title: A design to cost system for innovative product development
abstract: Presents a prototype object-oriented and rule-based system for product cost modelling and design for automation at an early design stage. The developed system comprises a computer aided design (CAD) solid modelling system, a material selection module, a knowledge-based system (KBS), a process optimization module, a design for assembly module, a cost estimation module and a user interface. Two manufacturing processes, namely machining and injection moulding processes, were considered in the developed system. The main function of the system, besides estimating the product cost, is to generate initial process planning, including the generation and selection of machining processes, their sequence and their machining parameters, and to recommend the most economical assembly technique for a product and provide design improvement suggestions based on a design feasibility technique. In addition, a feature-by-feature cost estimation report is generated using the proposed system to highlight the features of high manufacturing cost. Two case studies were used to validate the developed system
keyphrases: design to cost system innovative product development product cost modelling design for automation material selection module knowledge-based system process optimization module design for assembly module cost estimation module user interface machining injection moulding process planning feature-by-feature cost estimation report object-oriented rule-based system computer aided design solid modelling system fuzzy logic object-oriented programming concurrent engineering