E. ten Brinke

A generic framework for cost estimation and cost control in product design

Traditionally, cost estimation was performed after the design process, though most opportunities of cost reduction have already passed. Therefore, it is advantageous to be able to estimate the product costs early in the product development cycle. By changing the way cost estimation is dealt with, it is possible to utilise all opportunities of cost reduction. To be able to control the product costs, it is necessary to estimate the costs adequately and to store the cost data in a generic way. A generic framework is developed to establish these requirements. The framework, which is the basis for the control of the production costs, takes into account design, process planning and production planning aspects.

Computer aided process planning for sheet metal based on information management

During the last few years, attention in the manufacturing cycle has shifted towards concurrent engineering (CE). With this, the integration of the different product life cycle processes has become a focus in both research and industry. However, it is obvious that the integration of all manufacturing processes, taking into account all life cycle aspects from initial functional requirements to final disposal, is hardly feasible in the traditional way. In this paper, the execution of the manufacturing cycle based on information management is explained by describing the development of a generic architecture for computer aided process planning. This architecture is elaborated upon for the field of sheet metal manufacturing in a small batch part environment.

Information management and design & engineering processes

In analysing design and manufacturing tasks and their mutual interactions, it appears that the underlying information of these tasks is of the utmost importance. If this information is managed in a formalized, structured way, it can serve as a basis for the control of design and manufacturing processes. The ontological description that is used for this purpose is elaborated upon. Significant in this respect is the introduction of expedient differentiations in distinct aspects of the ontology. Based on a reference model and three accompanying information structures, it is indicated how an ontological description of the information content can be applied to govern design and manufacturing processes. Examples in the field of process planning and cost estimation are used to illustrate the theory.