Cost-effective improvement during development of advanced manufacturing processes

Defense manufacturing has evolved into the prime-contractor/system-integrator model where engineering designs and manufacturing process developments are distributed across several smaller suppliers. In this environment it is especially difficult to assess or improve the cost of new manufacturing processes and product designs because the information is fragmented and the costing tools are not integrated. Under the proposed program, we will work with a leading defense manufacturer and a virtual enterprise network to gather requirements and prove the feasibility of an integrated costing framework for advanced manufacturing processes improvement. In particular, we will leverage the existing web-based CostVision software to 1) integrate with commercial engineering and manufacturing planning tools, 2) roll-up cost information distributed across smaller suppliers into a virtual enterprise cost model, and 3) demonstrate the feasibility by supporting manufacturing cost simulations and trade-off analysis on a critical Missile Defense Agency program.