC requirements and integrated its quality program with its customers' systems. External quality programs are applied on day one, which is where the savings hide.

Every contract gets the same personalized attention from first contact to final sign-off — that close attention to detail is what holds cost and quality on automotive work.

Programs
GM, Lincoln Navigator, Tier 1 suppliers
Standard
SPC, integrated with customer quality systems
Specialty
Over-molded seals, soft TPE on rigid bases

Part files

Real parts, on record.

These programs are described on Protoplast's own pages. No composite case studies, no invented clients.

Black molded automotive part produced by Protoplast
FILE A-01Over-molding

Clean air port and seal — GMT360

GM's sport-utility line had a die-cut foam gasket that kept failing in the aftermarket. GM asked for an engineering change; Protoplast answered with an over-molded seal on the base of the hose mount — a soft 35 Shore A TPE that stays bonded to the rigid base.

The over-molded material was approved by GM's materials division, with Protoplast the first company to gain that approval.

CNC machining centres cutting mold components at Protoplast
FILE A-02Precision placement

Gear housing end cover — Lincoln Navigator

The Navigator's power running boards ride on a rack-and-pinion gear behind the front wheels. Protoplast molds the housing end cover, where sensors mount in thru-holes that demand precise geometric placement.

Protoplast employee wearing a company-made face shield
FILE A-03COVID-19 program

GM ventilator components

When GM started its ventilator line during COVID-19, Protoplast was selected for 12 components and had them in production within 4 weeks — work that typically takes 14 to 18.

The other sectors

Same floor, different parts.