Consumer AI / Desktop AI Companion / Box Build Assembly + PCBA + Injection Molding
Metal Stamping Startup Cuts Lead Time 50% with Progressive Die + Integrated PCBA for EV Charging Stations
EV Charging Infrastructure / Metal Stamping
VoltEdge Systems, a Detroit-based EV charging infrastructure startup, needed custom stamped metal enclosures, EMI shielding brackets, and integrated p...
Walk Shenzhen factories with us, Dec 6–11. See the tour
Key results
- 50%Lead Time Reduction
- 87%Defect Rate Improvement
- 40%Unit Cost Reduction
- 200K+Monthly Stamping Capacity
The challenge
VoltEdge Systems, a Detroit-based EV charging infrastructure startup, needed custom stamped metal enclosures, EMI shielding brackets, and integrated power PCBA for their smart charging stations. Managing four separate vendors — a stamping shop, PCB fabricator, assembly house, and finishing provider — resulted in 12-week lead times, a 3.2% defect rate, and spiraling costs that threatened their scale-up timeline.
Our solution
Illuminious consolidated VoltEdge's entire supply chain into a single manufacturing program combining in-house progressive die stamping, PCBA, powder coat finishing, and final box build assembly. A custom 4-station progressive die was designed and built in-house, achieving 200K+ parts/month capacity while integrated DFM optimization reduced unit cost by 40%.
The Challenge: VoltEdge Systems had developed a breakthrough smart EV charging station that was winning municipal contracts across the Midwest. But their supply chain was breaking under pressure. Four separate vendors — a metal stamping shop in Ohio, a PCB fabricator in California, a contract assembly house in Texas, and a powder coating provider in Michigan — meant no single partner owned the quality outcome. Parts arrived misaligned between vendors. EMI shielding brackets from the stamping shop didn't fit the PCBA mounting points from the fabricator. The powder coat finish varied batch to batch, failing automotive-grade durability specs. With a 3.2% defect rate and 12-week lead times, VoltEdge was losing margin on every station installed and struggling to meet deployment deadlines for three major city contracts.
The Solution
Illuminious proposed a radically different approach: bring every manufacturing discipline under one roof with a single quality system and unified project management. The integrated program combined progressive die stamping, PCBA, sheet metal fabrication, box build assembly, and NPI engineering into a single supply chain. Key elements include:
- Custom 4-Station Progressive Die: Designed and built in-house for EMI shielding brackets and mounting plates, capable of 200K+ parts per month with consistent ±0.05mm tolerance on every stamp.
- Integrated PCBA: 4-layer power control boards manufactured to IATF 16949 quality standards with 99.7% first-pass yield, designed to mate precisely with stamped metal components.
- Automotive-Grade Powder Coat: In-house powder coating booth delivering consistent finish matching automotive durability requirements, including UV resistance and 1,000-hour salt spray testing.
- Unified Box Build: Final assembly integrating stamped enclosures, PCBA, cable harnesses, and functional testing under one quality system — eliminating inter-vendor alignment issues.
50%
Lead Time Reduction
Lead time cut from 12 weeks to 6 weeks by consolidating four vendors into a single integrated manufacturing program.
87%
Defect Rate Improvement
Defect rate dropped from 3.2% to 0.4% through in-process quality control and unified testing across all manufacturing stages.
$28
Unit Cost Achieved
Unit cost reduced from $47 to $28 through integrated DFM optimization and eliminated inter-vendor logistics overhead.
200K+
Parts Per Month
Custom 4-station progressive die designed and built in-house, delivering automotive-grade stamped parts at scale.
1. Integrated DFM Review & Tooling Design (Weeks 1-2)
Illuminious engineers conducted a comprehensive DFM review of VoltEdge's existing designs across all four disciplines. The EMI shielding bracket was redesigned for progressive die manufacturing, reducing material waste by 22% and eliminating a secondary bending operation. The PCBA mounting pattern was adjusted to match the stamped bracket tolerances exactly, eliminating the inter-vendor misalignment that had caused 60% of defects. The powder coat specification was standardized to a single chemistry and cure profile. Critical outcome: unified tolerance stack-up analysis across metal and electronics eliminated the root cause of field failures.
