Many production parts offer great potential for significant cost reduction without impact on the functionality of the parts.
In our customer enquiries, we regularly identify cost reduction potential up to 50% based on our DTC method.
The foundation of our DTC method is a database which contains cost optimization information for a lot of applications which we collected over many years. In combination with a design-to-cost checklist and the many years of know-how of our employees, this method allows us to systematically identify the optimization potential of high precision parts.
The mayor fields for cost optimization are:
- Optimization of material
- Optimization of design
- Optimization of the production technology
The measures must always be defined depending on the application. Therefore the results of the DTC method will always be verified and implemented together with the customer.
With 50 years of experience in manufacturing, we are the perfect partner to identify your potentials.
EXAMPLE 1
Optimisation of material selection
Application: Support plate test projector
Measure: Change of the material from 1.4301 (stainless steel) to 1.0715 (machining steel)
Savings: 24% production costs + approx. 5% material costs
Initial situation:
A test projector for lenses is a high-end product in the field of film technology. The support plate shown in the picture was manufactured from the high-grade material 1.4301 based on the requirements for the device (including stainless).
Optimization potential:
Due to the increasing number of projectors, our customer was looking for ways to reduce the manufacturing costs without compromising the functionality.
Based on our DTC database, we looked at various options, including different matreials like 1.4305 and 1.0715 with an additional nickel coating. The analysis of the options showed that both alternatives do not affect the functionality. The change to the material 1.0715 with chemically nickel-plated surface offers the economically best solution with a 24% cost reduction.
EXAMPLE 2
Production-oriented optimization of the design
Application: Housing
Measure: Adaptation of the construction: Increase of radiuses
Savings: 18% production costs
Initial situation: The housing shown in the picture is milled from a solid block of aluminium.
Optimization potential: During the development of the prototype, we worked with the customer - again on the basis of the forecast - to find the most cost-effective method for producing the component. The inner radiuses play a major role in this case, as a lot of volume has to be machined here and the radiuses of the component influence how large the diameter of the tool can be. (see picture).
By doubling the radiuses, we were able to reduce the production time by 18% without adjusting the functionality of the component.
EXAMPLE 3
Optimization of the production technology
Application: Housing
Measure: Production from aluminium casting instead of production from solid aluminium block
Savings: 40% production costs
Initial situation:
The requested quantities of the housing shown in the picture below have increased significantly, so that together with the customer we have looked for cheaper manufacturing options.
Potential for optimization: With increasing quantities, new manufacturing technologies become available. In this case casting the aluminium housing instead of machining from a solid block is a very good solution. The relevant functional surfaces with high precision still have to be machined, but a large part of the machining volume is eliminated. Thus, the production time could be reduced by approx. 70%.
The one-time costs of approx. 8000 Euros for the casting tools and the higher price of the cast component compared to the aluminium block led to a total cost saving of approx. 40%.
What is our core competence?
- Machining of high-precision components
- Surface treatment / coating and heat treatment
- Optimisation of production technology, e.g. aluminium casting
- Components up to 1m in size
What do we offer you?
- Analysis of cost reduction potential of your components based on our DTC method
- Verification of the potentials within a joint workshop
- Detailed list of the cost saving potentials and measures for each component
- Production of prototypes / pilot series of the optimized components
- Production of the cost-optimized serial parts at the new price
