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After completing this unit,the student should be able to:

’p Àdentifity and define the principles of design economy.

’p îomplete an economic analysis of a tool design.

Design Economy

The demand of modern industry for maximum productivity at minimal cost are challenge to the tool
designer. Àn addition to developing design for efficient and accurate jigs and fixtures. The tool
designer is responsible for finding ways to keep the cost of special tools as low as possible. To do
this. He or she must know and apply design economy.
Design economy begins with the tool designer͛s ideas and is carried through to the
completion of the tool. Design details should be carefully studied to find ways to reduce costs and
still maintain part quality. The tool designer is aided in this task by following the principles of
economic design.

Simplicity

Simplicity is nacessary in tool design. Design details should be made as basic and uncomplicated as
possible,and every detail should be considered for possible saving in time and materials. Overly
elaborate jigs and fixtures only serve to increase costs without adding significantly to accuracy or
quality. Basic and simple design minimize costs,labor,and confusion. All tool designs should be made
as simple as the part design permits.

Preformed Materials

Preformed materials can greatly reduce tooling costs by eliminating many machining operations.
Wherefer practical. Preformed materials,such as drill rods,structural sections,premachined bracket
materials,tooling plate,and procesion-ground flat stock,should be specified in the design.

Standard îomponents

îommercially available standard jig and fixture components can greatly improve tooling quality.
They canalso acheive seizable savings in labor and materials. Standard components,such as
clamps,locators,supports,drill bushings,pins,screws,bolts,nuts,springs,should be planned into design
to reduce labor and materials expenses.

Secondary operations

Secondary operations,such as grinding,heat treating, and some machining,should be limited to areas

necessary for efficient tool operation. Grinding should be performed only on areas that contact
either the part or the machine. Hardening operations should also be limited to areas that are
subjected to wear,such as supports,locators,and moving parts. Secondary machining of surfaces that
do not directly affect the accuracy of the tool should be eliminated.

Tolerance and allowance

Generally,the tolerance of the jig and fixture should be between 20 and 50 percent of the part
tolerance. Overly accurate tooling is economically wastefula and no more valuable than tooling
within the required tolerance. When the tolerance applied to a tool design is unnecessarily close.
The only effect on the part is higher cost.

Simplified drawings

Tool drawing are a sizeable part of the total tooling cost. Any savings gained in the drawings reduce
the tool cost. The following list is a general guide to simplifaying tool drawings:
’p Where practical,words should replace drawn details
’p Eliminate unnecessary or redundant views,projections,or details
’p When possible,replace drawn details with symbols.
’p £se templates and guides to reduce drawing time.
’p Standard part should be drawn only for clarity,not detail. Refer to these by part number or
name.

Be carreful not to over simplify a drawing. As a rule,any shortcut that simplifies the drawing and still
delivers the message is acceptable.

By aplaying th rule of design economy on the drawing board,the tool designer can realize substantial
saving in time,labour and materials. These economic principles are applied to all design exemples
and sugestions throughout the practical design units of this text.

Economic Analysis

The tool designer must furnisth management with an idea of how much toolling will cost an how
much the production method saves over a spesific run.

This information is generally furniced in the form of tooling estimate,which includes the estimated
cost of the tool and projected saving over alternate methods. The estimate also includes any special
conditions that may justify the cost of the tooling,such as close tolerances or hing volume
production,figure 6.1. for valite estimated,the tool designer must accuratelly estimate the cost and
productivity of the design terms of materials,labor, and the number of parts per hour the tool will
produce.

Estimating tool cost and productivity

The simplest and most direct way to determine the cost of a tool design is to add the total cost of
material and labor needed to fabricate the tool. This must be down carrefully so that no part of
operations is forgotten. One method is to label each part of the tool. Figure 6.2. and list the
materials in a separate parts list. Then,using a cost worksheet,list each part and calculate the
material and labor for each operation,figure 6.3. the time allowed for each machining operation
includes time for setup and breakdown as well as actual machining. The final expense added is the
cost of designing the tool.

The next step is estimating is calculating the number of parts per hour the tool will produce. The
simplest method is to divide one hour by the single part time,or the time it takes to load,machine
and unload each part. Expressed as a formula,this calculating becomes: