Assembly Planbook - June 2008 - (Page 46)

ASSEMBLY Assembly Planning DFMA Cuts Downstream Costs DFMA can make products and processes lean from the start, reducing short-term cost and improving long-term profitability. n principle, the best assembly— easiest, fastest and lowest cost—is no assembly. That, for example, is the raison d’être for finishformed parts. In practice, “best assembly” tends to be a lot like lean manufacturing: A never-ending journey seeking continuous improvement in both product and process. Design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) has historically been focused on achieving the “best assembly” by applying sophisticated software at the product design stage to reduce parts count and simplify the assembly process. DFMA has a well-established reputation for reducing manufacturing costs while at the same time creating products that are easier to manufacture and maintain. Although the short-term benefits of DFMA are well known, the longterm benefits have not, heretofore, been closely examined. It turns out that long-term benefits can be significantly greater than short-term. Here are insights into how several companies have used DFMA to achieve short-term success, and their prognosis for continuing improvement. Here, too, are highlights from a ground-breaking survey confirming that early design decisions play a larger role in long-term profitability than previously realized. Harvesting Savings Manufacturers of off-road vehicles have been meeting increasingly stringent emissions standards for the past several years, and Deere & Company (Moline, IL) is no exception. Starting in 2006, Tier 3 regulations from the I This pullout ladder on the swingout landing deck of a Deere combine provides service access for maintenance. The landing deck assembly was redesigned to accommodate a new EPA-certified Tier 3 engine. By Don Hegland Editorial Director Environmental Protection Agency have required specific reductions of oxides of nitrogen from off-road diesel engines. Deere has developed a family of new EPA-certified Tier 3 engines for use in its range of off-road equipment. Fitting components around the Tier 3 engine on one of its combines led Deere along a path of intensive cost analysis and redesign because the new engine was a different size than the previous one. This required redesign of the swingout landing deck. The landing deck swings out from the side the combine at a height of about 6 feet above the ground. It has an integrated pull-out ladder that provides access to the combine for maintenance. The new landing deck assembly had to be larger because of the new engine. Deere engineers also wanted to increase the structural rigidity of the assembly without adding weight. As usual, cost challenges arose. First, estimates showed that the redesigned assembly would come in at 8 percent above target cost. Second, and of more concern, the supplier quote for the redesigned assembly was 26 percent above target cost. Deere engineers tackled the cost issues using DFMA software to analyze the landing deck design. Their objectives were to simplify assembly and reduce cost. DFMA brainstorming sessions with design and manufacturing engineers, supply management, and suppliers responsible for fabricating and assembling the landing deck yielded another 83 design improvement ideas. “We selected the landing deck for DFMA analysis because we had to take 46 ASSEMBLY / June 2008 www.assemblymag.com http://www.assemblymag.com

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Assembly Planbook - June 2008 Contents Editorial Bonding Lines Quality in Assembly Assembly Lines Assembly in Action Fastening or Bonding? Loose Lips Sink Assembly Systems DFMA Cuts Downstream Costs Robots Lend a Hand Products Advertisers Index Classified Leading Lean

Assembly Planbook - June 2008

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