i

Best Practiceslmplementation
hslp pople ir| an organizalion consistendy perfonn to th highest levels
Theso practicct
in design, manufacturing, and customer suppo.t. kading manuhctutEls labvt lhat $ccess de
pends on putting knowledge to wolk ApPle lruly understaftls usability' trd 3M h'ollrs coadngs
an.l innovaiion. AMP knows conneciots and lheir applicado4 GE knows bow lo cool $rbine
blides. Kennsmetal knows carbids, Motorcla knows $mmunications' and s" on Yel thesc
companies ar ollen so large and dispersed' fiey nnd it bard to "rencdrbef' whrt they klov'/'
The pmblem is easy!o understandKnowledgeis widely disP$ed Sone isinR&D'some
in sales,somein engineeing, strd somein manulacnrringOlherknowledgeseems!o permeate
Therc ate doze$ otlocatons, scorcs
lhc cullurE.Pmgramstnd productlines nrayspandecades.
of dcpanments, atu orousads of employees Key pople are about m rcdrc' Sone knowledge is
in files. More is in compuler syslems,in stardards' in checkli$s' and in people's memonesKnowledge is even embodied in tlF machines on the plant floor aIld tE rlgorittuN of old
compuler prog.ams. It is no wonder, with knowledgc so *idelv dispersd,thal conpa'ies
sometimes forgel Io apply theit best pmctice.
l here sre three recur.irg themsin the c{pture and usofknowledge:
l,) Leadine companies have explicii $mglams o capture ard apply bst pnctices'
Thy rcgald know-how as an imponant asset.AMP' for example' has begun a data
baseoI besl practices. Most are aclive in produd aDdprocssbnchmarkinS
2) Lea.ling companies have focusedon one or more areasofcorE competencl wilh
R&D.
3) taading companies effectiYely usc compuLr techoologi/ to "rEmembei whal
'hey
bow-across th entir enterprise.They also sripport this with pilol programs
dd
rerieve
best
aimed at fi8ding new and moe .ffcctive ways to crcrlc, capNe'
DracticeinfomarionCAD/CAM is viewed by many usersas lhe bs!deliverypladorm for muchof lhis intorma'
rion. Psychologisls leu us rhat we deal wilh informadon in firce major ways: auditory (words);
visual (diagmms,renderings.picluits)i and kine$heric(physicarinrcmdion).The world of
engineenng ard manufacturjng is eqtecially dominated by visuarly and physicaly oriented
hinkers. Yet, mo$ commercial data bares only effeclively handte wonls .nd rela$onal ubles
CAD/CAM is the most tullt developedtechnology io cteate and sharEvisual imagqs (drnw
ings, rendenngs, animalions) and to build physical artifacts (rapid pobrypes or rcal p.ns).
DspiE lhe hoopla abour multj-media and virfral rEalily, it is likely ltEse capabilities will be
adderj ro ouf already famil iar paradigms of CAD systemsand publishing sysems ra&er oran

I Proprietartiechnologyard bestpractices
. Knoe/ted8efrom kry empto]es,especiatlyif neadngrtirEmeni
r Desigoinfomation for commerciallyavailablecomponenBard siandards
r Pmduciinformaiion(a complerepaclageincluding gometry,designintent,
chnngehislories,bill of nateiak. tcstdata,warraniyinformation,clc.)
Of course,paperandmicmfdmeddrawingshavelong bna repositoryof knowknge.
LeadingcompnniesaretakingCAD byonda digital arEhivefor dnwingr to a more accessible
rpositoryof lalowiedgeandbstpracdces.Somqeciffc wajs ihe studt participanh are
using c{mputer tools to capture knorvledgerr thse:
I IntegrationofCAD andomcc automalionbols on thsamewodGtationplalfurm.
or sendelecuonicmail vrhilecompleting
so CAD userscannm olherapplicaqions
eort
rcmal dedSF
i hDdllcl stru.trMnformadon (btl of natcdars)Inked ro CAD
a Rdaduul dalabaseslinted to CAD d{iries
. Dsiabas.soflaster imagcsofpait 2-D CAD data
! Updared(morEgraphical)gmuptectnologycon Eprs
. 'hEuigt{- crlalogsof compcng dsigru
. Greaacruscof axsemblymodlingandrEferEncc
files
r Cntrmon$b6ynems rnd teclxDlogyplnforms
r Prodwibility andDFMA (Dsignfor ManufacrurandAlsmbly) databases
r lrnpmvedkno\/ledgeof c.sb rlmugh ABC (Activity-BasedCo$ing)
. Knowledgeatrdpracticesmntainedin CAD prcgralns(GRIPpmgrdlns,clc.)
r (iowledge {rd pnclices containedin analysisandsimdatior prognlms
r SpecializdKBE (Knowledg. BasedEngineering)applicarions
r DesignofE perimeds(DOE)andTaguchimethods
I Rapidpmtotyping("hard" prororlTes)for early uscrfcedback
r Cmputer sirnularions('soft ' proroD?es)for e.adyuse.feedback

Knowledge that coDrpanieswish to capture fo. flsi subsquentretrievsl itcl des the
lollowing:

r Cuslomersarisfactionmerrics,linkdaoproducrrlfinirions

One issue ariscs in anaching knowtcdge lo gmmer.ic rcprlsstarion: ..ls the producr dcfini,
i'on a CAD modcl and documcflalion package? Or is i. a collecrion of algoririms, rccipcs, aDrl
pmgrams? ' lncrEasirgly, pmducr designs are 8rdra,ed frcn knolrredge bases.
The mosl slccesstul idtiatives lo caprure b:s! Facdces, ju.lging bl, widespread?doprio4 arE
often the simplest. Despi{e widesprcad inerc$ and inlclLigation of ncq, rechrctogics, tnejory is
still oul on nany of$e morE cornptcx endeavoN. No user, for eiampie. cxpressed
Crcai deligt t
in using any of drc commcrciallyavailabl.producldaram.nagcmemsvsrems.Mosr syslerns
wcre rcgarded as a necessaryevit and srilt in n.ed of runing to dctighr tfi. individuat Lser.