2. Progressive Die Build & First Article (Weeks 3-4)
A custom 4-station progressive die was designed, machined, and tested in-house. Station 1 blanked the raw profile, Station 2 pierced mounting holes and connector cutouts, Station 3 formed the EMI shield walls and bend tabs, Station 4 detached the finished part with burr-free edges. First-article inspection confirmed ±0.03mm dimensional accuracy — well within the ±0.05mm target. PCBA first articles achieved 99.7% first-pass yield on the initial build. Critical outcome: all first articles passed inspection on the first submission, enabling immediate production release.
3. Integrated Production & Scale-Up (Weeks 5-6+)
Full production launched in week 5 with stamping, PCBA, powder coat, and box build running in synchronized batches. Kanban replenishment between stations eliminated work-in-progress bottlenecks. Each charging station underwent 100% functional testing — hipot, grounding continuity, communication protocol validation, and thermal cycle — before shipment. By week 6, the first 500 units shipped, and monthly capacity ramped to 200K stamped parts and 5,000 completed charging station assemblies. Critical outcome: VoltEdge fulfilled all three municipal contract deadlines with zero late deliveries.
"Illuminious didn't just manufacture our parts — they redesigned our supply chain. Going from four vendors to one cut our lead time in half and our defect rate by nearly 90%. The progressive die they built in-house produces brackets that fit perfectly every single time. That's something our previous stamping shop could never deliver. We've now scaled to 200,000 stamped parts per month and just secured our fourth municipal contract."
Key Success Factors
Vertical Integration
Single-source manufacturing: Combining progressive die stamping, PCBA, powder coat, and box build under one roof eliminated the inter-vendor alignment issues responsible for 60% of defects.
In-House Tooling
Custom progressive die design: Designing and building the 4-station die in-house enabled rapid iteration during DFM, ±0.03mm precision, and 200K+ monthly capacity without external tooling dependencies.
Unified Quality System
IATF 16949 standards: Applying automotive-grade quality standards across both metal stamping and PCBA ensured consistent precision and 99.7% first-pass yield on electronics assembly.
Integrated DFM
Cross-discipline optimization: Unified tolerance stack-up analysis across metal components and electronics eliminated the root cause of field failures and reduced unit cost by 40%.
Stop Managing Vendors. Start Shipping Product.
VoltEdge Systems cut their lead time in half and their defect rate by 87% by consolidating four vendors into one integrated manufacturing partner. If your hardware business is outgrowing a fragmented supply chain, talk to Illuminious about an integrated manufacturing program.
"Illuminious didn't just manufacture our parts — they redesigned our supply chain. Going from four vendors to one cut our lead time in half and our defect rate by nearly 90%."
Related case studies
Consumer IoT / Pet Wearables / Smart Collar PCBA + Overmolding + NPI
Pet Health Tracker Startup Goes from 5-Piece Samples to Retail Shelves: Smart-Collar PCBA with GPS+BLE+IMU, an Overmolded Waterproof Housing and a D2C Launch That Survived Chew Testing
Physical AI / Warehouse Robotics / Edge-AI Perception Module + Quick-Turn PCBA + NPI
72 Hours from Pitch Deck to Demo Boards: How a Physical AI Startup Salvaged Its Tech Week Demo with a 5-Piece Emergency Run and a DFM Save
Ready to achieve similar results?
Let's discuss how we can help your project succeed with our end-to-end manufacturing capabilities.
- An engineer runs a free engineering review of your files, and nothing is charged when you submit.
- You see the findings first.
- We publish the official quote with an itemized total, lead time and validity window.
- You accept the official quote, and only then does payment open.