Total vehicle development with DFM

摘要

By integrating design-for-manufacturing strategies in its product-development process, an automaker has reduced its number of parts and assembly time by almost half. The Automobile is a complex series of systems, subsystems, and components integrated into a final product. In the process of product design, no system exists as a separate entity; all systems interface with other systems. In addition, every system has different critical timing. As part of a strategy to improve product quality and reduce cost, General Motors and its Cadillac/Luxury Car Division (CLCD) in Flint, Mich., started to apply design for manufacturing (DFM) to current and new product designs in the late 1980s.