Empowering Engineers to Generate Six-Sigma Quality Designs

Although great advances have been made over the last two decades in the product development process, tradition and experience still govern many design decisions. The need for innovative tools is apparent now more than ever as the design team tries to cope with multiple requirements such as cost, performance, six-sigma quality, styling, packaging, safety, durability, environmental impact, etc. A DFSS technique that integrates FEA and probabilistic and robust design tools within the CAD environment is presented. An example from the automotive industry that demonstrates the process and how engineering quality into designs positively impacts the bottom line is presented.