Tools added to design for manufacture and assembly software for comparing the cost of automatic versus manual product assembly and for estimating the cost to manufacture PCBs.
Boothroyd Dewhurst has announced DFMA 2006, a version of the company's design for manufacture and assembly software. The software contains versions of both modules in the integrated DFMA suite: DFA v9.3 and DFM Concurrent Costing v2.2. DFMA 2006 software guides engineers through the process of simplifying a product design, then quickly estimates assembly labour and part manufacturing costs.

The software isolates the major cost drivers associated with a wide range of choices for part manufacture and finishing.

Tools have been added for comparing the cost of automatic versus manual product assembly and for estimating the cost to manufacture PCBs.

Through a quantitative, multidisciplinary approach to cost assessment, DFMA helps companies create products that are more economical to manufacture.

When products have fewer parts, companies have fewer digital archives to maintain and can streamline suppliers, inventory and shipping.

When products are easier to manufacture, companies can improve factory throughput and overall resource use.

'We set our DFMA redesign goals at 50% for cost reductions in labour and assembly, and typically we meet or exceed those targets', said Mike Shipulski, Director of Engineering at Hypertherm.

'Our management is always happy about achieving these significant financial numbers, and they know that the total savings are far-reaching, extending beyond manufacturing to the reduction of facility, handling and overhead costs'.

The software contains a set of industry-tested early cost models for material and manufacturing processes, including sheet metalworking, machining, structural foam moulding, plastic extrusion, injection moulding, thermoforming, blow moulding, cold and hot die casting, hot forging, powder metal processing, sand casting and investment casting.

Two processes have been added for estimating manufacturing costs.

A PCB process incorporates cost models for bare board manufacture as well as population, or assembly, of the board.

The cost estimate for bare board manufacture is based on complexity and includes costs for internal and external circuit generation, lamination, AOI testing, hole drilling, solder masking, legend printing and final circuit testing.

With this capability, product development teams can include estimates for PCBs in early cost profiles for electromechanical devices.

An automatic assembly process estimates the cost of assembling a product on an automatic high-speed assembly machine.

For comparison purposes, the software also computes the estimated cost of assembling the same product on a manual assembly line.