r T.adilional 2-D CAD. Still a maiislay h many companies,especialy anong the

big machine cusromizersdescribedeadie. Also requirsd to communicate wirh
many suppliers- But unless th prcduct is essentialy 2 lp-D in nature-anrbirectulll floor plaff or side vie*s of prinring prsses,for exampte {aditional drawings aE rLtrost uselessfor concurrE engincering. Most peoplc arc nor skilted a!
visudizing real producls fioln 2 D engincrjng dawings.
r 3-D wirefrsnc CAD Usetulin somecases,suchasa sinptified noradonir carty
design or assemblynodeling. Largely supneded by solid and surface modeling.
r Surface modelioC Still rquircd,od sdll cumbrsome,
fo.comptx, scutpred
surfnces.Bsrifseamlcsslyintegmredwith orhermodeliflgtcchniques.
I Solid modeling. Now ffl$ and rcliable ernugh-lle besrnertod
to. complere
fackasnrs.en8irfr-rjrt. i,r'l n.Nfr.nr.inA oImo.leratelyconltei pmdrrJs.
I rr,., .r' . oli'i. . r 'jr l Eqr i'. r . r xt ivelyext r Niv. \ r t r t xt r r ior st or . . lcquar .
t,-rr,rrntr, nfii't iit nr ni. t r r r . Lr iltr o, ,cl. N t of t lr ge,t i, llydelNiled
r ssenbt ics
.nd {i l l p,N" r o r . ilu. \ r inr( nn'pr exilr cr scdiDgsr r 'nccs.
-

Useft aeed a vriet! of asier to Be tooLt udd?r a .odmon uer ialetace and
ar open CADf,@n.wo .. (Ph'Lo cou es! of EDs Unig.aphi$.)
An interestng finding was a rradeoff of indiriduat, !eam, and corDorare-s,id. a*ess ro
inlorrnation :this is the age-otd pmblem oi rcquiring somc individuals lo dc morc *ork for lhe
benentofthe team.You kDoq rheprcblcm.i can mdelsrandmy hdriMiring e.t drds.in8s,so
whyshould 1 Lakcthelimc10makeir so r,rl/ can rcadtrcm, too?Irtums our a simitarissue
occurs with drc lale$ panmctric and variafionat and orhcr ne$, CAI) paradil'llrs.
MaDy usershad expcriencewirh nruhiDleCAD slsremsard haw.irrlorcd fte De* Dar?rDet
ric and variationalmodelingsyslens.Us:ls noredlnar vendorsarc qger !o show wha(rheir
sysEms arc good for bul nol so lortllrighr about &. shoncomings. So, nerc are somc o;ick Dros
and consot variousmodelingapproache.bascdon usercommentr.

l ' rri nFti r. {or n, t r nt r t er i'r e. t or . 'r li. Uvf ir r - r r t r r |I 'lr c( ot idt r x dir g f or r hc
, r r '! . of h. \ y {o I ) r r ir nr cl{r 'ize
i ' r' i ! i nr' rl r sar$lnj is ov. r t I f n. Nr ninp
f lxj. t s.
(nl vr " ,rrn , 1, ^r 'ju: s
r l nr llno. lclliuwbs a- ssodndvirisym r it
^n, '. ( t ', i, . , 1
raindl. llrJrv4ycr.frrdrr:ti!itv
lf'r.,ji. tr) rhc inrlividralusernrry bc ofis.t by
n'ri4ra.ke r,' nrhseqn.nr,rsc'qrrtr) dor't r.nolvwharasslnrflionsltc b ittilto
th. n(4p1. [todiariht "..oil')tcx t'irrrn.re.i?.d modetc,n l]e snDilarl{rllri g lo
D',\liq/ .B,rlrr frugra'n'ncr'sLnsttr.l,n?rtNrntn coormcrrrcd
code.paranjerlic
ornl c| n,t i s n Er . . llo. l r art hen! i; r idt r r iwln f eels. om f or r ibleenh t lje r D,
rr ry lrnv. fitrirls for sl'arcd,iesip aaroDgnotlidc scn,la.ger leanrs.
tf..."
and long Iite ycles specially if ihe design lask is nor inherently pararneric.

r Yariationsl solid modeling.Tbe grearhopefor achievingthe beoefitsof pal:lmer

nc modelirg *irhour the dnwbackl olhaving to paramelerize rhings upfmnr
Ncw wo*s well tor 2-D problms. tn!! stil slow and unreliablc tor complex 3,D
problcms. l]re rcchnology should contirue ro imprcve.
r Cdmponent or rropen"CAD sotl*are. Basicpbitosophyof providingdevelopcr
accessibleacccssto the modeler. user interface, e!c. A ows sophislicated uscn/
developers b build special-purposesy$ems for a compriaivedge. Most indi
vidual uscl: andsmallcompanicsshouldnr inve$ in rhis tevtofpmgnnming using macrosandsimild cusromizarion
roolsinsread.

Strategies for a Competitive Ec.ge

Rrpid Dovolopmonr ahd

Asilo M,nut cturnrg
Bapidresponseto customer needs rhrough sho,rer
development cycles and speed ro market. Aqile

One continuing trend h closer integmtionofLlesignand manufacturinS

rh.oughCAD/
CAM, Ycstcrdry s atter'p{lo breakdown rlle wau betweendesianand mmufacturingis today's
inlcrcslin concurrentengineeringandleaming.The abilily ro designproducrsoncewirh CAD'
rnd thenuse$e samegeomelrytbrnumerical conlrcl pmgramminggoesbackmorthan a
dccadc.Morc cicganLvcrsionsol this stmtcgy and orccllcntpay backs-wce sen in mosrof
thc pinicipanB. This finding may be due in pan rc $e Unigrnphicsbackgmurdof mo$ padiciprnLr,siDcethc systemtraslong led lhe iDdustryin machiningdirccdy fmm CAD data.

Pa r e r oa Jd .,sr 5sn o * a d 'o u r \e y o o u e n e , .\_

o |l e r ,
oveflook In averagecompanieFwith up ro 20
weeks potenti.isavings in the devetopment cycie.
h addirion,p!{icipanrs demonsvared rhree differ
enr panerns oa rapid responselo clsromer needs,
dependrngupon p.od!d and modei compterity.

While eachcornpanyexprcssedits needsand sl'aegies somewhatdifferen y. DesignInsigh!

lound cighr alcaswhercmany pafl'cipat$ pulsllcd a similarsmegy aDdachievedsuperior

