Design for manufacturing takes control of costs

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Dec 20, 2004

Boothroyd Dewhurst has released a new version of its internationally recognised DFMA (Design for Manufacture and Assembly) software.

Boothroyd Dewhurst has released a new version of its internationally recognised DFMA (Design for Manufacture and Assembly) software.

The new software release is DFMA 2005A, which includes upgraded versions of both modules in the integrated DFMA suite: DFA Version 9.2, and DFM Concurrent Costing Version 2.1.

DFMA software from Boothroyd Dewhurst identifies the major cost drivers associated with manufacturing and finishing parts.

The software helps engineering supply chains understand the cost structure of products and supports the development of innovative designs that are easier and more economical to produce.

The software takes a quantitative, multidisciplinary approach to cost assessment.

A key benefit is the quick generation of an initial cost estimate at any stage of design in just a few simple steps.

"The goal of DFMA analysis is to determine what a product should really cost to make", says John Gilligan, President of Boothroyd Dewhurst.

"Our new software gives engineers unsurpassed tools for deciding where cost is necessary in a design and where cost can be removed without compromising product function".

"Because it provides an objective basis for comparing costs across different manufacturing processes, DFMA software is also useful to cost-estimating and purchasing departments as an aid in negotiating supplier contracts".

This version of DFMA offers many new features that help engineers create cost-effective, highly manufacturable products.

Of particular importance for design cost estimating are two new manufacturing processes: deep drawing and assembly fabrication.

Deep drawing is a major addition to the range of sheet metalworking processes in DFMA software.

Engineers are now able to cost out their designs using all the common manufacturing processes for sheet metal parts.

The new cost model also estimates costs for subsequent press operations with deep-drawn parts, such as trimming, ironing, restriking, punching, bending, and so on.

With the addition of deep drawing, engineers can investigate costs for a broad scope of alternative shape-forming processes, including sheet metalworking, machining, plastic injection moulding, metal injection moulding, diecasting, and powder metals.

Assembly fabrication introduces an entirely new capability in DFMA software that will greatly aid decisions about parts consolidation.

For the first time, engineers can estimate the cost of a small welded subassembly and compare it to the cost of a single part.

The new assembly fabrication process makes it easier for engineers to compare manufacturing processes for designs with a different number of parts and select the most cost-effective design from among them.

Other major improvements to the software include libraries of machine costs for manufacturing hot-forged, powder-metal, and foam-moulded parts.

New libraries for the various types of furnaces used in powder metal and hot forging processes have also been added.

DFMA consists of complementary Design for Assembly (DFA) and Design for Manufacture (DFM) software.

Engineers use DFA software to reduce the cost of a product by consolidating parts into elegant and multifunctional designs.

DFM software then helps engineers quickly judge the cost of producing the individual components of the new design.

Used together, DFM and DFA software give engineers an early cost profile of product designs, providing a basis for planning and decision making.

When performed in the earliest stages of concept design, DFMA analysis has the potential to dramatically reduce manufacturing and other product life-cycle costs before they are locked in.

DFMA software operates under Microsoft Windows 98, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.