Process Capability Assessment and Surface Quality Monitoring in Cathodic Electrodeposition of S235JRC+N Electric-Charging Station

This study presents a statistically robust quality-engineering evaluation of an industrial cathodic electrodeposition (CED) process applied to large electric-charging station components. In contrast to predominantly laboratory-scale studies, the analysis is based on 1250 thickness measurements, enabling reliable assessment of process uniformity, positional effects, and long-term stability under real production conditions. The mean coating thickness was specified at 21.84 µm with a standard deviation of 3.14 µm, fully within the specified tolerance window of 15-30 µm. One-way ANOVA revealed statistically significant but technologically small inter-station differences (F(49, 1200) = 3.49, <i>p</i> < 0.001), with an effect size of η² ≈ 12.5%, indicating that most variability originates from inherent within-station common causes. Shewhart X^¯-R-S control charts confirmed process stability, with all subgroup means and dispersions well inside the control limits and no evidence of special-cause variation. Distribution tests (χ², Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Shapiro-Wilk, Anderson-Darling) detected deviations from perfect normality, primarily in the tails, attributable to the superposition of slightly heterogeneous station-specific distributions rather than fundamental non-Gaussian behaviour. Capability and performance indices were evaluated using Statistica and PalstatCAQ according to ISO 22514; the results (Cp = 0.878, Cpk = 0.808, Pp = 0.797, Ppk = 0.726) classify the process as conditionally capable, with improvement potential mainly linked to reducing positional effects and centering the mean closer to the target thickness. To complement the statistical findings, an AIAG-VDA FMEA was conducted across the entire value stream. The highest-risk failure modes-surface contamination, incorrect bath chemistry, and improper hanging-corresponded to the same mechanisms identified by SPC and ANOVA as contributors to thickness variability. Proposed corrective actions reduced RPN values by 50-62.5%, demonstrating strong potential for capability improvement. A predictive machine-learning model was implemented to estimate layer thickness and successfully reproduced the global trend while filtering process-related noise, offering a practical tool for future predictive quality control.