Manufacturing process is complex by its nature without doubt. Even a small component with a twist undergoes a lot of technicalities. So engineers indulge in drawing designs and follow same suit for all products. But quality might deteriorate over a period of time. Hence came Computer Aided Design, which is shortly called as CAD.
CAD Design Services are now widely utilized in all industries right from automobile to electronics to name a few. Even though the design requirements differ from one industry to the other, the fundamentals remain the same. CAD consists of certain elements that are essential for your business. These elements are fundamental to any Computer Aided Design and they prove the relevance of CAD.
Computer Aided Analysis
The main limitation of human intervention in certain task is, monotonous activities leading to errors and certain tough tasks leading to inaccuracy. One such is solving analytical problems. As on date, it is quite evident how useful computers have been in solving complex analytical problems in a short time. The same with human intervention will take more time comparatively. Hence the design engineer need not depend on another resource to get proper analysis or computation on a specific design. He/she can conduct the same without much effort. Hence an organization saves time and resources with the use of Computer aided engineering. Especially in a large organization which consists of numerous teams and reaching out to each team member and requesting data will be a big challenge.
Computer Aided Visualization
Visualization is the key element to any design. For CAD Design Services essentially, a designer should look at the possibilities in real before delivering the output. This seemed to be a very big challenge in manual operations as everything was dependent on the assumptions. Luckily Computer Aided Design allows you to see the prototype of the output before concluding a project. As it is well understood, you can make changes accordingly and deliver the right design for your clients. Therefore you stay in line with the requirement of your client and always deliver the best. A designer can visualize the product by
• Automated drafting tools and graphics presentation
• A way of presenting numerical data in graphs & charts
• Virtual product animation
• Visualizing the aesthetic look
Computer Aided Synthesis
With visualization, a designer can see how the end product might look. With Computer Aided Synthesis, one can see the complete prototype and you see this in real time. Hence one can easily evaluate the performance of the design and deliver the right product to his/her client. These three elements has been playing a major role in CAD Design Services and none of these elements can be skipped. Synthesis especially is highly critical. You cannot deliver a product without testing its capabilities and see if you have offered the exact requirement of the client. Hence these elements are highly essential in CAD Design Services and they come under Human factor. Under system factor, the important components include Hardware and Software. These are quite straight forward and self-explanatory.
Technosoft GmbH with an experience of two decades in the field of engineering design offers impeccable solutions to simplify complex processes. Refer to this page to understand how the offerings of Technosoft are unique and how it keeps your ante up in the market.
Building an automobile is not a simple task as it sounds. We all talk about building a car from the scratches. Even we can imagine building a two wheeler from the scratches. But what goes into making a Bus? This huge vehicle obviously possesses bigger engine, wheels, nuts, bolts and a lot more. But how do they even make the body structure? It’s quite known that a lot of welding and other tasks are involved. But to make Bus Body Design successful, certain principles exists. The manufacturers who follow these principles will always have a winning edge over their competitors.
Use of Micro-alloyed Steel over Conventional Steel
When a vehicle is carrying some couple of people, it needs the desired strength to withhold the overall weight for long. For example, a Car can handle 5 to 6 people maximum on average. The number might vary based upon each person’s weight. But that is the defined capacity for a car to carry. In case of a bus, on average it has to withstand 30 to 40 people at least. If it cannot withstand even that weight, it is not qualified to be a good Bus Body Design. So to ensure Bus Body is a good design and to let it withstand that many people for a prolonged time, your bus body must be made out of Micro-alloyed Steel. Conventional steel has been in place for long, but the former will help in holding back the welded parts tight for a very long time. Hence using Micro-alloyed steel is the most important principle for a killer bus body design.
Testing Torsion Stiffness & Natural Vibration
When a vehicle is made, a series of tests are undertaken. Stress test, stiffness test etc. are some of the examples. Torsion Stiffness and Natural Vibration tests are more common in bus body design tests. But unlike a car or two-wheeler, you can’t afford to test a bus for Torsion Stiffness and natural vibration. Hence prototypes are made to test the Bus Body Design structure. The obtained results from the design are molded into a prototype to test.
