DFAA: Design’s Acronym for EfficiencyDFAA: Design’s Acronym for Efficiency

If there's one overriding fact about engineering in the 21st century, it's this: Everything is connected. The silos that once pigeonholed engineering specialties are fast disappearing, and the everyday tasks of engineers are increasingly calling for a blend of skills. For example, more product designs involve mechatronics, a field that calls for expertise in mechanics, electronics, control systems, and software programming. Nowhere is the demand for big-picture engineers more pronounced than in the world of automation. As worldwide competition quickens, manufacturers are searching for ways to assemble products faster and more reliably. That means implementing more automation -- a trend that affects design engineers just as much as it does manufacturing engineers.

Not only have advances in technology enabled automation to handle more complex parts, but the cost of automation has also dropped, giving companies a greater return on their investment. Better programming expertise also speeds setup time for automated processes, and improved data collection makes it easier to troubleshoot automated lines and minimize downtime. Automation also has enabled US companies to locate more manufacturing operations close to home, rather than in countries with lower-cost manual assembly labor.

Put all these trends together, and they add up to a substantial jump in automation investments. For example: