ENSE 621 / ENPM 641 System Profile

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A Systems Engineering Approach to Cab Design Optimization

Abstract

This profile involves a trade-off analysis of several different manufacturing processes and design criteria to optimize a cab frame from marketing, engineering, and manufacturing points of view.

This profile focuses on the manufacturing process of a standard cab frame design for an industrial mobile hydraulic crane, since the cab can be used as a major selling point of the machine.  The cab frame is defined as the outer shell that encloses the operator, seat, console, controls, etc…  Factors such as appearance, cost, functionality, and time-to-market are use as criteria for the design.  Appearance has a strong influence on the design of the cab frame.  The cab frame must appear flawless as well as structurally sound.  Functionality often dictates the appearance of the cab frame design; therefore, the engineer must pay equal attention to the design of both aspects of the final design.  This final design must also be completed on time and within the given cost constraints.  In conjunction with these design considerations, the engineer must also consider the manufacturability of the cab frame in order to maintain the integrity of the design.  A few of the most common processes for cab frame manufacturing are welding and using mechanical fasteners.  Some of the most recent processes for cab frame manufacturing include the use of molded fiberglass and structural acrylic adhesives.

The results of this trade-off analysis analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of each of the previous manufacturing processes through the use of a decision table.  Analysis was also performed to rate the criteria upon which the study was being based.  The results showed that the use of structural acrylic adhesives is the optimal manufacturing process for the cab frame design.