Application of Weight, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and Productivity Optimization Techniques as an Aerospace Design for Manufacturing and Assembly Guideline in the Selection of Alternate Aerospace Commercial Off-the-Shelf Consumables

The selection of aircraft consumable materials in aerospace manufacturing and assembly processes is a major customer design data-driven process, which is designed and developed early at the product design stages. With the rapid improvements in the aerospace manufacturing and assembly industry, these consumable material sources are prone to both obsolescence and counterfeit risks. Thus, aircraft design teams must carefully identify the selection of these materials and sources, which can provide products and services till the end of the product life cycle, which, if not, can impact both the design and the functional intent of the aircraft assembly. The study discusses the challenges faced in the current aerospace consumable industry and the opportunities for improvement in it. The study details the concept and deployment framework of the weight, quality, cost, delivery, and productivity (WQCDP) optimization technique, as an Aerospace Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (ADFMA) guideline and its effective application for the optimized selection and use of aerospace consumable materials in aerospace manufacturing and assembly organizations. The WQCDP concept is an extension of the research work carried on the aerospace application of DFMA guidelines and can be helpful to the aerospace design and manufacturing engineers when applied in selecting consumable materials during the design, manufacturing, and assembly processes, which could improve both the design intent and functional characteristics of the product. The WQCDP framework proposed could also be used as a method to prevent counterfeit products and counter obsolescence management of these materials and can also be used by Tier 1 supplier organizations for an effective and efficient consumable management system.