| A
Window of Opportunity
It is now
well recognised that more than
70% of all manufacturing costs and quality issues are "`committed'
at the early stages of the product development cycle. It is no wonder
that today the design phase is seen as a window of opportunity for cost
reduction and productivity improvement strategies.
Ironically however, this stage of the product development cycle typically
accounts for only 5% of the overall product development budget! But this
is now rapidly changing.
Why
DfMA?
DfMA is used
to provide accurate cycle times and manufacturing costs at the conceptual
stages of the design cycle.
This enables engineers to make more informed decisions for design optimisation
- before it is too late to make any changes. The application of DFMA has
led to quantum leaps in productivity that
are typically reflected in savings such as:
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program
timing reductions of >50% |
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assembly
time reductions of >63% |
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assembly
defects reduced by >68% |
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separate
parts reduced by
>50% |
Simple Design
Rules
It is no
mystery how DfMA does this:
it prompts designers to apply sound design principles to each component
part and then provides the data needed to help quantify the impact of
the design change on the overall product structure.
A few of these simple principles are:
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minimise
the number of parts |
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minimise
the number of assembly operations |
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improve
access and visibility |
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maximise
part compliance |
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apply
modular designs principles |
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mistake-proof
parts |
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These procedures
certainly reduce costs, but they also dramatically improve quality –
helping to realise defect rates prescribed by Six Sigma.
Why Design for Assembly?
Because assembly is considered to be one of the most difficult
processes to stabilise and because of its impact on ergonomics and safety,
DFA remains a primary target for productivity improvement strategies.
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Through
the use of DFA, part count
is reduced, assembly operations are rationalised and all remaining parts
are considered for mistake proofing.
At the same time ergonomic and service difficulties are targeted for remedial
design actions to promote safety and robustness.
The assembly times that are generated in the DFA analysis are also used
to make early process and equipment planning decisions.
Design
for Manufacture
DFM is then
applied to help select the most cost effective fabrication processes.
By answering ”What if?” questions to key fabrication issues,
quick and accurate tooling costs, piece costs and cycle times can be used
to select the most cost effective parameters for a range of manufacturing
processes including: injection moulding, die casting, sheet metal forming,
machining, powder metallurgy, investment casting etc.
Today DfMA
has become synonymous with the application of Concurrent Engineering and
Design for Six Sigma practices. It is seen as an essential ingredient
in the application of QS9000 and ISO 9000 quality standards.
For expert
consultation, training and facilitation in this field contact:
Lou
Travella
Design 4 Excellence
Ph/Fx: 61 3 5221 6413
EMAIL:
INFO@DESIGN4EXCELLENCE.COM.AU
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