Light Weight Bus Body Structure Design
When you’re designing a bus body, always keep in mind, it has to be light weight. You cannot carry yourselves if you’re so heavy. Likewise, you cannot carry others as well. Hence weight is the most crucial factor in heavy vehicles. For example, a ship cannot float in the water if it is not light weight. Likewise, a Bus cannot move on the road if it weighs so much. Hence the use of micro-alloyed steel is apparently recommended for heavy vehicles like Bus.
Reducing Total Bus Weight with 3D Design
Did you know a 3D design can reduce the overall bus weight? Yes, but provided one makes use of composite materials. A recent research proved the use of composite materials will reduce the density of the whole object or vehicle. This when presented in 3D will actually show up with the layers, but is actually of a single layer.
Technosoft GmbH with an experience of two decades in the field of engineering design offers impeccable solutions to simplify complex processes. Refer to this page to understand how the offerings of Technosoft are unique and how it keeps your ante up in the market.
The world is not a single large entity. It is a collection of small entities put together. Likewise a product is a collection of different parts with specific functions. A car looks like a single entity from the exterior. But inside there are several components which triggers it to perform different operations. Hence a tiny equipment is critical than a large car body. There comes the need for component design services. Several factors matter when equipment is made. Quality is the first that comes to everyone’s mind, but there are certain critical factors that is not given due importance. Here are some of them.
Safety
Safety is alarmingly the most important factor especially in case of automobile. We often come across automobile accidents. These happen due to malfunctioning of a single product. Malfunctioning as well might occur due to several reasons. Lack of quality is cited as the most prevalent of all followed by improper and asymmetric designs. Let us say, a vehicle is over speeding in a national highway. A low quality component might not be able to take the stress and might cause an accident. Hence you need a cutting-edge component design service to make all your components worthwhile.
Reusable Design
The products we use today in our day to day life is completely different from the ones that were available a decade before. So over a period of time, you need to launch new products and stay relevant. But creating a new version of certain products becomes challenging after a point of time. Hence your component design services should be in a way that it will last for long. Overall, your design must be long lasting and survive. Moreover, when you’re making the next version, you must be able to reuse the existing design with modifications.
Changes Incorporation
Incorporating changes in the already existing product is bit of a challenge. Sometimes you might not know if that will work out 100 percent given the current conditions. For example, you might launch an 800 CC vehicle. But the requirement in the current market will be somewhere around 1100 CC. Almost every vehicle one can see in the given time might be more than that. Yet another key factor in component design services.
Production Friendly Design
A product undergoes several processes in a manufacturing facility before it reaches the end user. But the more a product stays in the making, the more is the cost involved. Hence not all products are production friendly. Kickass component design services will first ensure the product is production friendly by consuming less cost.
Meeting Regulatory Requirements
The availed component design services might have made your product great, unique and long lasting. But does it meet all the regulatory approvals? Your brand will be nowhere if you fail to meet regulatory requirements. Regulators have given guidelines on carbon emissions, trying to control environmental degradation. But often we see manufacturers taking shortcuts and avoiding the guidelines. Such businesses have not at all survived in the market.
Technosoft GmbH with an experience of two decades in the field of engineering design offers impeccable solutions to simplify complex processes. Refer to this page to understand how the offerings of Technosoft are unique and how it keeps your ante up in the market.
Technology over the years has always been dynamic and changing rapidly owing to growing demands. What we saw a decade before looks more basic now and one cannot believe it was in use. These equipment designs are among the ones which are changing over a period. The design of this Equipment vehicle a decade before was simple. It just came up with the ability to perform basic functions, but over the years its capacity has been increased steadily. Most of the off-heavy equipment we see today comes with multi-functional ability. Some of the recent ones in the market are equipped with factors that are of utmost importance. These features are taking it to the next level and easing the whole operation for everyone.
