Design for Assembly Study Case: Automotive Fuel Intake Cover

摘要

Purpose: In the case study presented, the DFA (Design for Assembly) technique is applied to an automotive fuel intake cover of a currently produced vehicle in order to simplify the current product design. Design/methodology/approach: DFMA and Lucas methodology, which is used in this study, can be adopted not only for the development phase of new products, but also for already developed products, reducing the number of components and the costs. Findings: The Lucas methodology approach for the DFMA has been applied in a successful way to improve a fuel intake cover. Research limitations/implications: Only a prototype part was tested. More specimens must be tested to validate final design. Practical implications: The application of this technique allowed a product cost saving of 10%, a tooling saving of 5%, and a significant product simplification without losing its original functionality. Originality/value A brief historical report and the scientific fundaments of this methodology are presented and a case study was performed as a didactic experiment.