Design for Manufacture and Assembly release DFMA® 2005A includes upgraded versions of both modules in the integrated DFMA suite: DFA v9.2, and DFM Concurrent Costing® v2.1.
The software identifies major cost drivers associated with manufacturing and finishing parts, helping engineering supply chains understand the cost structure of products, and supports the development of innovative designs that are easier and more economical to produce. It takes a quantitative, multidisciplinary approach to cost assessment. A key benefit is the quick generation of an initial cost estimate at any stage of design in just a few simple steps.
DFMA 2005A includes new features that help engineers create cost-effective, highly manufacturable products. Two new manufacturing processes -- deep drawing and assembly fabrication -- are particularly relevant to design cost estimating.
- Deep drawing is an addition to the range of sheet metalworking processes in DFMA software. Engineers can cost out their designs using all the common manufacturing processes for sheet metal parts. The new cost model also estimates costs for subsequent press operations with deep-drawn parts, such as trimming, ironing, restriking, punching, bending, and so on. With the addition of deep drawing, engineers can investigate costs for a broad scope of alternative shape-forming processes, including sheet metalworking, machining, plastic injection molding, metal injection molding, diecasting, and powder metals.
- Assembly fabrication introduces an entirely new capability in DFMA software that will greatly aid decisions about parts consolidation. For the first time, engineers can estimate the cost of a small welded subassembly and compare it to the cost of a single part. The new assembly fabrication process makes it easier for engineers to compare manufacturing processes for designs with a different number of parts and select the most cost-effective design from among them.
The software also includes libraries of machine costs for manufacturing hot-forged, powder-metal, and foam-molded parts. New libraries for the various types of furnaces used in powder metal and hot forging processes have been added.