Electro-Mechanical Product Design, Manufacturing and Quality System Integration

One of the key elements of response by many companies to the competitive environment is significant investments in new products. This increased competitive environment has been most influenced by international competition. Striving for “world class” products has to evolve if U.S. companies are to survive in the 1990s and beyond. While many large U.S. companies excel in basic research, with few exceptions they have had less than positive results in turning that advantage into a competitive edge as they introduce new products in the world marketplace. We cannot continue to believe that being first with a new technology is enough to enable us to thwart competition. Speed to market is extremely critical, as is the challenge of producing world class quality. Add to this the desire to recover our return on investment quickly. The design cycle guidelines discussed here serve as a product development tool that works to integrate quality into product design development and the manufacturing process evolution.