CAD/CAM lo shonen deve opmenr cycles. Four key

areasrdenlified.Highest cLrrenr savi.ss are in
tdolnq for ner shape parrs. Many other processes

t FoLtrsrrategies
arc prcducl'onentedand customer-orienled,
aimedat developing
sup.eriorqualuy
and valuein fteirproductsI An additional four stralegies ale prccess-orienled aM intemally orientcd, aimed al
more cfficienrandcffcclive moagement ofdesign md engineenngruncrions.
'Ihe eighl key slrategicssharcdby threeor morc offte ninesludy panicipantsarc summa
nzed in De following lables.The lilsl four sttuegiesarc poductand customeroriented,while
intcmal proccsses.
rlc last lour srrearnline
We will exploreeachof thes eighl stntegiesin more
dcLail rougirout rhisstudyrepon:
Superior lhtogration o,
Fom and Function
Eye-catchinqdesig. wiih rhe ilest combinanonot
srYinq, ergonomiG, packaging,performance,and
prodlcibillty Win the clstoher buyi^g decision.
Diilerenl iunctons use diflerenr geornelric crealron
tooLsior industial desiqn, ergonomics,engineeing,
packagrnq and manlfactu.ing Five or mo.e tunc
t'ons lypi@lly compet lo Intilence geomety. Even
wo.se than the ditliclhes h fe{realron oi geometry
are deLaysand poo, design decisions
Close. i.tel]laton ol indus$ialdesign, mechanical
packaging,and man!facluring enqhee.ng func
lions Seve6l@mpa.ies are usidg the eme sotid/
suriace model belween tu.d ons and hee re
moved drawlhgs from the crincalpalh. Result:
betrer designs, fewer erro's, and fewer deays

Cohpoiitiv
St.drogy3

a6.rp..ctico.
tmFtom.ntsrion
A compelrtiveedge in design, engineering,..d
manufacturihgby captling and using bst prac
lces.lhink of lhese as C"AOen.bted cord compe

Conpanres often had teadershipjn a core technotogv. A key issle ls lo devetop drore eitective ways
ro capru.e,,ell|eve, and use ths knowtedge for
des gn and man!facruing.
Evolutionot CAD irom autohared drafiins lo a sel
ol tools ior knowtedqecaprlr a.d relrievat t.he
text rsrs 17 dillerent approachsor enabti.g

Nw P.r.digm.
Dorig.

to.

.nd M.nut.cru.ihg

Increasewondwide market share wilholt dlplicat

ing scarce (and costly)lechnil resources A
pragmalic take on the -vtrrlal enterprise.

Beducedsuoportrequ,ementstof CAD/CAM
systems,allowingstaffro concentrate
on valle-

C!ltural afd ofganizalionalbaniers limirthe sharinq

of know edg in.nuilisite, mulli{ational
compa.ies Some vendo.s also avoid responsibilily
torhelpns to get divers CAD syslemsio

Companies
n t atfordl6rqesupportstaflsto
supporlCAD/CAM.Systemsmustappearto be
neanyseit-supportifo,
requiringnew paradiqmsfoi
vendorslpport. Companies
alsoneedhlpto man.ge lechnoogy obsolescence
and legaca/systems.
Theinternalfocusfof suppodmustbe on high
v6lueaddedapplinonslaio.ed to blsinessneeds.

lmplementationot CAD iools, standards,and

nelwork sep ce-at
easr within the co.e develop
ment team io improve communicalion belween
wdely d spersed opeGtions and slppliers

Severalbestpracticese.ne.ged:
. benetilsof CADprogEmmability
. eanymovekom maintrames
lo workstations
. inteinational
developmenr
b6sedon ope^
.

lntomation Tool' to
Mahrso Cohp16tity
Effeclive management of producl and modelmix
complexitya midsl downsizinq oicorpo.ale supporl

Conoa-ieq [a.e h,gl' msrs and:^lorar;onovaload

in trackinq customers, change o.de.s, p.oduct
der ^ilio^, naiLf dc lJ r i^g d a l a ,e r r . We 'o u n d t h r p e
dilfe.ent sets oi p.oblems and solltions when
prodlct complexily (number ol pa(s in a rypil
producr)is plotted vs mode mix complexjty
(n!mber ol difle.enl products)

productdata,
Dllterentstraiegieslof manaqinA
primarilyon productomplex yand
depending
modelcomplexityThreemajorstrategiesare
identiliedlor "coretechnology
innoEtors,' -leap
"big
fros developers.
and
madrinecustomize.s.'

Comptitiv
Strow 7

to systemssupporl
^ewapproaches

Widorproad
Adoprion
Wrdespreadadoption ol afio.dabie and casy-to lse
systems be.aose .ompanies must nraintainpap6.
b.sed systems untrl a critjca mass ol users is
"connected" with new systems.
CAO users have raced a trade olf of powe.and eas.
ol !se. Many potentiaLusersavold CAD. Oihers fEil
to lse the systems 10 thetr porenrial Low rales oi
adoption requne du6 enqineeringsystems: ono lor
C ID .sF s a .d r a o r h e ro a p F'b d <a dl o r r o . L se .q
No company ln the stldy has eliminated pabllel
dala-basedand paperbased systems Yet some
compaares aod smallerteams in al companieshave made exceptionalstrides toward l0o percent
lse ola 3 D CAD data b3se. Keys io success 6r

ilir

:
j

Cohpstitiyo
Srrll.gy
a

Go.l

l.!uo.

Blr

Pracaico.

SuFpo.i foi Tamiog.nd

Cmcumnt
ErgiDoorihg

Soppo(,ora companys comrrent engineerinq.

ahrng, quality,andparhernq niliatives.
Compeies rmgdze the limitatioc of isolaied
technil functi@s. Still, hrge companies@not put
all funcrionsin @e .()@ add aim to do wqythi^g
simulranoosly.Systemsar nededto help share
dataand suppo.l @@rent engineeing teams.
Besr practices indud muhipl disciplines usinq lhe
same 3! data ba*. ea y simltarion od
prorolyAng ior dosig. relk,throughs, and nous
tools for "virtual dllocailon."

In judging the slibbiliiy of thesesEaiegiesin yourowtr organzarion,two notesarein orlr

First, designenginecNandengi@ing lq?nagersagreedthat fully Ltndc.statdin|custun rs'
needsis the kq to succetr.Withoui Ihisundcrsrrndingevenlhe besrdesignandmanufacturing
capabililywill be wasted.
Sccond,yourneeds-and thoseofyourcu$omen may be differcnrthanftose ofthe sbdy
panicipdts. While the companiesrcprc*n! a broadcmss-section
oflading pncrice, all arE
above$2OO
miuion in size.Funhermore,superiormechanicalandetectro-mechanicat
performancc andCAD/CAM-are impon{n! lo &eir success.
Il wouldtakecreativethinting to applythebesrp.acrices!o, say,a snall lgalfirtrl or a large
bankingcompany.Howevet thegrEarerdangcrrnayhe an anihde rhateverycompanyis so
uniquethatthercis rDthirg to begainedin leamjngftom o6ers. We knog/,for example,thar
cvcn lhe smallestcomponcn(manufacrurer
hasnuch ro gainby understanding
andsupponing
rhcslrategies
ofits cusromers.

