Product category:
Analysis, simulation and mathematical software
News Release from: Boothroyd Dewhurst | Subject: Design for Manufacture and Assembly
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 29 June 2007
Dramatic savings achieved with DFMA
software
DFMA allows engineers to quantify manufacturing and assembly costs early in the development process to improve assembly efficiency
Companies using Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) software, developed by Boothroyd Dewhurst, report dramatic savings in time, materials and costs when applying its product design analysis techniques to manufacturing challenges Those savings were a consistent focus at the twenty-second annual International Forum of Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA), held in Providence, RI earlier this month
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 8 Feb 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Design for manufacture and assembly software guides engineers through the process of simplifying a product design, then quickly estimates assembly labor and part manufacturing costs.
The theme of this year's event, considered the foremost conference worldwide on DFMA methodologies for product developers, was "Dialogue and Design: Working Together to Develop Cost-Effective Products".
With DFMA, engineers can quantify manufacturing and assembly costs early in the development process to improve assembly efficiency, reduce part count, cut costs and benchmark competitive designs.
Participating companies, including Deere and Company, TRW Automotive, Tellabs, Solectron, Trane, and Harris, gave strong testimony - in some cases reporting millions of dollars in savings - about the benefits of applying DFMA methodology to their particular industrial applications.
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Topics this year included lean manufacturing, sustainable design, concurrent design challenges in electronics, benchmarking, product cost estimating, and DFMA in a global engineering environment.
Among the highlights of achievement presented were:.
* Harris Corporation - maker of two-way radios for government and military - used DFMA to reduce the number of parts/operations from 78 to 18, reduced costs per unit by almost $86 and, based on expected production volumes, estimated savings of $4,297,500.
* TRW - maker of automotive parts for brakes, steering, occupant safety systems, and fastener products with over 100 plants worldwide - used DFMA to significantly reduce costs per product versus a competitor, achieving potential annual savings in the millions and securing a major business opportunity with Ford Motor Company.
* Tellabs - telecommunications provider of optical network terminals - saved "literally millions of dollars" from rework, scrap, part elimination, identification of assembly interferences, and assembly efficiency improvements.
* Deere - manufacturer of engines and equipment for off-highway vehicles - modified the landing deck assembly of a combine harvester, reducing raw material cost by 60 percent and streamlining parts from 17 to 10, beating its original product target cost by seven percent.
* Solectron - electronic circuit board manufacturer and provider of integrated supply chain services - reduced both part count and direct assembly time by 31 percent.
* LeCroy - maker of digital sampling devices - made changes early in the design process that enabled them to reduce the number of parts in a product from 68 to 22, improving manufacturability and controlling costs.
Boothroyd Dewhurst Executive Vice President Nick Dewhurst welcomed the positive feedback from such a wide range of DFMA users.
"It is very gratifying to hear our customers sharing the successes we knew they were achieving with our software," he said.
"Such savings have consistently been reported since DFMA was commercialized over 20 years ago, despite all the ongoing changes in manufacturing technology".
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