Web sites

Citation

(2012), "Web sites", Assembly Automation, Vol. 32 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.2012.03332baa.008

Web sites

Article Type: Web sites From: Assembly Automation, Volume 32, Issue 2

Design and Manufacture for Assembly

www.dfma.com/

This is the homepage for global leader Booth and Dewhurst Inc.’s Design For Manufacture Assembly (DFMA) product costing and simplification. DFMA’s methods and software have been used since 1983 by companies and industries all over the world.

DFMA’s web site is extensive and highly informative. It details the Design for Assembly (DFA) and Design for Manufacture (DMA) software with additional topics on design for environment, supplier costing, target costing, and concurrent engineering; a table of DFMA software average reductions; client testimonials; a video demo; and brochure.

The Resources tab includes case studies, white papers, reports, and presentations. The Support link offers online tutorials, downloads, and a knowledge base. Other links provide extensive information on the company, services, and news and events.

Clemson Engineering Design Applications and Research

www.clemson.edu/ces/cedar

The Clemson Engineering Design Applications and Research (CEDAR) group explores issues related to mechanical engineering design ranging from informatics to design education, creativity to decision making, collaboration to solid modeling, metrology to optimization, and packaging to complexity.

Cedar’s web site consists of various portals. The research portal describes the group’s interests – collaborative design, CAD/CAM, knowledge management for engineering, distributed decision making, 3D knowledge archival and retrieval, automation of design for manufacturing, design of cellular meso-structures (energy efficient design of cellular solids), and meta-material design – as well as available projects.

Other portals take the site visitor to Cedar’s: publications, people, education, resources, and links, which includes an impressive list of design journals.

Engineer Design Centre

www.engineeringdesigncentre.co.uk

The Engineer Design Centre is a UK-funded initiative that helps companies develop new design processes to bring their product to market more effectively.

The Centre’s web site allows the user to navigate through its many pages: the Identity tab, “Who we are”, delineates Engineering Design’s vision, goals, history, staff, and partners; the Capability, “What we do”, link provides an overview on design for manufacture and assembly, affective engineering, design analysis, design optimization, rapid manufacturing/mass customisation, and research expertise; and the Delivery tab, “How we work with you”, focuses on full management support, measures of success and feedback, developing relationships, diagnostic and evaluation, and types of project.

In addition to case studies and news, there is also a section entitled, “Empower” which gives details on its main partners, and contains links to various resources, including patents, academic resources, and funding.

Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre

www.amrc.co.uk/

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing identifies, researches, and resolves advanced manufacturing problems for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors. This impressive model partnership between industry and academia works with over 60 member companies.

AMRC’s image-laden and well-laid out homepage displays information on its featured case study, latest news, and events. It also presents thorough data on the Centre’s background, facilities, resources, and its industrial doctoral centre.

The research link outlines its four core groups: machining, assembly, composite materials, and structural testing as well as five different support groups. The “Work with Us” pages discuss the Centre’s membership model and list its research partners.

Associations and organizations:

International Association of Societies of Design Research (www.iasdr.org)

Design for Manufacturing (http://designformanufacturing.org/)

The Design Society (http://designsociety.org)