!i tl

i,r,
,

Theslegdingcompanieshad to overcomethreeobstaclesto designsmooth,sculpted

formsrvith CAD:
r The reluctanceof many industrial designers!o substihltecomputermodelingtools
compuler'aidec
andolherfamiliarlools.Despiterccentadvances,
for rendenngs
manual
metlods.
indusuialdesigntoolsforstytingaJeoftenslower!o usethan
r Thercluctance
lo work in 3-D CAD,
of somedetaildesigners
andmanysuppliers
basedon a lifetimeof familiaritywith mechadcaldiawings.
In somecases,companypolicy andstandardsenforcethe useof 2-D tools. In
addition,a divisionof laborbetween
enginee.ing
anddraftinglaboriscommonin
somelargecompanies-with only 2-D tools availablefor the drafting function.
Evenifsophisdcated
3-D toolsarcavailablesomewhere
in thecompany,designs
mustbepushedthrougha 2-D tool al somepoint.
I Crcalcrcosts
performance
for solidandsudace
ofhardwareto povide adequate
modcling,comparedto 2-D drafting.
companies
in &e studythink solidmodeiing
Like Churchil'sconmentaboutdemocracy,
maybetie woNt wayfo designpmducts...
ercdpt all thateoher w6rstheyusedbefore.They
notet}latthesolidmodelsoneseesin vendordemonstr-ations
neverhavethequirkyconbinameeringbLended
surfaces
oneencounteFin complexsolid/surface
tionsofblendedsurfaccs
howeve.painslakingly
achicved,
is possiblewith sold modeling.
design.Yet succss,
wasto usea computcr-aided
indusuialdesignproduct,like Alias,in
Onecommonapprcach
industrialdesignandtien o lransfertle modelto a systemlike Unigraphics
for detailingand
manufacturing.'?
Two respondents
foundthisto bebtrer$an faditionalstyling,despitethe
exrrawork nededfor da(auansfer.Unigtaphicssolid modelingwasnotei as sufficient for
moderarelyc.mplex prcductdesigns.Integratedsolids and surfac.sprovedusfuIfor more
sophisticated
forms.
Leadingcompanies
aim to designproducts
thataJemon visuallyandergonomically
appealing fian he competition.
While$is mansextrawork in t}leearlydesignstages,
thebenefitsof
gralersalesfaroulweigh$e costs.This is especially
with manycustomers,
truefor producrs
wheredesi8nandtoolingcoslscanbe amonized
or moleuniB.Today's
overseveralthousand
is sufficientformostof theneldedCAD work,butlhercllrc
leadingsolidmodelingtechnology
alsomanyhunan andorganizationalissues-likc the hurdlesprcviously noted-that musrbc
for effectiveimplementadon,
overcome
The TrondTowsrd a Single Solid/SurfacEModel to RemoveOrawingsFrom the
CriticalPath
Ano$er Eendidentifiedby sNdy participants
cxtendstheintegration
of form andfunction
beyondvisualandrgonomic
functionsto strlctural,enginering,
andmarufacturing
disci.
plines.Again,thebasicprincipleis rhalthebestway to reconcileconflicungdemands
overform
geomelric
andfunctionis to sharea commonwayofcreating,viewing,andcommunicating
infoI.malion.

The Trend Toward Smooth, Sculpted Surfaces

Panicipantssawanevolutionin design,ftom simpleiectilinearformsio smoorh,sculpted
shapes.Among the reasonscited for this Fendare these:
r Natuml human affinity for organicshapes
r Creatervisual intercst,compaEdto sharpprismaricshapes
! Cnstomer'sdesirefor differentiateddesignforms
! Bgnefitsof beEerergonomics,beuerfit to hand,fewersharpcomeN
! BeilerenginecriJlg
performance
(aerodlTrarnics,
clip breakers,
etc.)
I C\lstomerperceptiooofhigher $ality, fit, andnnish
I Improvedcapabilityto designnetshapes-sophisricalei
CAD makesil possible
r Improvedcapability to manufacturerlet shapes-advancedCAM makesit possible
r Grcaterdesignsophislicationof customers
r Injluenceof a long se.iesofproducts(t-'eggspackage,
FordTaurus)on slyle
Whateverlhe Easons,the trendis clear. SuccessfuIproducts,especiallyconsume,prcoucls,
aremore likely to havesmoorh,sculptcdsurfaccsandlesslikely to look like World War II
ammunitionboxes,For personalcomputers,
AppledesignN
expressed
thisasa desirefor
"swoopy"designandsuperiorergonomics.
ForMotorolalspageB,it is a tiny package
thatfeels
good to the hand,witi sophisticatedandvisualy appealingblends--{o*n to a subtle40,, radius
crown on the front surface.Compadeslike 3M ald Kodak rely uponan appealingpackageor
dispenser!o help sell the product-,,makc it by the mlle andse it by the inch." Evenfor
carbideinsens,Kernametalurderstands
the.,bumpy,wavy"appealofmolded-inchipbreakeE.

| )tLlroid,s amD, tr.a leadersin the retuj rN,-. |

: - rar.., :lulplea :ra : : :.:
e
)1:!let :he.l!.t.rca Br6voEtp.es:
j.
.,r .-:,: - rc;rrJ.:.
lti.,.,*.
-.ipeatingbknd: 4)l!n to a subtle4A rudivs..o.s.o^:r.cfants4c;..
, Photo courtest of Motorcla's Paging productt GrcuD.)

lntegrationof Formand Function

fo[owedby solids_
These praclices support thedesignof smoolh,scuipledsurfaceA,
manufacturine
net
shape
use
of
and
increasing
basedintegr"rionof engineeringfrmc[ions
pfocesses.
The benef;tis se4nin productslike the Apple PowerBookcomPuler,whichcombines
gooddesigr, enginecring,andmanufacturingpracucefor a winning producl
CeomelryseNesmanymasten.A smooth,scu.lptedshapetlat catriesa visualmeaningfor
thedsignermay meana costlymulri_partmold for the Producibilityengineet We found at leas!
struclural
to finction, includingvisual,ergonomic,
formmustrcsPond
6vewaysthatgeometric
(producibility)
five
arcas
alI
These
functions.
engineering(prformanc),andmanufacfuring
comPeleto shapegeometricform.
packaging
and
distributors'
includingcustomeas,
therearcmanymoreinfluences,
ln pracdce,
,nd
fashion,
comPctitofs,
facto
goverrmenl
regdations,
de
standards,
shippingrequirements,
Ifs llle sameasfive kids
Theresultis a messyconllict:unongdifferentdepartments.
suppliers.
andstylislslly to influlndustrial
desiSners
the
same
outline
witl crayons!ryingto colorover
encevisual fom, often with an imperfectund$randingof the other consfaints ErSonomic
expertsmay or may not beclnsulted. Stnrcturaldesi8nvariesin inlluenceandthesophistication
takea sinilar partin thesu!gglc
andmanufactunbility
requirements
of metlods.Engineering
ro dictateform.