Height-adjustable trailer hitch and high flow hydraulics are being redefined constantly and the new ones we see are way smarter and are capable of performing strenuous operations with ease. The height-adjustable trailer hitch allows your vehicle to stay elevated and perform the required task. On the other hand, increasing the skid-steer loader productivity has been a big challenge allover the world for years. So the newly launched vehicles come with features to increase productivity. High flow hydraulics has been a big boon as it helps improve productivity. Overall, flexibility in work has increased productivity and operators are working smart with these new additions. These are adding more value to the equipment.
The global manufacturers are on the cusp of a fourth Industrial revolution at present. The so-called smart manufacturing is based on the IoT (Internet of things) and understanding of the rich data that resides at the network’s edge. To realize the full potential of industrial IoT, organizations must integrate the operational technology with the enterprise IT. They may need to collect data and analyze it companywide – from the customer order and production, to supply chain as well as delivery – to generate actionable insights.
By doing so, companies can better manage the production, address any customization requirements and generate customer insights. In turn, they can manage their businesses more intelligently, improve response time, reduce costs, promote innovation and boost revenues. IIoT is best understood as a system of systems and is constituted of different elements which are dependent on end-to-end system integration. In this blog, we discuss how industrial IoT is changing the competitive landscape for manufacturers.
IIoT: Driving the new revolution
The manufacturers must merge the operating technologies and enterprise IT to optimize performance, upgrade processes and develop valuable products. The industrial IoT connects people and the physical world including the physical world of places and machines with the digital world of cloud platforms, software, augmented reality, automation, artificial intelligence, and data. IIoT enables maintaining a single view of analytical data that operates with real-time agility and responds to adverse
IIoT helps maintain a single view of analytical data, operating with real-time agility and responding to adverse events within the manufacturing plant. For this, the functional integration of various applications, infrastructure, and systems is needed. Engineers can create complex control systems to implement increasing levels of automation on the factory floor.
The foundation of integrated shop-floor systems is created by the growth in technologies built on MES (Manufacturing execution systems) and open standards. The SoC (System-on-a-chip) and MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) allow micron-scale integration of system functionality. The high-bandwidth networks, open IP standards, and virtual hardware have basically transformed the feasibility of building IIoT platform by reducing the required cost and resources. The cloud systems provide an increasingly secure and reliable network which delivers faster results. The system can also be scaled up as needed and can integrate new apps and services which analyze data and provide valuable insights.
IIoT connects the devices to a network where they interact and exchange information. The real value of IIoT lies in the data generated from relationships between devices and their environment, data analytics, insights into efficiency, and yields. As per the latest research, by 2025- sensors and IoT will stand as pre-eminent digital technologies affecting the whole manufacturing sector. Immense potential will be created by the integrated sensor data, combined with advances in security, connectivity, analytics, and interoperability.
Technologies transforming manufacturing companies
IIoT is rooted in the physical space, unlike the traditional software applications. It integrates the data from the digital devices and systems in factories with the enterprise assets. It allows enhanced monitoring, data gathering, data integration, role-based information presentation as well as situational awareness for operators.
The integration of Internet of things, components and cloud-based analytics results enables manufacturing companies to sense and contextualize real-time data. This information can be converted into actionable insights which help maximize efficiencies across all aspects of the business. This includes design, sourcing, production, delivery, supply chain, product monitoring, etc. The objective of IIoT is to convert the data into insights. It assists in informed decision-making, drives innovation and realizes efficiencies at scale.
Data integration at enterprise, operations and customer level
IIoT is a system of systems comprised of different elements and is dependent on end-to-end system integration. It presents a long-term opportunity- integrating information across the extended organization with Operational Technologies (OTs). The OTs that drive production, transportation operations and warehouse are included. IIoT creates synergy across the organization by integrating key attributes of intelligent devices. These devices have the capability to dynamically anticipate problems, diagnose the solutions automatically and adjust operations to maintain optimum productivity.
Integration can address the stakeholder needs within the organization, across the vendor ecosystem as well as supply chain. Also, it can help customers externally by sales and service support and design feedback. This helps manufacturers gather information effectively and apply the insights obtained from networked devices to identify ways to reduce costs and increase efficiency. The systems can also be used to monetize data to enhance revenues.
