Producers of plastic, rubber and composites use Dynisco Inc. melt-pressure and temperature sensors, controls, and analytical instruments to maximize manufacturing efficiency and productivity. Dynisco has served these customers well for more than 50 years, providing leading-edge technology manufactured to ISO 9000 quality standards.

Throughout its history, company management has always been cost-conscious. A good example of this occurred in early 2011 when Dynisco undertook a continuous improvement initiative. The goals were three-fold: reduce product costs at the design stage, ensure that the company always meets its design cost targets, and improve product performance and cross-functional team collaboration.

As part of the initiative, the company held redesign workshops where various products from different Dynisco companies were analyzed. Company managers learned all about Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) product-costing software, and all its capabilities.

“We determined that the DFMA software provided a very structured, time-saving approach for us,” says Kevin Dailida, director of product and process improvement at Dynisco. “There was a much better collaboration between the cross-functional teams when reviewing designs, as well as an increase in the number of new ideas and improvements generated.”

Made by Boothroyd Dewhurst Inc., DFMA product-costing software combines two complementary analysis tools: design for assembly (DFA) and design for manufacture (DFM).

Engineers use DFA software to assess the structural efficiency of their products and then reduce assembly cost by consolidating individual parts into multifunctional designs. DFM software allows developers to examine competing material and process choices and quickly judge the cost trade-offs of producing new designs against the original assembly.

“Design drives cost,” says John Biagioni, vice president of supply chain and operations for Dynisco. “We needed the ability to benchmark and capture data relating to part count and unique parts on our existing designs and compare them to future designs. The software allows us now to achieve this while monitoring our incremental improvements throughout the design cycle.”

Dailida says that the company’s cross-functional teams use DFA to evaluate early prototypes while also establishing a framework for future process flow. They use DFM to benchmark “should cost” estimates against supplier quotes to ensure that bids are in line with design cost targets. DFM also provides manufacturing knowledge into the cost reduction analysis of DFA.

Dynisco likes the DFM’s concurrent costing feature, which generates estimates for both piece part and tooling investments at any stage of product design. Unlike parametric cost-estimating models, the concurrent tool does not rely on historical data. Thus, it allows Dynisco to generate accurate estimates for new designs and not be afraid to explore alternative materials and processes.

Dynisco manufactures products that its processor customers use for better control, reduced downtime, minimum scrap and maximum sustainability. Many of the company’s products, such as melt-pressure transmitters and transducers, are designed to withstand high-temperature, abrasive and corrosive environments. Dynisco also makes a wide range of polymer testing and laboratory equipment, including small, precision granulators.

 For more information about DFMA software, call 401-783-5840 or visit www.dfma.com.