DFMA Case Study: Laptop Development Using Concurrent Costing

DFMA Case Study: Laptop Development Using Concurrent Costing

How does DFMA concurrent costing save money and other resources? The following case study illustrates the time, effort, and financial savings a prominent company realized using DFMA software to revamp its laptop computer.

Goals

A major technology company wanted to establish itself as a leader among laptop developers. To accomplish this, the company built a Concurrent Engineering Design Team that would use DFMA software to improve three key areas in the development process: concurrent engineering, reverse engineering, and producibility engineering. The team’s goal was to produce industry-leading laptops competitively and efficiently.

Methods

The Concurrent Engineering team attended classes taught by Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc. to learn the principles of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly. These principles help developers minimize part usage, leverage modular designs, strive for standardized components, enhance accessibility, and more.

The team understood that 70-80 percent of a product’s final costs are determined during the conceptual design stages, so they recognized how important DFMA principles were in their laptop redesign. Lowering total costs was a primary driver in the company’s redesign efforts. Engineers worked closely with manufacturing and assembly shops to ensure the design aligned with production capabilities.

At the same time, the Reverse Engineering team analyzed the product designs of major competitors, identifying and documenting best practices. The Reverse Engineering team also compiled a list of “worst practices” and “defect drivers” that would ultimately help the company avoid common pitfalls that competitors were experiencing.

Using DFMA principles and the Reverse Engineering team’s research, designers created a modular design for the laptop that could be easily assembled.

The team created a new modular board assembly that included the main board and video board. In the original design, defects in the main board were only found after assembly, but the redesigned version could be assembled and tested before being placed in the plastic housings. This reduced the need for expensive and time-consuming tear-downs, part replacements, and intricate re-assemblies. If a defect was found after assembly, the new design ensured that replacements were quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive.

The team also included a modular disk drive, which made component removals as simple as a single button press. In turn, this dramatically improved the ease of upgrading disk drives for consumers. This modular design was also surprisingly versatile, accommodating various types of disk drives.

The display cables and hinge assemblies were also improved, with the redesign featuring a custom molded flexible cable that was wrapped around the hinge pin. This eliminated the old discrete wiring harness and allowed for a smaller feed-through hole. This resulted in less wire chafing and supported the more modern two-point hinge design that the Reverse Engineering team found was becoming popular.

Results

The improved laptop.

• Total assembly time fell by 72%.
• Unit assembly (measured in Hours per Unit or HPU) was reduced by 70%.
• Unit test time was cut by 63%.
• Printed Wiring Board (PWB) assembly time fell by 75%.
• Material flow was improved, and the company retained more flexibility and better control in deciding which subassemblies to contract.
• Rework and repair times fell, as did the potential for damage during repairs.

DFMA software saved this company significant time and money. What could it do for you?

Do you have a product that needs to be redesigned? DFMA software can help you achieve a better design, with dramatic cost and time savings.

Contact us if you’re ready to boost your design and manufacturing efficiency and stop leaving money on the table.