Manufacturing

Systems
Concurrent Engineering

Concurrent Engineering
Concurrent Engineering:
Is a strategy where all the tasks involved in product
development are done in parallel.
Collaboration between all individuals, groups and
departments within a company.
Customer research
Designers
Marketing
Accounting
Engineering

Concurrent Engineering
Suppliers

Commercial
Design Process

Competitors

R&D

Customers

Idea
Idea
Generation
Generation

Marketing

Product or Service concept

Feasibility
Feasibility
Study
Study
Performance Specifications

Linear Process
Preliminary
Design

Form Design
Form Design
Revising and testing
prototypes

Functional
Functional
Design
Design

Production
Production
Design
Design

Design
Specifications

Manufacturing
Specifications

Pilot run and final

Pilot run and final
tests
tests
Final Design
and process
plans

Product Launch
Product Launch

Concurrent Engineering

Techniques:
Perceptual mapping
Benchmarking
Reverse Engineering

Concurrent Engineering
Perceptual Mapping
Good
Taste
Coco Pops

Low
Nutrition

Cheerios
Rice Krispies

High
Nutrition

Shredded Wheat

Bad Taste

Compares customers perception of available products

Identifies gap in market

Concurrent Engineering
Benchmarking
Get the best product available
Base performance specifications for new product
on it

Reverse Engineering
Dismantle and inspect competitors product(s)
Select features to incorporate into new product

Concurrent Engineering

Demand for the proposed product?

Cost of developing and producing the product?
Does company have manufacturing capability?
Skilled personnel?

Concurrent Engineering

Form Design: Physical appearance of the product

Functional Design: Performance of the product
Production Design: How to manufacture product

Concurrent Engineering

Prototype produced
Adjustments made
Final specification agreed

Concurrent Engineering

Manufacturing process commences

Product is marketed to buying public

Concurrent Engineering

Traditional Process = Linear

Vs
Concurrent Engineering = Team collaboration

Concurrent Engineering
Why Concurrent Engineering?
Pace of market change has increased
Companies must keep pace with changing
markets
Decisions made sooner rather than later
Reduces/eliminates repetition of tasks
Reduces waste and reworking of design
Product quicker to market
Maximises company profit
Company operates more efficiently

Concurrent Engineering
To make decisions concurrently:
Team knows the design goals/objectives
Team is aware of the interrelationships between
all aspects of the design process
Superior communication between all sections of
the company

Method:
Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

Concurrent Engineering
Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
Collection of matrices that converts the needs of the
customer into technical specifications at all stages of
the design and manufacture process.

Product Planning (most popular)

House of Quality

Concurrent Engineering
House of Quality

1. Customer requirements
prioritised (scale or %)
2. Competitive product evaluation
3. Engineering characteristics
4. Interrelationships of 1 & 3
5. Relations between engineering
characteristics
6. Targets for new product

Concurrent Engineering
Example: Water-pond Alarm
1. Identify customer requirement and prioritise them
(scale or %)

Concurrent Engineering

weighting

2. Compare product to competitors

Attribute

Competitive
Assessment
1

Sensitive to water
level

25

Durable

15

Makes a loud noise

10

Inexpensive

25

Small

10

Looks Good

15

Concurrent Engineering

Energy Efficiency

25

++

Durable

15

Makes a loud noise

10

Inexpensive

25

--

Small

10

Looks Good

15

Cost of Sensor

Complexity of circuit

Sensitive to water level

Material for casing

Weighting

3.Identify engineering characteristics

Attribute
++
+
+
+

--

Concurrent Engineering

Complexity of circuit

Energy Efficiency

Sensitive to water level

25

++

Durable

15

Makes a loud noise

10

Inexpensive

25

--

Small

10

Looks Good

15

Cost of Sensor

Weighting

Legend:
Positive correlation +
Strong positive correlation ++
None
Negative correlation Strong Negative correlation - -

Material for casing

4. Identify strength of interrelationships between customer

requirements and the engineering characteristics.

Attribute
++
+
+
+

--

Concurrent Engineering
Interpreting the matrix

Energy Efficiency

25

++

Durable

15

Makes a loud noise

10

Inexpensive

25

--

Small

10

Looks Good

15

Cost of Sensor

Complexity of circuit

Sensitive to water level

Increasing the noise level could

reduce the energy efficiency

Material for casing

Weighting

Sensitivity to water level is likely to be very dependent on complexity

of circuit

Attribute
++
+
+
+

--

Concurrent Engineering

Energy Efficiency

25

++

Durable

15

Makes a loud noise

10

Inexpensive

25

--

Small

10

Looks Good

15

Cost of Sensor

Complexity of circuit

Sensitive to water level

The choice of material will affect the

durability of the product

Material for casing

Weighting

A complex circuit and quality sensor could increase cost of product

Attribute
++
+
+
+

--

Concurrent Engineering
5. Identify correlation between engineering
characteristics.
Increasing complexity
of circuit could
require a more costly
sensor
Complex circuit
(more parts) could
reduce energy
efficiency

A good quality
sensor could
improve energy
efficiency

Concurrent Engineering
6. Identify targets for new product

120

Target

120

<30

Concurrent Engineering

2002 DRM Associates

Concurrent Engineering
Role of CAD in Design & Manufacture
Model part or assembly being designed
Part visualised and manipulated on screen
Realistic
Function tested
Textures & lighting effects can be applied
Photorealistic effects
Manufacturing drawings generated automatically
Modelled part and its manufacturing requirements
shared with the entire design and manufacturing team

Concurrent Engineering
Role of CAD in Design & Manufacture
Geometry from CAD system used to produce part on
CAM system
CAD model used by marketing to create images for
packaging
Simulate behaviour of product under stresses and
forces using CAE system
Model data used by rapid prototyping machine

Concurrent Engineering
Role of CAD in Design & Manufacture
Advantages:
All above can be done concurrently
Manufacturing problems identified early
Changes in design can be seen immediately
Speeds up design and prototyping processes

Concurrent Engineering
Design for the Environment
There are three major elements of design for the
environment:
Design for environmental manufacturing
Design for environmental packaging
Design for disposal and recyclability.

Concurrent Engineering
Design for Environmental Manufacturing:
Non-toxic processes & production materials
Minimum energy utilization
Minimize emissions
Minimize waste, scrap & by-products

Concurrent Engineering
Design for Environmental Packaging:
Minimum of packaging materials
Reusable pallets and packaging
Recyclable packaging materials
Bio-degradable packaging materials

Concurrent Engineering
Design for Disposal & Recycling:
Re-use/refurbishment of components & assemblies
Material selection to enable re-use (e.g., thermoset
plastics vs. thermoplastics) and minimize toxicity
Avoids filler material in plastics such as fibreglass and
graphite
Minimum number of materials/colours to facilitate
separating materials and re-use
Design for serviceability to minimize disposal of nonworking products

Concurrent Engineering
Design for Disposal & Recycling:
Material identification to facilitate re-use
Design to enable materials to be easily separated
Design for disassembly (e.g., fracture points, fastening vs.
bonding)
Avoid use of adhesives
Limit contaminants - additives, coatings, metal plating of
plastics, etc.
Maximize use of recycled or ground material with virgin
material

Concurrent Engineering
Impact of Product Life Cycle on the Environment
Product life cycle = design, manufacture, use & disposal
stages of product
Minimise a products negative impact on the environment
Incorporate DfE considerations into design process of a
new product

Concurrent Engineering
Case study 1: Desktop computer
Design Stage:
The design could specify the following
Reusable components e.g. monitor, keyboard
Recycled materials where possible
Minimise toxic materials used
Manufacture:
Use ethical work practices and sources for raw materials
Use clean manufacturing processes
Minimise transport of components and materials
Implement quality procedures to minimise waste etc.
Use:
Low power consumption
Serviceable items rather than replaceable e.g. disk drive, peripherals etc.
Disposal:
Design for disassembly use easily dismantled fixings etc.
Identify materials used for recycling
Minimise mixed materials to facilitate separation later

Concurrent Engineering
Role of Testing in Product Design
Cannot predict with absolute certainty how product
will perform
Need test product before mass production
Mass production very costly to setup
Changes cannot be made easily
Speeds up design and prototyping processes

Concurrent Engineering
Role of Testing in Product Design
Possible tests:
Product meets performance specifications
Expected life of product
Likely cause of failure

Accelerated testing

Concurrent Engineering
Performance test: Pond Alarm
Test

Procedure

Minimum
performance

Casing Seal

Submerge in water for

8 hours
Remove, Dry,
disassemble and
inspect

No evidence of water
ingress

Sensitivity of sensor

Submerge probes to
8mm in sample of pond
water
Retract

Alarm should trigger

before 8mm is reached
Alarm should reset
within 1 min

Battery life

Trigger alarm and

measure time until
battery depletes.

Alarm should sound for

1 hour minimum

Ability to withstand
extreme weather

Place in freezer at
-15C and in oven at
50C for 1 hour

No damage should be
apparent to casing or
function

Alarm Volume

Trigger in an
unobstructed area then
move away until alarm
is no longer audible

Should be audible up
to 30m

Result

Concurrent Engineering
Role of Accelerated Testing
Used when expected life is long to capture life data
Life data is needed to estimate the reliability of a product
Tests are conducted on a sample or prototype
Tests cause product to fail in same manner as normal use
Test time is greatly reduced
Product is quicker to market
Low development and warranty costs

Qualitative or Quantitative

Concurrent Engineering
Qualitative Accelerated Tests
To reveal probable failure modes
Good tests quickly reveal failure modes
Improve design product
Performed on small number of samples
Product subjected to one severe level of stress
e.g. Stress cycling or hot to cold

Product intact pass

Failure - action taken to eliminate cause of failure
Only tests conditions encountered in real use
Cannot be used to quantify life of product

Concurrent Engineering
Quantitative Accelerated Life Tests
Quantify the life of the product
Controlled application of accelerated stress conditions
to simulate product failure
Reduces the time-to-failure for a product
Data used to estimate reliability of product

Concurrent Engineering
Example:
A washing machine to last for ten years in normal use.
Expected typical household use: three times a week for a wash
cycle that will last for 2 hours on average.
What type of test should be used?
How long must the machine survive during the test?
Total hours life required for the machine is:
2 hours/wash x 3 washes/week x 52 weeks/year x 10 years = 3120
hours
Use a quantitative accelerated test. Run the machine constantly for
3120 hours

Concurrent Engineering
Sample Paper: HL
Explain why accelerated testing is used on some products.
Some products have a long life need to test reliability
quantify life of product - warranty

A washing machine will be used for two hours per day, three
days per week in normal use. What type of accelerated testing
will determine the lifetime of the washing machine?
Quantitative test data is used to determine expected normal life
time of product

During testing, the washing machine ran for 3000 operating

hours before failing. Recommend a suitable guarantee period
for the washing machine and give reasons for your
recommendation.
2hrs/day x 3days/week = 6hrs/week
3000/6 = 566.67 weeks
566.67/52 = 10.8975
Guarantee period = 10 years.