I ntegrutionofform andfunction is a topprioritt in cotnponietJikeApple

Conputer. Sa!li ne,e4onomi cs, structurc, enI i ncerinq, and manufacturubi Liry
ofApple
all cont buteto thefrn4lformof thePoweBook.(Ph'ttocourtes'J
CamDuter.)
its o\*'nwaysofdesc.ibinggeomctry,
Theproblemis thateachfunctionhasits own agenda,
andits own rulesto dcscribeidealrclationships
ofform andfunction.Whenco.nmunicairon
betweengroupsis poor,issuestakea longtime !o rcsolve.

FiveInfluences
oir Form

Whai
ir
it?

Vi.l|dl

Ergonomic

Strucrurat

Engineerrog

Appearartce
and packaging
conveymeEning and intendedus to
the customer,

Ergonomic
formfits the
intended
user,

Structural
form
providesthe

Geometricf6ffn Optimalvisu6l,
is often
ergonomtc,
dictatedby
structu1,
and
Physjcsand

ot the prodlct,
carryrng
loads,

requirements.

andinjury.
lvhy

Visuallv

Superior

Efri:ienr

do
it?

airF.;.alijrg
products
outse their
competitors,
products.

boostsrepeat
purchases:"lt
just fels
right."

morereliable

U|lhd lndustrial
designers
and
lob
ir
stylists.
ir?

Whlt
toob

coslsdueto
xcessweight
andsEe.

Ina 'truc(rr
arrplEne,
for
example.
geomo!ry
determanes
drag.

Possibly,
Structuraland 0isciplinhumanfaclors mechanical spcialist
expertsor
nginers.
snginsrs,
industrial
engrne6rs,

Sktchs,
Khowlgdge
ot
A combination Spcielrendorings,
clay desird
menof formulas.
pun0se
machin6
analysis
tools
urod? protob/pes.
relationshjps CAD,finit
linkedto CAD.
Somspciel- meyb in
el6ment
Manydiffrnt
pulpose
handbooksandenalysis,
and
2-0and30
programs.
tables.Som lestinglools.
applicstions
Whendatais
spci6lized
re-creeted
for
CAosystms
CAD.some
xrst,
srylhgnuances
maYoe tost.

Manuflcruring

formmustbe
tradedoff
agalnst
cost,
Desjgifo. nas
ass6mbly.and
reducecosts
rnarketshare
and protits.

Procoss
and
manufacturing
engrneels,

Possibly,
Oesignand
Manufscture
Assmbly
I0FMA)data
to
estimatthe
relationships
of
formsnd
manr/facturing
cost.NCis
usedfor psrt
progremmtng.

ThreeTrendsin the Integration

of f ormindTuniionOur bstpracticec.mpaniesview thei egrarionofthese
frnctionaldisciplinesasadriverfor
marketsuccess.Thesecompatieshrve not eliminateddebale,
but they ha"" gon" funl,", tl,"n
most companiesin creatinga commongeometic database.
They havea moi ,"tionJ ano
efficient processfo.making geometricdesigndecisions.
Taking .ll nine co.p"ni"r-ig"to"r, *"
sawthreemain trcndsin the integratiol of fonn aM function:
l) The first is a lrendtowardsmooth,scutpledsurfaces.
A focuson superiorindustrial designis a competitjve
edgethatsevenl companies
believetranslares
dirccUy
rc lncreased
marketsharc.
2)Ttj ,j:... iracommi!.nent!oujrrg
rl .olid/suda:L:
ncilr
.tilial
dr :
minufactlring,
!a ,r
::t !.)Lt interr]i enc : , -. I suDo..
- -ir
er
_ . , . . c . mp r. j
rspc-.:ally(lc J rl. . .
- i
lvl_ :, r . r.:lngproducts
r.s
.._:rlrngwill
j^hi1i:3tcdus.r::aj.l.t
Crou:
a!t:..: .i:i]|:.g sophisticaled
procuctc:.r _ -j in soiidsis easyto say:,:,; hardJrto
do. Evrn so,thepaybacksof improvedcommunication
betweengrouosfar
outweighfte costsofcomplete3-D modeling.
3) The third is an emphasison net shapemaxufacturingpmcesses
and a much higher
^ -, . ^ . , . . -^ . . . _ ' , . '

Computer-AidedEverything?

19aO

1990

v,ilh dktinctlools,
Thelinesatebhtting between
formerIy distinclf]4nctioLr,
(CAID),desiStr
(CAD),ensinEering
and
likecomputer-eided
industrial
desiSn
(CAM).
(CAE),
and
analytis
Esnufacturing
or sudact'?e wassuitablefor
notedthatnosingleCAD reprcsentation
Manypanicipant5
theuseofNonard in everycompany.
So,for example,
witl everyproduct,
everyproblem,
(NLTRBS)
formatisn'tgoingto workfor
B-Splines
in a puresolidmodellng
UniformRational
requirrmcnt-say,airllow acmssrurbine
truwhenanengineering
This is especia.Uy
cvgryone.
thercaIoftengoodrcasons
to mix a
blades--iicEresrheproprgeomery.Funhermore,
forexwireframes
One
might,
fromsimple
lo surfacs
lo solids.
varietyof represenhrions,
or asscmbly
modeling
smg6.
deEilin earlydesign
irmplc,wanr!o avoidunnecessary
andusetranslaton
lo tlis problenis toproliferate
different
CADsystems
Oneapprcach
fltrhatlessis morp.while rcogntzing
theplaceof
ro function.
Ourpanicipants
liom function
systems,
mostsaidthathavinga varietyof wireframe,sudacmodeling.and
special-purpose
is
withina singlesystem
wasa bonus.
Thetrcndfor visualization
solidmodeling
toolsavailable
of wordprocessing,
speUchecking,desktoppublishmuchthesamasthgraduslintegration
isolated
functions
areme.ging.
ing,andforns.Fonnerly
The TrendTowaid Net ShapgManufacturingProcs3s
prccesses
panicipan6
in
FinaLty,
emphasized
theimportance
ofnetshapc
marufacturing
parts,bolEdtogether
inregraling
formandfunction.
TheFendis awayfrom2 lz-axis machincd
designed
andenginered
wilh CAD/CAM.Netshape
likc Erecrorsr6, andtowardnetshapes
pmduce
pansvery
processes,
molding,
manufacluring
suchasmelallomingor plasticinjection
closelo heir fina.lform.

