DESIGN ENGINEER

INTRODUCTION

• A design engineer is one who takes care of the

inner workings of a design.
• The design engineer usually works with a team of
engineers and designers to develop the
preliminary design and the most critical parts of a
system or the whole system.
• He/she may work with the marketing department
to develop the product concept and specifications.
• A design engineer is the creator of the system.
• Design the general layout of the system.
• The design engineer addresses preliminary
process plan development, determination of
tooling and fixture requirement, layout of
manufacturing machines.
• Material handling methods used in the system
and the devices used.
• A design engineer not only considers the
technical part, but also considers the business
side.
• He or she is part of the decisions made in
marketing, advertising, packaging, and finance.
• Consideration to the short and long term
impact of the system in manufacturing activities.
THE EVALUATION PROCEDURES OF THE FMS
SYSTEM

The following tasks are to be considered for

successful work:

1.Product and equipment analysis.

2. Material handling.
1. Product and equipment analysis
• Consideration in the design of the FMS system
is on the physical arrangement or layout of the
system.
• Studies on manufacturing systems that indicate
30-75 percent of the product cost can be
attributed to material handling expenses (Sule
1991).
• 20-50 percent of a manufacturing company’s
total operating budget is on material handling.
• To increase the systems efficiency and the
productivity, the physical arrangement of the
system must be in situation that minimizes a
movement of a personal and material, thereby
decreases material handling cost.
 Layout Problems:

• Problems are faced when creating new

systems and when expanding or modifying
existing system.
• Change the layout of the system in every two
or three years (Nicoland Hollier 1983). This is
because product mixes have changed at more
frequent intervals and customers demand
constant change in style and functionality.
 Manufacturing layout problems:

• The problems involve determining the location

of machines, works stations, and other
facilities.

Each of these have to achieve an objective, and

these are;
• To minimize the cost of transporting raw
materials, parts, tools, work-in-process, and
finished goods between the system and other
facilities.

• Facilitate traffic flow.

• Increase employ morale.

• Minimize the risk of injuring to personnel and
damage to property.

• Provide supervision if necessary and face to

face communication.
• Other facilities include rest areas, inspection
stations, clean rooms and tool cribs.
 Product Analysis
• In the system, the products that are
manufactured provide important information
about its process or equipment required,
material-handling methods, arrangement of
production and auxiliary equipment.
• The designer must know what products are
being manufactured and the production
volume.
 Equipment Selection
• A designer or analysis must know the required
types and quantities of production and support
equipment before making layout decisions.
• Must know what types of production processes
are required, such as metal removal, drilling,
finishing surface.
• Know the types of machined used, such as lathes,
milling machines, shaping machines, etc.
• Machines in the system need to be analysed
to see whether the quantity and type are fit
for the FMS system.

By analysing and confirming whether the

equipment is appropriate, benefits such as the
following can be achieved;
• Make efficient use of the budget for capital
equipment purchase
• Make efficient use of maintenance and
operating budgets
• Increase machine utilization
• Make efficient use of available space because
fewer piece of equipment are purchased to
meet production needs now and in the future.
Space requirement and availability
• Space and availability requirements need to be
considered in developing a layout of the system.
• By understanding the flow between machines, a
designer can determine the space necessary.
• Measuring the dimensions and obtaining space
requirement information from experienced
personnel on the shop floor, are used to find
the shape, size and space.
• When determining the space required for
laying the system room must be allowed for
operator movement, loading and unloading of
parts.
• A storage area for incoming material and
work-in-process, and shelves for storage of
machine.