The benefits of IIoT are:
inexpensive processing
analytics technologies which automate traditional processes
infinite storage capacity
Multiple applications and processes work seamlessly to create a digital replica of physical assets, systems, and processes. Using this digital twin, enterprises can monitor performance remotely, and make changes in real-time to improve efficiency. Companies can upload updates, meet service needs, increase precision and quality in production and engineering. The company will get better yields, improved safety, more productive assets and lower costs.
The industrial leaders have to dynamically evolve their models while leveraging the emerging technologies to stay in the front line. They need to integrate their enterprise processes with manufacturing and engineering processes to manage every aspect of supply chain right to the customer’s doorstep.
Deriving value through IIoT
The manufacturing leaders who embrace IIoT will be better positioned to remove structural barriers which undermine technological progress. Digital integration is needed to stay ahead in the cut throat competition. This will enable you to monetize on data insights to reinvent and innovate the products quickly.
You need to align your IT and OT to create a system of systems and instrument every device in the extended manufacturing ecosystem. This will position your organization to harvest meaningful data at every touch point. You can operate processes, applications, data, devices, and assets seamlessly. This will provide your business better accuracy, cost savings, and new revenue opportunities.
Technosoft GmbH is a leader in IIoT Engineering services. Our engineers have expertise in designing and developing products that drive growth for our clients. Our world-class IIoT service is a collection of design and engineering services that help our clients from conceptualization to production of connected devices.
In the current product development environment, the products as well as the technology they are based on change rapidly. It is obvious that accelerating the PDLC (Product Development Lifecycle) can produce tangible benefits to the business. It can influence all the business success measures such as:
• Revenue generation
• Early to market advantage
• Competitive advantage
• Profits and profitability
• Customer Loyalty
As most of the above-mentioned measures are critical to the success of any business so any initiative which can drive Time-To-Market will be of utmost importance.
Engineer to Order Product Development
Considerable activities before the launch of the product lie with the Research and Development and the Engineering department for most of the products. The kind of initiatives which engineering can embark on to make sure that it gets the most out of every second are:
Standardization: The engineering processes standardization can help avoid reinventing the complete product from the scratch each time a new request is received for developing a completely engineer-to-order product. It may not be possible to standardize the entire product as that will make ETO lose its purpose. However, the engineering standardization can be done at the parts level. By process and part standardization there can be a significant reduction in the time spent on engineering information creation and management, procuring and holding, parts handling, assembly line adjustments, etc.
Collaboration: Collaborative engineering across divisions, plants, offices or business units from different countries can reduce the need for repeated engineering. A collaborative engineering environment can accelerate innovation and help avoid redundancy in engineering efforts thus reducing the time to market to significantly lower levels.
Engineering Agility: In case of ETO products, each delivery is a new product development. To respond to RFP (Request for Proposal) extensive engineering may be involved in comparison to other products. Agility in engineering via a lean and mean pre-bid engineering mechanism can compress the lead time for proposals. This reduces the cost of pre-bid engineering as well as enhances the chances of winning the order. The agility can have a tremendous impact on the award-to-delivery phase of the product.
Make to Order Product Development
Modularization: To assemble MTO products considerable time is needed depending upon the complexity of the assembly mechanism. By modularizing the assemblies as well as sub-assemblies into repeatable and reusable modules the speed to market can be enhanced. Also, modularization can help in reducing engineering effort significantly by enabling the reusability of modules in future development by simply replacing the obsolete technology.
Standardization: In MTO standardization has a similar impact as in ETO at the building or manufacturing stage. This engineering initiative can help accelerate POC and eliminate uncertainties associated with assembly, thereby reducing downtime and unplanned delays. Standardization also helps increase asset utilization and enhances throughput so drives profitability.
Engineering Agility: The engineering agility for MTO products provide the same benefits as in ETO products. Agility can help in increasing the engineering throughput, drives utilization, and engineering profitability.
Make to Stock Products
The MTS products best perceive the benefits of reducing the time to market. The means of achieving this is maximum for MTS products. The engineering initiatives that impact the TTM are as follows:
In all, it is evident that engineering can have a far-reaching impact on your business when it is aimed at solving TTM challenges. A lot of business metrics can be driven by just focusing engineering efforts on compressing TTM. But it also makes one wonder why most manufacturing companies have not embarked on such initiatives already or even if they have, why have they not resulted in the benefits that they clearly seem to be capable of delivering.