For fiem, computerwereemployed

by all ninecompanies.
Nel shapeformingprocsses
aidedmxnufactudngis lessa matterof diaectmachiningof componen6and more a matterof
machining)dies and molds.Consider,for example,
machiningor sinking (electro-discharge
AMP andelect.ical comectors.The body is moldedplastic.The pins aresophisticatedplated
stampings.Otlrcrnet shapemanufacturingprocessesincludeNavistar andrtuck body pans and
fairings, CE andcomplex fabricatedpartsandcastings,Kodak andfilm "packages"(including
camerabodies!),and Kemametal al|d its powder-formingpmcessto make carbideinserts.
Theseare corecompetencies---{dticalto succrss.
processes
whilg manyspecialized
manufacturing
arEavailable,lheeight leadingnet shape
are thesei
nunufacturingprocesss
t Metal fonning

r Rubbermolding

r Plasticsmolding

I Casting

r Die-casting

I Glassforming

I Forging

r Powdermetallurgy

Partlcipants
notedfour reasons
for thistrendto*ard netshapehrnufacturing:
I Net s,hapes
providesmooth,sculpledsudacrswith ljttle or no
andnearnelshapes
secondary
machining
operations-a
savings
of timernd cost.
I Netshape
processes
parts,sliminate
allowdesigrErs
fasteneN,
imto combine
provedesign
for assembly,lower
assembly
costs,andimprovercliability.
: Somesophislicatd
producls
wouldnotbpossible
withoutcompuier
aidsandnet
pmcesses.
shape
A modemftltineblademaycombine
materials
sophisticated
and
formwithhundreds
of s-axis,lasr-driled
coolingholes.
I Continueiexperience
processes
with net6hape
likc plasticsmoldingandshel
metalforming,combined
with aninfi'astructure
of goodsuppliersandsophistiprocrsscs,
catedsimulation
is loweringinitial cos6andenablingnewapplications.
processes
This ernphasis
otl netshapemarufacturing
makesanintcgratedda|abasefrom
design
to moldanddiemanufacturing
especially
valuable.
Kodak's"compurer-aided
tool-rnaIers"aranexampleof tlE trcnd,citedby theAPQCBenchmarking
Cllearinghouse.
asbestin
Kodakmakesa widevaaiety
class.
of components,
suchat connlmcrcamera
bodies,
outof
moldedplastic.
Mary ofthemostcompler
moldsarebuiltirl-house
by a cadreofCAD-using
toolnakenworkingdircdyfromfte design
database.
So,despite
fiercecompetition
fromthe
PacificRim andothersources,
toohrakersin Rochester,
N.Y.,oftenprovidebctlertotalrequality,andcost---specially
sponse,
oncomplexjobs.
Several
otherpadcipanEalsomade
moldsanddiesdirectlyfroma solidmodel.
In summary,theaverage
pmcess
company
is iikelyto havea haphazard
contenlion
of
dcoiding
fonnandfunction,
wi!ha hodgepodge
ofmanualandcomputer
bols,andperhaps
a
''blindspot"in seeing
oneor morcaspects
of formardfunction.
In conlms!,
ourmarket-leading
companiesemphasizet}le followinS;
I Ali-:.r,r.rprccessfordccid,rga r
\ia
I
customa:.:rr: ;: l
-1.'-he
I

ta ,:frtc l s o l i d :i : I .;i

T
b !..:..,

-.i:,ncuon,$ith.
:xlei!iorenq
1: r :llo\n't

r: i

ndoing

. " ..-L o n s .

I CAD/CAM for netshapemanufacluring

processes.
Successful
companies
havea clearunderstand
ing oforganizationhurdles!o belterintegrate
thcirhandlingof form andfuncrion.Finally,thissuccess
direcdycontributes
to increased
n 1 " 1 - rr ch ,T

i.il

n r ^ fir e

stzEs tN tNcHEs
sq ToL d B rc
DATUM FACE A

-_____.-_

BOX

GEAR
.oo3trDE

t__

t=---

'T -

| .7n
f

___j ./

i._____

-l
/ t'ru I

PAR TOL g D OO3 ttDE

DATUM FACE A

1 .7 5 - _ > .;

\. t,e t

t- - --I

Introduction
hasforcedcompardes
competition
to uy andshortenthetimeit ftkesto
Duringthelasttwo decades,
products.
while
costsand
Theyhavehadto do this
loweringdevelopment
developandmodify
Theimpactof
to investir newtechrologies.
improvingquality.Theseddve6haveforcedcompanies
takeson the
asdlecompetition
hasbeenaretumwhichhasquicklydiminished
eachnewinyesEnent
gades
ald
enhancements
have
not
had
the
same
return,
because
they
technology.
Subsequent
up
same
onlykeeptheshtusquo.
investment
andupgrading
Nowtbatpointapplications
suchasCAD,CAM,MRP,FEAarecommon,
give
wiUnot
laryereturns.Integrated
CAD/CAM/FEAsystemsare
thesystems,
althoughnecessary,
address
in mamgingthe
available,
thesesystems
someofthe issuesbut createoewproblems
generate.
Likewise,large
assmbly
modell s nowgivetheabilityto build
relationships
ofthe datathey
management
which
butintroduceissuesof configuradon
electronicEock-upsof verylaryeproducts,
couldmoresafelybeignoredin oldcrsyste6s.Focusingeffonpurclyon evolvingpointsolutionswill
give8 diminishingreturnoninvestment.
Ofteninvestlentin a singleFocesssiDplycreatesa bottle
neckin thc nextprocess.
management
ofaUofthe enterprises
sysEmsand
Tbenextleapforwardwill comefromtheintegrated
will
procedures,
ProductDataManagerncnt notonly reducethebotdeneckin I singleareabut
' efferprisewide.
issucsof iEplemcndng
andjustifyinga Product
Thisse{tionof thePDMSerisdealswith thebusincss
DataManagcment
system.

