Concurrent Engineering
DFMA helps break the old design vs. manufacturing pattern by providing the structured methodology and quantitative analysis data that Concurrent Engineering teams base informed decisions upon.
Concurrent Engineering is a new product development environment where all individuals responsible for development and production are involved at the earliest stages of product design. 70 to 80 percent of a product’s cost is locked in at these early stages of development, when the product’s configuration is determined and choices are made for the manufacturing processes and materials from which the product will be made. If a product is to end up cost competitive, it is absolutely essential that cost be a consideration when these decisions are made. DFMA helps guide design teams through this critical stage of product development with cost information, even before CAD models exist.
DFMA assists product development teams in key areas of Concurrent Engineering:
Enables a big picture view of a product’s design
Often, designers will focus on the individual parts within a product design. In reality, the product attributes that are most important to the customer are much more sensitive to changes in the product structure. DFMA helps design teams simplify the product structure to reduce part count, improve manufactured quality, improve reliability, and reduce overall cost.
Optimise selection of materials and manufacturing processes
The design of a manufactured part is heavily dependent on the material and process by which it is made. For example, an aluminium die cast part and a steel sheet metal part would be designed entirely differently even though they both serve an identical function. For this reason, an appropriate material and process must be selected before part design can begin. Frequently, performance objectives can be satisfied using many different alternative material and process combinations, each differing in manufacturing cost. Like a compass to point designers in the right direction, DFMA helps to identify the material and process combinations that will satisfy functional requirements at minimum cost before detail design has begun.
Improve communication and teamwork
DFMA identifies the major cost drivers for each manufacturing process so that both manufacturing and design can ask the essential cost related questions at the most relevant time. Communication, understanding, and teamwork are all improved because DFMA results are provided in terms of time and cost, a language common to both design and manufacturing.
When a customer evaluates various products for purchase, cost is quite frequently one of their most important concerns along with functionality and quality. DFMA utilized in a Concurrent Engineering environment can be an important part of your overall new product development process to improve all three of these requirements.
Contact us to learn more about DFMA and its role in Concurrent Engineering.
