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New DFMA® 2009 Software from Boothroyd Dewhurst Targets Environmental Compliance

The most thorough tool for estimating manufacturing costs now addresses sustainability, machining cells, quicker estimates

Wakefield, R.I., USA, March 11, 2009 – Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc. has added new design-for-environment tools to DFMA® 2009, the latest version of its internationally recognized Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA®) software. Both modules in the integrated DFMA suite−DFA Version 9.4 and DFM Concurrent Costing® Version 2.3−have been updated.

The new release offers engineering teams the ability to assess the environmental impact of their products; a program to estimate the cost of machining a batch of parts when using a devoted machining cell; and the option of running a quick machining estimate as well as the existing full analysis feature.

“We are responding to a number of market trends and user requests with this new release of our DFMA software,” said Dr. Winston Knight, senior vice president at Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc. “Manufacturers are increasingly aware that addressing the environmental impact of their products will soon be a requirement for entry into major markets. Designers can now select the best materials for greener products, even as they innovate with DFMA to build more performance into efficient, leaner designs.”

Identifying Cost Drivers in Manufacturing

DFMA 2009 software guides engineers through simplification of a product design, then quickly estimates assembly labor and part manufacturing costs. The software identifies the major cost drivers associated with a wide range of choices for part manufacture and finishing.

This quantitative, multidisciplinary approach to cost assessment helps companies create innovative, high-quality products that are more economical to manufacture. “Downstream” cost reduction for the extended organization is a considerable side benefit: When products have fewer parts, companies can streamline suppliers, inventory, shipping and digital archives. When products are easier to manufacture, companies can improve factory output and overall resource use.

Design for Environment

Meeting the needs of an increasingly eco-conscious marketplace, DFMA 2009 allows product designers to conduct an environmental assessment:  During the concept stage, they can evaluate the impact of material selection as well as account for the end-of-life status of their product.

The analysis prompts designers to select from the DFMA database the materials they prefer to use or avoid, then reveals the proportions (by weight) of those materials in the product. It also estimates and designates the proportions of product that go to different end-of-life destinations, including reuse, recycling, landfill and incineration. These measures help manufacturers meet such requirements as the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulations.

For more information on DFE, click here.

Cell Machining Process

With DFMA 2009, designers now can estimate the cost of machining a batch of parts in a dedicated machining cell. They also can choose and calculate various cell arrangement scenarios for maximum efficiency.

The software uncovers hidden costs of labor and machine idleness and can assess the time needed to complete entire manufacturing runs at different production volumes.

For more information on machining cell capabilities, click here.

Quick estimate

The DFM Concurrent Costing Version 2.3 software in DFMA 2009 now offers two types of machined/cut-from-stock analyses: a traditional full analysis and a quick estimate.

The quick estimate can approximate part cost with little effort. By automatically selecting suitable machine tools, this analysis saves time, especially for a designer with limited knowledge of certain machining processes.

For more information on quick estimates, click here.

Using DFMA 2009

The new release is easy to customize: Engineers may install their own cost model for a manufacturing process into the DFM Concurrent Costing software.

DFMA 2009 can now read SolidWorks geometry information directly; third-party software is no longer necessary.

DFMA software operates in Microsoft® Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP and VISTA.

About Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc.

Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc., was the first company to commercialize Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) methodologies and software tools, which make it possible to evaluate, estimate, and reduce the manufacturing cost of a product in the design phase through product simplification and cost estimation. Hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies, including Dell, John Deere, Harley-Davidson, and Whirlpool, use DFMA to cut the costs of their manufactured products and achieve design innovation in their markets. The company was founded in 1983 and received the National Medal of Technology Award in 1991. For more information about DFMA software, workshops, consulting services, and international conferences , contact Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc., 138 Main Street, Wakefield, R.I. 02879, USA. Tel. (401) 783-5840. Fax (401) 783-6872. Web site: www.dfma.com. E-mail: info@dfma.com.

Windows is a copyright of Microsoft Corp. DFMA is a registered trademark of Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.