Both modules in the integrated DFMA suite, DFA Version 9.4 and DFM Concurrent Costing Version 2.3 have been updated.
The new tool offers engineering teams the ability to assess the environmental impact of their products; a program to estimate the cost of machining a batch of parts when using a devoted machining cell; and the option of running a quick machining estimate as well as the existing full analysis feature.
“We are responding to a number of market trends and user requests with this new release of our DFMA software,” said Winston Knight, senior vice president at Boothroyd. “Manufacturers are increasingly aware that addressing the environmental impact of their products will soon be a requirement for entry into major markets. Designers can now select the best materials for greener products, even as they innovate with DFMA to build more performance into efficient, leaner designs.”
Identifying Cost Drivers in Manufacturing:
DFMA 2009 software guides engineers through simplification of a product design, and then quickly estimates assembly labor and part manufacturing costs. The software identifies the major cost drivers associated with a wide range of choices for part manufacture and finishing.
This quantitative, multidisciplinary approach to cost assessment helps companies create innovative, high-quality products that are more economical to manufacture. “Downstream” cost reduction for the extended organization is a considerable side benefit: When products have fewer parts, companies can streamline suppliers, inventory, shipping and digital archives. When products are easier to manufacture, companies can improve factory output and overall resource use.
Design for Environment:
The analysis prompts designers to select from the DFMA database the materials they prefer to use or avoid, then reveals the proportions (by weight) of those materials in the product. It also estimates and designates the proportions of product that go to different end-of-life destinations, including reuse, recycling, landfill and incineration. These measures help manufacturers meet such requirements as the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulations.
Cell Machining Process:
With DFMA 2009, designers now can estimate the cost of machining a batch of parts in a dedicated machining cell. They also can choose and calculate various cell arrangement scenarios for maximum efficiency.
The software uncovers hidden costs of labor and machine idleness and can assess the time needed to complete entire manufacturing runs at different production volumes.
Quick estimate:
The DFM Concurrent Costing Version 2.3 software in DFMA 2009 now offers two types of machined/cut-from-stock analyses: a traditional full analysis and a quick estimate.
The quick estimate can approximate part cost with little effort. By automatically selecting suitable machine tools, this analysis saves time, especially for a designer with limited knowledge of certain machining processes.
Using DFMA 2009:
The new release is easy to customize: Engineers may install their own cost model for a manufacturing process into the DFM Concurrent Costing software.
DFMA 2009 can now read SolidWorks geometry information directly; third-party software is no longer necessary.
DFMA software operates in Microsoft Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP and VISTA.