This is a question that may have a lot of answers, but one clear answer is the lack of clearly defined purpose and a measure of success. Like most initiatives the key driver to completion let alone success is the definition of measures of success of that initiative. Unfortunately, the key measures of success impacted by these initiatives are business measures and are seldom associated with engineering. However, this also goes on to emphasize the fact that engineering is also not just an isolated department, but one that can truly spell success or failure for a manufacturing enterprise.
To create a better tomorrow it is essential to work in close association with industry visionaries, clients, policy makers, public as well as financial institutions. It is about utilizing our partnerships, past experiences, key assets and employees, in the optimal way. However, to do this, awareness about ecosystem, market, environment and trends that will shape our future is must.
The key trends which are influencing the future with respect to design, engineering, infrastructure and manufacturing fall under below mentioned categories:
1. Shorter Product Lifecycles
Due to rapid pace of innovation, change, volatility and preferences, we need to design world-class products utilizing newest technologies. With the expectation of quicker ROI and scarce capital, the focus will be more on ideation, concept, and designing and development phases – before the launch of the projects.
The demand on predictability and viability will also be higher than ever before. The different players in the lifecycle will either integrate or collaborate to stay significant, will need to reinvent themselves or will get consolidated.
2. Flexible Engagement Models
These days businesses are becoming increasing complex due to inter-dependency and connects between the value chains. We see our client stakeholders and policy makers discuss wider aspects at each stage of engineering project execution, financing, planning, constraints and options.
Flexible engagement model is the best engagement model looking at the current customer demands and considering their ever-changing requirements. Flexible engagement models help to strike the right balance between cost and operational efficiency. These models are geared to provide high level of transparency and control to customers. It also provides the clients flexibility to switch from one business model to another.
3. Evolution of Automation, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Industry
We are experiencing the fourth Industrial revolution now and it’s powered by advancements that include robotics, smart manufacturing using automation, and artificial intelligence (AI). By adopting AI, the organizations can keep the inventories lean and reduce manufacturing cost resulting in growth in manufacturing sector. Having said that, the manufacturing industries also have to gear up for the plants where design team, supply chain, production line, and quality control are integrated into an intelligent engine which provides actionable insights.
Automation will enable the manufacturing sector reach a level of productivity and accuracy which is beyond human capabilities. Robots are already being used in the manufacturing industry and can even work in environments which are otherwise complicated, dangerous and tedious for humans. The robotics in future can be used to re-create the complex human tasks by using advanced voice and image recognition capabilities. The shift to smart manufacturing results in increased output, corrective action and defect detection making the entire production cycle way more efficient.
4. Importance of Knowledge and Technology
Our workplaces are expected to change and are trending towards global rebalancing amidst the digital technologies and internet facilitating the collaboration of various teams. There has been a shift in employee demographics in every organization across the globe. The diversity is reshaping the environment and the work culture. The age old system of organization structure and hierarchies are being redefined.
The key assets of any business are not just the tangible components like assets & employees but also the knowledge and how organizations manage their intangible assets. The intangible assets include especially the technical knowhow and experience of a company in executing and delivering exciting work. Training and propensity to learn will stay in focus and utilization of tools to learn, train, change, manage knowledge and mentor will be an essential component of any growth or sustenance strategy.
Why Technosoft GmbH
Technosoft GmbH leverages over 20 years of cumulative knowledge and experience to help the world’s foremost manufacturers to create top-notch products and to select, deploy and adopt the technologies which underpin the entire product realization lifecycle.
We provide flexible engagement models to enable significant cost savings to our clients that are personalized to their business requirements. We drive innovation and efficiencies drawing on a combination of people, technology and process to meet the design, production and engineering challenges faced by our clients.
We offer solutions to cover end-to-end product value chain from idea to conceptualization through designing and product development. We optimize the product launching time and make sure the project is delivered on-time.
