Preface

The conventional product development process employs a design-build-test philosophy. This sequentially executed process often results in prolonged lead times and elevated product costs. The e-Design paradigm presented in the Computer Aided Engineering Design series employs IT-enabled technology, including computer-aided design, engineering, and manufacturing (CAD/CAE/CAM) tools, as well as advanced prototyping technology to support product design from concept to detailed designs, and ultimately manufacturing. This e-Design approach employs virtual prototyping (VP) technology to support a cross-functional team in analyzing product performance, reliability, and manufacturing costs early in the product development stage and in conducting quantitative trade-offs for design decision making. Physical prototypes of the design are then produced using the rapid prototyping (RP) technique mainly for design verification. The e-Design approach holds potential for shortening the overall product development cycle, improving product quality, and reducing product cost.

The Computer Aided Engineering Design series intends to provide readers with a comprehensive coverage of essential elements for understanding and practicing the e-Design paradigm in support of product design, including design method and process, and computer-based tools and technology. The book series consists of four books: Product Design Modeling using CAD/CAE, Product Performance Evaluation using CAD/CAE, Product Manufacturing and Cost Estimating using CAD/CAE, and Design Theory and Methods using CAD/CAE.

The first book in the series, Product Design Modeling using CAD/CAE book discusses a virtual mockup of a product that is first created in the CAD environment. The critical design parameterization that converts the product solid model into a parametric representation, enabling the search for better designs, is an indispensable element of practicing the e-Design paradigm, especially in the detailed design stage. The second book, Product Performance Evaluation using CAD/CAE, focuses on applying numerous computer-aided engineering (CAE) technologies and software tools to support evaluation of product performance, including structural analysis, fatigue and fracture, rigid body kinematics and dynamics, and failure probability prediction and reliability analysis. The third book, Product Manufacturing and Cost Estimating using CAD/CAE, introduces computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technology to support manufacturing simulations and process planning, and RP technology and computer numerical control (CNC) machining for fast product prototyping, as well as manufacturing cost estimates that can be incorporated into product cost calculations. The product performance, reliability, and cost calculated can then be brought to the cross-functional team for design trade-offs based on quantitative engineering data obtained from simulations. Design trade-off is one of the key topics included in the fourth book, Design Theory and Methods using CAD/CAE. In addition to conventional design optimization methods, the fourth book discusses decision theory, utility theory, and decision-based design. Simple examples are included to help readers understand the fundamentals of concepts and methods introduced in this book series.

In addition to the discussion of design principles, methods, and processes, this book series offers a detailed review on the commercial off-the-shelf software tools for the support of modeling, simulations, manufacturing, and product data management and data exchanges. Tutorial style lessons on using commercial software tools are provided together with project-based exercises. Two suites of engineering software are covered: Pro/ENGINEER-based, including Pro/MECHANICA Structure, Pro/ENGINEER Mechanism Design, and Pro/MFG; and SolidWorks-based, including SolidWorks Simulation, SolidWorks Motion, and CAMWorks. These tutorial lessons are designed to help readers gain hands-on experiences to practice the e-Design paradigm.

The book you are reading, Product Manufacturing and Cost Estimating using CAD/CAE, is the third in the Computer Aided Engineering Design series, but is the second of the series to publish. The objective of this book is to provide readers with fundamental understanding of product manufacturing principles and modern engineering tools for manufacturing simulation and cost estimation, and to provide the ability to apply principles and software tools to support practical design applications. In Chapter 1, a brief introduction to the e-Design paradigm and tool environment will be given. Following this introduction, important topics in product manufacturing and cost estimating, including CNC machining simulation, toolpath generation, rapid prototyping, and cost estimate, will be discussed.

Chapter 2 focuses on virtual machining, which is a simulation-based technology that supports engineers in defining, simulating, and visualizing the manufacturing process in a computer environment using computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) tools. In addition to virtual machining, practical aspects of CNC machining, such as fixtures, cutters, machining parameters, and CNC mill operations, are included to aid readers in bringing such considerations into machining for support of design. Three companion projects are included: Project S4: Machining Simulation Using CAMWorks, Project P3: Machining Simulation Using Pro/MFG, and Project M4: Machining Simulation Using Mastercam. These three projects offer tutorial lessons that should help readers to learn and be able to use the software tools in machining simulations for practical applications. Example files needed for going through the tutorial lessons are available for download at the publisher’s website: http://booksite.elsevier.com/9780124017450. The goal of this chapter is to help readers become confident and competent in using CAM tools for creating adequate machining simulations to support product design.

Chapter 3 provides a brief discussion of toolpath generation for surface milling, which is one of the most important machining applications. The goal of this chapter is to provide readers with a general understanding of toolpath generation, specifically for surface milling; to help readers understand the impact of machining parameters and cutters on the resulting toolpath or CL data; and to offer a detailed discussion on scallop height calculations that determine the quality of a machined surface with a quantitative measure.

Chapter 4 offers a short introduction to simulation of sheet metal forming, which is one of the most widely used manufacturing process for thin-shell parts in the automotive and aerospace industries. In addition to basic theory, this chapter provides a brief review on the computational method that supports forming simulation as well as tooling design and process planning using simulation. Software tools commercially available for forming simulations are briefly reviewed in hope of proving readers a general idea about the availability of such tools and engineering capabilities they offer. Case studies are provided that support readers to understand practical applications of such simulation technology. The goal of this chapter is to enable readers to understand basic forming theory, create adequate simulation models and obtaining reasonable results that support product design and manufacturing involving thin-shell structures.

Chapter 5 introduces Rapid Prototyping (RP), also called 3D Printing or Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF)—the technology and apparatus that fabricate physical objects directly from parts created in CAD using additive layer manufacturing techniques without manufacturing process planning, tooling, or fixtures. This technology has the potential to reduce the turnaround time in product design and development. The goal is to provide readers with a general understanding of RP technology and various machines commercially available, to help readers become more familiar with emerging RP and its applications in micro-manufacturing and other fields, and, through case studies, to help readers apply the same principles and methods to their own applications.

In engineering design, cost is the driving factor that shapes the final product. The actual setting of price is at the heart of the business and is crucial to survival. Chapter 6 introduces fundamental elements in modern methods of product cost estimating. In addition, software tools for fast cost estimates in support of product design are discussed. The goal of this chapter is to help readers understand the basics of cost estimates, employ the methods in practical applications, and acquire adequate software tools for support of design if needed.

As you may notice, any individual chapter in this book can easily be expanded to a full textbook. Please keep in mind, however, this book is not intended to provide you with an in-depth and thorough discussion of their respective subjects, but offer readers the concept and process of applying computer-aided engineering technology and software tools to support manufacturing and cost aspects of engineering design.

This Product Manufacturing and Cost Estimating book should serve well for a half-semester (8 weeks) instruction in engineering colleges of general universities. Typically, a three-hour lecture and a one-hour laboratory exercise per week are desired. This book (and the book series) aims at providing engineering seniors and first-year graduate students a comprehensive reference to learn advanced technology in support of engineering design using IT-enabled technology. Typical engineering...