Design Engineers must understand manufacturing so they can design competitive products

1. STAYING COMPETITIVE IN
TODAY’S MANUFACTURING
ENVIRONMENT
Colin Harding, B.A.Sc., P.Eng., RHB
Manufacturing Resource Group

2. INTRODUCTION - The Old Way
“Why does it cost so much?”
“Have you sourced the material in a low cost
country?”
“Are you considering manufacturing in China?”
“Build a plant in Mexico to take advantage of the low
labour costs”
“Your request for a design change is not approved”
“This is the way we always design these”

3. “We are putting a new plant in Canada, will you
build a plant next to our assembly plant?”
“Let us help you with implementing lean”
“Are you submitting design changes to help meet
pricing targets?”
“How can we work together?”
“This is a long term relationship”
INTRODUCTION …. The Better Way

4. Business is won based on price and quality
Pricing and Quality is related to design
Therefore, to win business we need to ensure our
designs are world class. This includes:
• Systems and Standards
• Materials
• Manufacturability
• Lessons Learned
• Dimensions & Tolerances
• Testing & Validation
• Assembly
• Designer Training
INTRODUCTION ….

5. Every Industry has Standards and Systems:
• Automotive - TS 16949
• Manufacturing - ISO 9001-2000
• Military - DND
• Aerospace
• Nuclear
SYSTEMS & STANDARDS

6. Each Company has Systems and Procedures:
• CAD & Drafting Standards
• Change Control
• Regulatory
• Environmental
Standards, Procedures, Systems must add value to the product or process. If they
add cost without benefit, they should be changed
SYSTEMS & STANDARDS ….

7. Internal:
• The “Big Book” versus Understanding
• The Shop Floor
External:
• Suppliers
• Competitors
We must not be afraid to learn from experience and make continual improvements
Do not accept resistance to better ways. The “Big Book” refers to the way it was
always done
LESSONS LEARNED

8. MATERIALS – DESIGN & SELECTION
Casting Process:
Selection to Meet
Function and Cost
Design to Eliminate
Core in Castings

9. MATERIAL DEFECTS
Casting Defect
Not seen on finished part. Requires X-ray to see or to cut part.
Smart design may not eliminate but can move location.
Is defect then detrimental?

10. MATERIALS - DESIGN for MACHINING
Casting Designed
for Reduced Burrs
Casting Designed
for Work Holding
Clamping lug with
locator on end
Clamping lug

11. DESIGN RE-THINK
Mesh Filter
Conventional Oil
Pick-up Design
Lost Foam Casting
with Integral Filter
The use of lost foam casting process was not viable and only discovered when
foundry was requested to quote part
Considerable program time was lost due to not having foundry involved at
concept stage. Part needed redesign

12. DIMENSIONS & TOLERANCES
Function versus Manufacturability
Too many datum transfers required due to work holding
surfaces not being datums

13. Revised Dimensional Scheme
Easy to measure and meets functional requirements
Original Dimensional Scheme
Almost impossible to measure due to long
projection of datum
DIMENSIONS & TOLERANCES ….

14. REDUCING SET-UPS
Angles present a real challenge for manufacturing. Most
machines are set-up in x, y, z, coordinate systems with the
axes perpendicular.
A fourth and fifth axes can be added which gives rotation in
these axes. The fourth axis comes in 2 versions, indexing
(1/2 axis) and continuous rotation (4th axis).
With indexing the table will rotate, usually, in 1 degree
increments and lock in position while the tool is not cutting.
Continuous rotation is called contouring and can be
synchronized with the rotation of other axes while the tool is
cutting.
A contouring fourth axis is more expensive and more difficult
to program.

15. CONSIDER PRODUCT GROWTH
Space Consideration
Making changes may be “impossible”
later due to closeness of assembly

16. CONCLUSIONS
As we look at the examples given here it can be seen that we need to
become more efficient in our product development process. Many of
the discussed problems could have been avoided by having design
engineers spend time in foundries, forging shops, stamping houses and
machine shops. With experience in the realities of these industries the
design engineer will gain the knowledge of what to expect of a given
material or process.
Technical schools and universities also need to consider these issues
when they prepare course curriculum. Employers should consider
hiring people with a strong background in these areas or be prepared
to invest in the time and effort to ensure the employee obtains the
appropriate experience as part of the training and development.
Strong education coupled with appropriate materials and manufacturing
experience is a necessary part of the training for the next designers if
we are not to let our industrial base disappear. When we have a
designer with the education and experience together with creativity and
common sense, we have a powerful solution.

17. QUESTIONS ?
COMMENTS ?
THANK YOU