Are you finding it difficult to create accurate mechanical drawings utilizing the conventional drafting techniques? Imprecise drawings may cost you both valuable time as well as money. Most of the organizations often realize the design flaws during the manufacturing stage. This may force them to revisit the design phase again.
You can use 3D CAD modeling to eliminate such problems and reduce the design costs. It increases the overall accuracy of the design and eliminates the need for redundant designs. Here we are listing the topmost benefits of 3D CAD modeling in the mechanical engineering design for you:
Better design quality: 3D CAD software comes with more than 700,000 standard templates of various mechanical components. By utilizing 3D CAD modeling for designing, the mechanical designers can use existing readymade templates. This ensures the design is accurate and also helps in saving time.
Makes the documentation process easy: The traditional drafting methods involve documenting various aspects of mechanical components manually. The method is very tedious and requires high accuracy levels. The entire process of documenting component designs is made easy by 3D CAD modeling. It comes preloaded with different documentation options like documenting geometries and product dimensions, bill of materials, material specifications, etc.
Enhances the designer’s productivity: The designer can visualize the mechanical component in 3D at the initial stage with the help of 3D CAD modeling. This enables the designer to make the required changes instantly thereby increasing his productivity.
Automatically redraws the design: The designers find it difficult to redraw the hidden parts of the components using the traditional drawing techniques. With the 3D CAD, the lines and dashes of the hidden parts are automatically redrawn from the other mechanical parts of the design. In case, there are any design changes the 3D CAD automatically redraws the lines and eliminates any chance of error.
Compliant with International standards: When 3D CAD is used to design mechanical components, it ensures the designs conform to the international standards. The 3D CAD supports a range of drafting platforms like ANSI, BSI, CSN, DIN, ISO, GB and GOST drafting platforms. Compliance with the industry standards results in better outputs.
Cost Optimization: 3D CAD comes with numerous standard designed components that save the design engineer from the trouble to design them from the scratch. This saves the crucial time and optimizes the cost. As obtaining the licensed modeling software is often expensive, outsourcing 3D CAD modeling is preferred option to save the costs further.
Reduction in design time: Faster development is promoted by getting a virtual CAD model in the design phase. It helps the engineers in completing the design and getting the mechanical component into manufacturing much faster.
Saving data and drawings for future: The designs created on CAD can be saved for future reference with ease. Few standard components may not have to be redesigned again thus saving a lot of time for future designs creation.
Better visualization: The 3D CAD modeling provides best visual images of the components which have to be designed in 3D. The components can also be animated and their functionality can be observed. With the help of visual graphics, clients can understand the properties and features of the component better. This helps to demonstrate the mechanical component’s functionality to the client and making a proposal.
At Technosoft, we carry out a systematic study of your concept and existing product line to redesign of systems and components successfully. Our Design Engineering Services empower you to innovate, design and develop products rapidly and help you gain the competitive advantage.
Technosoft offers custom engineering design solutions and services to our global clients leveraging a team of 450+ experienced engineers and designers. Our diverse services span all aspects of engineering from legacy conversions, to designing and detailing, to FEA/CFD analysis. Technosoft has domain expertise in many industry verticals including automotive, off-highway vehicles, heavy machinery, consumer equipment, packaging and medical devices.
Prototype Development Company helps product designers and engineers in visualizing and analyzing the actual part of the product before the development stage. Product design failure in the Electronic Prototype Development stage is a huge loss for the organization in terms of man-hours and the money invested in the development process. A tangible prototype of the product makes the complex product design looks simple. This drastically reduces the chances of product failure to a great extent.
electronic prototyping company helps you to develop every component of the complicated product in stages and compare every part of it with the prototype prepared. Any deviation from the prototype can give you a clear indication of the design failure of the part and it helps the Electronic Prototype Development team to rectify the error immediately. (more…)
There is a rapid increase in competition these days and various organizations across the globe sought to create higher value in their automotive products for the customers. This growing competitiveness is leading to customers demanding high-quality products with better functionality, without an increase in price. Therefore, the OEM’s in automotive industry must include projects which are designed to lower the product cost and enhance the value to the customer.
