Product Development by Design Navigation Method

Manufacturers must be able to develop new products within a specified time period. This paper discusses a method for developing high performance products from a limited number of experiments, utilizing the concept of “function error”. Unlike conventional methods where the sequence of design, prototyping and experiment must be repeated several times, the proposed method can determine optimal design values directly from experimental data obtained from the first prototype. The theoretical basis of the method is presented, then its effectiveness proven by applying it to design an extrusion machine and a CNC lathe.