Related Resources: calculators

Selecting Candidate Manufacturing Process Procedure and Calculator

Selecting Candidate Manufacturing Process Procedure and Calculator.

Before serious engineering design effort is extended, there are a number of considerations driven by defined specifications of your end item that should be considered.

Selecting the right process and then optimizing the design to suit the process selected involves a series of decisions which exert considerable influence on the quality, cost, and function of components and assemblies. Such decisions can significantly effect the success of a product in the market place.

Manufacturing processes represent the main shape generating methods such as casting, molding, forming and material removal processes. The purpose of this selector/calculator is to provide a guide for the selection of the manufacturing processes that may be suitable candidates for a component. The manufacturing process selection strategy is given below:

• Engineering Materials Required,
• Mechanical tolerances required for proper function and quality,
• Geometry required and achievable by target manufacturing process,
• Quantity of build,
• Economic Considerations.

After an range of candidate manufacturing processes are determined consider each process against engineering and economic requirements such as:

• Consider the material compatibility,
• Assess conformance of component concept with target manufacturing process design rules,
• Compare tolerance and surface finish requirements with process capability data,
• Consider the economic positioning of the process and obtain component cost estimates for alternatives,
• Review the selected manufacturing process against business requirements.

The principal intention is that the candidate processes are selected before the component design is finalized, so that any specific constraints and/or opportunities may be borne in mind.

Things to know before using this tool:

• Obtain an estimate of the annum and total production quantity.
• Determine application engineering material types requirements.

Material type – Accounts for the compatibility of the parent material with the manufacturing process, and is therefore a key technical selection factor. A large proportion of the materials used in engineering manufacture have been included in the selection methodology, from ferrous alloys to precious metals.

Materials Included within calculator: Iron, Carbon Steel, Steel Tool & Allot, Stainless Steel, Copper & Alloys, Aluminum & Allows, Magnesium & Alloys, ZInc & Alloys, Tin & Alloys, Nickel & Alloys, Titanium & Alloys, Thermoplastics, Thermosets, Fire Resistant Composites, Ceramics, Refractory Metals, and Precious Metals.

Production quantity per annum – The number of components to be produced to account for the economic feasibility of the manufacturing process. The quantities specified for selection purposes are in the ranges:

Very low volume = 1–100
Low volume = 100–1000
Medium volume = 1000–10 000
Medium to high volume = 10 000–100 000
High volume 100 000+
All quantities

Preview: Selecting Candidate Manufacturing Process Calculator

Due to the calculator webpage size constraints and the number of processes involved, each manufacturing process has been assigned an identification code rather than using process names, as shown at the bottom of the calculator.

References:

Manufacturing Process Selection, For Design to Manufacture:
K. G. Swift
Department of Engineering, University of Hull, UK
J. D. Booker
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, UK
Redford, A. (1994) Design for assembly. European Designer, Sept/Oct, 12–14.
Swift, K. G., Raines, M. and Booker, J. D. (1997) Design capability and the costs of failure. Proceedings of Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B, 211, 409–423.