The product’s performance and a major part of its cost are defined in the development stage. To optimize these two parameters, a correct approach of cost management in the product development process is needed.
The Costs to be Targeted for Reduction
A vehicle is composed of complex sub-systems and interfaces. If you are targeting a cost reduction in a complete automobile, it’s imperative to understand the build-up costs involved in manufacturing of the vehicle. The cost build-up in a vehicle begins right from the concepts designed for the simplest support brackets up to the last operation on the assembly line and further till the product is displayed in the showroom.
Some of the costs during this process can be controlled directly and other may require large-scale re-engineering program to keep them low. The total direct manufacturing cost of the vehicle becomes the base reduction cost because there is no engineering control over other components.
The Cost Flow Analysis
The first step in cost flow analysis is to understand how the cost flows inside the vehicle. You may need to identify and differentiate the high cost and low-cost items in a vehicle. The cost flow analysis is used to realize and shortlist areas with the low, medium and high potential of cost reduction. The analysis presents a roadmap for the rest of the cost reduction activities and we can prioritize and target strategic areas of reduction.
Approaches to Cost Reduction
The complete cost reduction approach is multifaceted and involves various variables such as form, fit, function, etc. which have to be considered and balanced. There has to be an outline to systematically evaluate the designs while ensuring a broad level perspective on all the aspects of product development. The various cost reduction approaches are listed below:
Direct Material Cost Reduction: This can be achieved either by reducing the material from a design or by using an economical alternative. Before opting for material reduction it’s vital to understand the design’s function and analyze how it behaves under load conditions. Then redesign the product using less material and without causing significant change in the component’s form.
When re-designing the existing component using alternate material changes, various aspects of initial design have to be considered. Extensive redesigning and cost reduction has to be calculated considering the changes in the downstream cost components. The change of material must save cost as well as improve the end function of the component at the same time.The third approach for direct material cost reduction is to opt for weight optimization of complex components using FEA (Finite Element Analysis) or to perform FOS (Factor of Safety) analysis on existing designs to identify the areas with more than necessary material conditions.
Manufacturing Process Cost Reduction: In this approach manufacturability and assembly aspects of designs are involved to identify and evaluate different possibilities to manufacture the same component using alternate process which is cost-effective. This helps save cost by simplifying the overall production process while reducing the lead time. Minor re-designs can lead to better the manufacturability of various vehicle components. This process can be used to improve their end functionality as well as simplifying the overall design. The approach can be extended over to improve and simplify the overall manufacturing process.
Parts Standard Cost Reduction: This approach brings about standardization in the designs. This means the overall modularity of the systems has to be improved and the part commonization has to be promoted as much as possible in the overall design of the vehicle. Commonization helps eliminate components which would have been fulfilling the same functionality and brings uniformity in operations while reducing the overall costs.
Supply Chain Cost Reduction: Organizations can outsource their production plants to countries that provide large scale high volume production and cheap labor. This will reduce the landing costs of parts and the manufacturers can also reduce costs by locating the sources near markets or production facilities. The logistic network can be assessed and costs can be optimized by redesigning for improved handling and containerization.
Cost Reduction through Design Innovation (CRDI):This approach involves redesigning that can trigger resultant engineering changes to such an extent that it becomes a new product development in itself. The investment in this process is huge and has longer ROI period. Thus, though Cost Reduction through Design Innovation is most powerful and must be used judiciously. CRDI can be realized in terms of overall system level simplification. These innovations should target towards a systematic combination of multiple functions which eliminate several others in turn and lower the overall cost.
At Technosoft, we use a combination of various approaches discussed above to carry out a systematic study and redesign of systems and components for on-road as well as off-road vehicles. We have been helping our clients to achieve successful cost-reduction of vehicles used for a variety of purposes.
Technosoft focuses on the Engineering Services space and partners with numerous companies globally. We offer our exceptional design and development solutions throughout the product development chain across several industries. We have a team of over 400 skilled professionals located across the world. We help our clients achieve sustainable competitive edge via our value creating services. For more information, visit us at /