MR,P.t{.^-t..i"^t eu'y,*'-.r

Pt"a'''J

A Brief Overview
(PDM)is aboutthemanagement
hoduct DataManagement
andcontol of all thedataapdprocedures

ul9!l9-deusLm-e4q]!-ud4!q4!qeviuqqrslq!-plgdusl
driverhasencouraged
thedevelopment
Overthelastdecade
or so,onebasicbusiness
of Product
Data
Managemeff
systems.
Thatdrivercanbesunmadsed
as"1!9!gelllglggi!!.41l19499_p!qdw!-!j!qg
to market".Someofthe consequences
ofthat driverto Dalufacnrringcompanies
havebeen:
productquality.
timewithoutendangering
A constant
effortto minimiseproductdevelopment
Thishasledto theuseof manypointsolutions
to rcducedsignandmanufactudng
timeandto
ircreasequality.Althoughthesesolutiom,CAD,CAM,MRP,etc.bringdefinitebenefiNtheyhave,
problemsof co-ordination
in themselves,
inuoduced
andhtegradon.
A consequence
ofall thesecomputer
based
toolshasbeena vastinffease
in thevoLume
ofdata.
ThelargevoluEesof datahaveinsreased
theneedfor clearlydefinedprocedures
whichin tumhas
ledto thedevelopEent
of QualityStardards,
hoductDataManaSement
systeDs
havebeendeveloped
withtheaimofad&essi[gthese.issues.
They
dothisbyproviding
fivebasicsetsoffuncdonality:
productinformation.In thePDMworldthisis
SafeStorage- A secuestorefor all theEnrcrprise's
oftencalledtheVault.
passes
Audlt . A PDMsystem
canrecordeverymajorstepa product
through
in theprocess
of
gives
designor change.
This
a recordthatcanbeusedto tracewhathappeled,
by whomandwhen,
in themodemworldof productliability.
essential
ProcedureCouhol - PDMsystems
allowthemanagement
of theflow of work,howit moves
thloughtheofganisation,
altdtheprocedures
thataleusedto passit ftomonestageof its life cycle
Examples
to another.
oftheseare:engineering
change
contol,passing
dataftomonegroupto
alother,providingconfiguration
status.PDMsystems
oftenreferto thisasPlocess
andWorkFlow
maJragemeru.
Data Capture- Thisis thecoreofthe system.
A PDMsystemhasfacilitiesto captureandmanage
phases.
thedau generated
duringthedesignandmodification
With computer
basedsystems
the
PDM canliterallycapturetheindividualfiles.Examples
ofcomputerbaseddataarc;3Dsolid
models,engineering
specifiedons,engineering
change
orders,scarnedimagesandgeneral
notes.
For off-computer
data,suchaspaperdrawingsandmicrofiches,
thePDMcanmanage
its
to otherdata,storephysicallocationandlog useraccess,
rclationship
provides
all paisof a product.
ProductStructure- Thebackbonelinkingtogether
A PDMsl/stem
facilitieswhichallowallthedatadefilinga product
to belinkedtogerher
by a product
structure
Theproduct
structwe.
unlikea normalbill.canbeusedto navigate
manager.
andaccess
thedatait
Ii allowsouicklogicalaccess
to access
to all dataanduqlidetab4sis lbrlolqDlcf
references.
guration
maragement.
confl

ln generalPDMsystemshouldprovidetle
PDM systembringsnumerous
benefits.
A well implemented
followingbenefits:
Better alataquality by eNuringthatall datathatbelongstogetheris linkedtogether.Sowhen,for
access
aparticularrevisionof a producqhehasimrrlediate
to
anengineerwantsto access
example,
withit. Sothismeans:
nolookingupof infomadon,
nolossof important
all thedataassociated
wrong
Also
has
immediat
access
to thewhat,
data.
theengineer
dataandnomistakenuseof the
why,whenandwhoof sll data,Sohecaoanswerthewhodesignthis?or whenwasthisrcleased?
quicklyandefficierdy.
tylrequestions
thar
Reliableilata by ensuringthatasdatais evolvedor qeatedit is madeavailableto everyone
Therearcnodelaysin distdbution
ncedsit, Thecurrentinformationis alwaysitrmediatelyavailable.
useof outof dateinforEation.
andnoenoneous
is visibleto all. Thisaliows
of designor modification
Datr ylslblllty by ensuringthewholeprocess
goup
progresses.
asit
Forcxample,
or modilication
thewholeengineering !o seetle design
prcducdonengineers
theirexpenisewhile
canstartplanningEanufacturc
eariyon andcontribute
Engineering
methodology.
is still in progress.
Thisis theessence
ofconcunent
tiredesign
to all
envircffnentthatallowsthemaccess
A newgeneration
PDM systemplacesusersin a consistent
presented
in
familiar
fotrat
and
need
to
use.
Data
can
be
a
can
andapplicatioNthey
of thesystems
allowsusersto quicklyadaptto
thattiey arefamiliarwith.Thisapproach
cvenemulatetheprocedures
them.
Thesystemcan
Concunent
EngineerinS.
Therealiropactof a PDM systemis in thewayit promotes
of a
autoEaticallydistributedatato userssothatftey aleawareofthe pro$essanddevelopment
datawithouttheneedto
project.
automatically
allocates
access,
allowing
usersto reference
Thesystem
productive
with
advanced
assembly
modellers,
enables
useof
it.
This,
together
tle
use
of
modiry
Ir generaltermsthePDMgivcsI vehiclewhich
electronicmock-upsandothertinc savingtechniques.
walls'
with
andstimulateamoreco-operative
in theenterprise
canbeusedto breakdownthc 'Chinese
whichin tum shonclsdevelopment
time.
approach

TheBusiness
Case
(PDM)system
WithinaBenterpdse
a hoductDataManagement
canhelpmanage
lheproduct
development
cyclefor engineaing,manufacturing
andprovidesupportfor downstream
activitiessuch
aslogisticsupport.ThePDMsystemdoesthisby providingimp.ovedaccess
to all productdata,
process,
documenting
thedevelopmeflt
atd by organisilg,contloltngandmanaging
access
to all
productdefioitiondata.ThisdatamayincludeCAD/CAMfiles,specifications,
manufactuling
process
plallsard programs,
models,testresultsandEanymo.e.Overalla PDMsystemshouldprovide
aoalysis
a workingenvironment
conducive
to quality,
lBplemeltinga PDMsystemhasaneconomic
impacton theenterprise.
Thisimpactcanbepositiyeor
negative,
will
quality,
sfategicard tactical,and involvea tradeoff between
timeflexibiLityandcosts.
$iU rcedto examilleall thesefactors,assignvaluesto themandusethemto measure
An organisation
withPDM.Thediffrcultywitha PDMsysrems
theirsuccess
isit is nota toolwitha measurable
performance
but a workingenviron:ment,
it canbedifficultto decideon rheconect
Consequently
metdcsto use.
Thebenefits
ofa PDMsystem
canbeaccessd
urdertlreebroadtitles:Di.ectCostSayings',
'ImprovedQuality'and'TimeTo Marl(et'.
Direct CostSavings
A largemanufacturer
repodedthatafrersuccessfully
installinganadvanced
CAD sysrcmengineers
only
spent40%of thektimedesigning.
Theother60%wasspentonadrrinisEation,
searching
for data,
paperbasedchangecontrolandenteringdata,sometimes
tle samedata,intoseveralcon[ol systems.
A
PDMsystemcanproyidea significantreductionin thelabourfor all ofthesetasls.
ThePDM'Sabilityto distributedatareduces
staffeffortin locatingtherightdataard stafftimein
disfibutingdata.That'sa reductionin all areasdesign,manufacture,
purchasing,
supponetc.Managers
andhoject managers
canmoreeasilyreviewdata,distributeworkalldkeeptrackof progress
ftom
theil desk,Thissavesstafftimeby reducing
thelequireEentfor progrss
meetings.
AgainthePDM'S
abilityto ensureall staffarcinfomtedandhavethesameup to dateinfomation,allowsengineering
to bemoreeffectivewith all padicipants
meetings
wellinforrned.
ThePDMcancon[ol all change
ordersensuring
all thosewhoshouldseeit areautomatically
notif,ed.
Signoffprocedures
afeaudited
andproject
malagers
canmonito.progress
asdrawings
erc.are
approved.
lnteglatingthePDMsystems
with MRP/MRPIIandotherproductioo
systems,
ensures
thardatais
enteredonce,andonlyonce.It alsoeNuresthatdatais accurate
andsynchronised
in all systems,
removinga majorsourceofproblemsaswellasreducingeffort.
Improved Quality
Oneof themajorbenefits
a PDMsystem
canbringistheelimination
ofoneofrheprimecauses
of
pmducts,
poorqualiry.
soapped
and sub-standard
Sincetheadvent
of modemCADsysaems
pafticularlysolidmodellersandassembly
modellers,
tbecause
of low qualityFoductis lesslikelytobe
poordesignor manufacture
thanfromircompleteor datawhichhasbeensuperseded.

