I work for one of the big three auto companies. I was a design engineer for
for one of the highest volume vehicles sold. When I came up with &
implemented a $.01/vehicle cost savings I was a hero.
This also applied to the lesser volume vehicles I've worked on.
Kenneth Waller
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gonz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Camera engineering (was Re: Rename request)
I've heard that automobile engineers sometimes eliminate parts worth $0.25
because a million or more cars are going to be built with a particular
design, thus saving $250,000 or more, and justifying his salary.
rg
Mark Roberts wrote:
"Mark Erickson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Anyone here with manufacturing engineering background care to actually
make
some estimates? Say in the number of engineering hours, broken down into
design, development, integration, and test?
I have a little background in this area, having worked in the Components
Engineering department for an electronics manufacturer. I won't give
exact estimates but I will say that anyone who's never worked in the
business has no idea how zealously cost reduction is pursued. The design
engineers count every part that goes on a circuit board, regardless of
cost, and strive to reduce the number of part placements (even though
these placements are performed by lightning-fast robotic equipment).
Every part placement contributes just a fraction of a cent to overall
cost, but it's counted. Selection of the parts themselves is scrutinized
thoroughly. I had a
friend who was a sales rep for HP Semiconductor (before it was spun off
to become Agilent Semiconductor... and when they still *had* field sales
reps) who told me that a *half cent* per component price difference
could decide whether he won or lost a bid. In addition to the cost of the
part itself, there are also any other
parts associated with it. One voltage regulator I.C. might require three
external resistors and two capacitors to function, while another may
require six resistors and one capacitor. So besides considering which
I.C. is cheaper, they figure in the cost of the external components.
Capacitors are generally cheaper than resistors, but the cost varies
with value so the one that requires two capacitors *may* still be
cheaper... for some designs, but not necessarily for others. Then the
cost of the extra component placement is figured in.
Components that have to be hand-placed are anathema: Any engineer who
puts one in his design will have to justify it to high levels of
management. Trim potentiometers are to be avoided if at all possible.
Potentiometers and electromechanical devices in general are to be
avoided wherever possible. (Simply from a manufacturing standpoint, I
have concluded that the existence of the potentiometer alone in the old
Pentax K-mount makes its return in the 21st century a complete
non-starter: You can stick a fork in it, it's done.)
The scary part to me is that the company I worked for was in a much less
competitive business segment than mass-market consumer goods (they
enjoyed profit margins on each product that Pentax, Canon, Nikon can
only *dream* of). In Asian electronics manufacturing plants I have no
doubt that they're even more fanatical than the environment in which I
worked.
