0-3D Design method: A new design management technique to support design for manufacturing

Design complexity and its relation to Design for Manufacturing continues to be a challenging topic, namely when the objective is to address these aspects in a straightforward manner to young or less experienced design teams. The availability of practical methodologies that induce rules to support novel design creation, in the environment of manufacturing processes, continues to be scarce. This work presents a novel approach named - 0-3D Design Method - that aims to define, in a systematic and geometrical manner, practical rules that allows mechanical designers to relate, in a codified manner, the design geometry of a given mechanical component to the typical manufacturing processes that permit its physical embodiment. The method proposes the definition of types and sub-types of parts, based on the number of spatial dimensions that need to be modified for a given design construction, and its relation to the manufacturing phase of the product life-cycle. A practical mechanical design example is presented to demonstrate the methodology, mapping the parts necessary for the design of a cutting head of a machine-tool.