Anexample
is thecaseofa largecomputer
supplier.
Twosubcoffiacto.s
wercsebcted
to fabricate
a
pan
critical in orderto minimisethechances
ofrsteshipment
of a newproduct,A lastminutechange
wasmadejust beforethefirst production_run.
Unfortumtely,undersuchtightpressure
thewrongdata
wassentto bothsupplieN.
Thecostpenalty
wasthevalueofthetwoconsignments
ofscrappea
fans,
plus$0.25min lostshipments.
Anotherexampleis thecaseofa largeoil valvesupplierwherethemanagement
of thenumerous
quality
sulldardsis a seriousoverhead.
Differentoil companies
requiredifferent-level
ofcompliance
and
diffelent.seas
requiredifferentquaritymaterials.
A mistakein thespecification
ofanymaterialwourd
costEiliions.lo practiceengineers
eII ofthesafesidecostingmany$10OO,s
in uonecessary
useof
expensive
Eaterials.
Quiteapartfromthdirectimpactthatsuchenorscanhavein teflnsoflosrshipmen$,
thercis todaya
po$erfulcor nercialleasorl
to ensure
fiat sysrems
arein placerocapable
ofsupponing
a qualiry
prccessto internationar
standards.
Increasingry
customers
arespecifyingttrarttreiisuppliers
sirounbe
ceftifiedto a recogrdsed
qualitystandaJd.
Thisis becoming
incriasi;gly-tluewherethedominant
companies
in a sectorarethemselves
qualirystandard
compliant.
ielp definea processes
Qualitystandards
for managing
theproductlife cycleandcoverprocedures
for
component
identification
andtaceability,
process
conuol,inspection
andtest.An apprcpriately
configured
PDMsysteEbanensure
thatyourenterprise's
qualityprocedures
cannot
beviolated
and
conformto inlemadonal
stsndards.
Ifrequireaanaitvanced
impiementadon
courdcontiguously
track
development
history,showingwhy snygivenmodificationtoot placeandwhoapproved
andexecuted
It.

TimeTo Market
Theapplication
ofthe concuEent
engineering
philo,sophy,-with
a pDM systemactngastheprimary
support
toor'canprovidesignificant
savingJ
andincleased
revenues.
oni majorconsulancy,
cuoata,
estimares
tharsucha systemcancrea* a 2G.3ozo
reductionin readtime.pA ironsulting6roupclaimsthata typicalleductionin totalproductleadtime wouldbeup 4o%.Thesefiguresarevery
impressive
andveryhardtoprove,however
if anorgadsation
realised
evena fracdon
oithesenmesaving,
it
wouldEakeverysignificantimpacton its profitabiljty.
In astudycaried outby McKinsey& Company
i! wasfoundthatshippingaproductsixmonthslate
results,
oBaverage,
in a 33%erosion
ofnctprofits.ln facr,rheeffe"sor ti!!e ou"ran,,re muchmore
&amaticthanthoseof costoverruns.
A 9%prcduction
costoverrun,
fo. instalce,
equate
s witha 22fo
profitdeficit.While50%development
costovenunleadsto only3.5%deficit.
Costsavings
canberealised
fromtheeprincipal
sources:
.
.
.

The.educedcostof makngprcductchanges
Moreefficient.euseof existingprcductsandcomponen$.
Themajorbenefitsof anoverallshortertimeto market

Thecostof engineering
changeis animportantfactorin productcosts.Twoactionscallbetakento
rcducethiscost:
.
.

Decrease
$e toralnumber
changes.
Makechanges
whentheyarclnuchlesscostlyin termsof both
eadierin theproductdevelopmelt
ti 6 r.n .l 6 ^n a v

ThePDMsystsmhelpscoffrol;hangesandprovidcstoolsthathelpthePrcductTcamconceffrare
changes
in theeadyphases
of a products
devclopment.
Formanycompanies
a largepercentege
of a new!rcductconsissofexistingpans,or slightlymodified
parts,
existitrg
Thereis evidence
to suggest
thatmostmanufacturers
couldrecycledesignsto a
greaterextent,by managing
considerably
theiiexistingdesignportfoliomoreeffectively.
An cxampleis anelecronicsmanufacftrer
emplolng 12designengineers
usingadvanced
CAD
worbtations.Therearebetween
two andthrceconcurentprojectsatanyonetime,eachexpected
to
havca marketleadtimeof between12andl8 Eonths.Products
consist,on svcrage
of 20 to 30parts,
Erainlysheetmetalandin anypmducl,about30%of thesearcreused
or modifiedversions
of cxisting
parts.By installinga PDMslsteEthecompany
madeconsiderable
monthlysavings
tlrougha more
cfficientde.sign
recycling.

Sumnary
Theby areasfor dircctsavingsarefrom:
.

savings
in stafftime.

products.
eliminatingthecauses
of sub-standald

qualitystrnddrd.
adhering
to international

bcne!reuseofexisdngdesigns,

shonerdmero market:

Togetherwith thesebenefitsalcthercarcconsiderable
staffbenefibsuchas:
.

imlrovedteamworking

a morcproductiveenvimnment

enhanced
morale

thefinancialeffectsof thesewil behad to measure

butnonthelessaresicnificaft.