Stop Burning Money

When it comes to new product development, nothing gets the fingers pointing faster than spiraling costs. But the buck really stops with the design engineer.

'Design engineers influence anywhere from 70-80 percent of a product's total cost,' says Nick Dewhurst, a design-for-manufacturability expert and executive vice president of Boothroyd Dewhurst, a software and consulting firm that specializes in making designs more cost-efficient. Put differently, engineers may not have to pay the light bill at the factory, but their choices partly determine how long those lights stay on every day.

In this special report, we show you how to avoid hidden costs in the following areas:

• Software

• Materials

• Electronics Components

Casting a Big Shadow: Design engineering overhead may be small, but design engineers exert a huge influence on cost. Design for manufacturability experts at Boothroyd Dewhurst estimate that design engineers make decisions that ultimately influence about 70 percent of the total cost.