Product Reliability - Essay Example

Product Reliability Section Product reliability is the probability that a given product will perform its anticipated function for a specified duration when working under a given set of conditions. It can also be defined as the ability of a product to perform as intended (i.e., without failure and within specified performance limits) for a specified time, in its life cycle application environment (Mishra et al. 56)”. In today’s development of industrial products, reliability concerns are not addressed properly in the prior steps of the process (Prabhakar and Osteras 121). The reliability of the products also depends on two manufacturing items: the technical decisions made in the early stages and the consequence of commercial results in the final stages. An engineer can employ effective methodology for reliable performance and specification in order to make a better decision. Product reliability develops a structure that joins reliable specifications, both design and materials, and product performance in the manufacture of new product products (Prabhakar and Osteras 81). Product reliability depends on the design, material used for a product and the manufacturing process. Design refers to the act of creating a layout or convention for constructing an object or system as in architectural blueprints, engineering drawing, business process and circuit diagrams. It may also be defined as a strategy employed to achieve a unique goal or expectation. Potential Stages for Design Reviews (“Blueprints for Product Reliability”) It specifies the plans, costs, processes and parameters describing how and what to do within social, environmental, legal, safety and economic restrictions in achieving an objective (Raheja 284). Bad designs can often limit choices for seniors, e.g., a remote control with 53 buttons when seniors need only 5 such as power on, channel up/down, and volume up/down. Doorknobs are hard to turn for those seniors with grip or arthritis problems. Tiny writings on instruction manuals, they may be written in 6 different languages but are hard to read because the printing is tiny. Seniors deserve consideration when new designs are offered up for sale (Seyyed 105). Material is defined as any item made of matter that is composed of one or more substances, e.g., cement, metals, plastic and wood. The term is sometimes used to refer to components with specific physical properties that are used as inputs in manufacturing of products. In this context, materials are the components used to make product – computers, cars, buildings etc. Some applications require a product to have specific types of material properties such as load resistant steels for bridges, cranes or buildings. Cars, for instance, use aluminum as it is light, so the car consumes less fuel, corrosion resistance and aluminum alloys are easier to manufacture and use. Polystyrene with the recycling code 6 or Styrofoam cups, plates, carryout containers is petroleum-based plastics. They can release potentially toxic breakdown products, particularly when heated. Ceramic, glass, paper or safer plastics like numbers 1, 2 or 5 are a better alternative. Using the wrong material can result in a catastrophic failure that can harm life or environment (Chitale 154). Product Life Cycle Cost Impact. (“Blueprints for Product Reliability”) Manufacturing is the process of producing goods for use sale using machinery, labor and tools. This term may refer to a series of human activity such as handicraft, or high tech, but is most used in reference to industrial production, where raw materials are turned into finished products on a large scale. The finished products can be used to make more complex products such as household appliances, aircraft or automobiles, or sold to wholesalers, who in turn sell them to retailers who then sell them to end users. Manufacturing has many categories such as casting for engine blocks, molding for beams, forming as in press for panels, machining for drilling and joining as in welding. Choosing the right process depends on cost, product quality and safety (Pfeifer 39). Section 2 Several approaches can be used to address the issue of product reliability. The most effective best way to ensure overall product reliability is to make use of practice reliability testing at all stages of design, material selection and manufacturing as well as at all levels within a product from simple components to complex systems. this enables evaluation of what failed, exactly why and where the failure took place so as to institute suitable corrective measures. The product development time can be reduced to improve the quality of product before release into the market. In product design, data requirements, techniques and tools needed to develop models play a critical role in the process of making decisions and present a well-thought-out approach which can be used in making reliable products. The potential solutions for the design process include: Evaluating the design process through analyses and/or tests. Thermal Design-Considering of heat dissipation and generation in the product so as to avert reliability problems that arise as a result of the effects of temperature. Derating-Allocating a limit on the maximum allowable stresses on a part to a selected value which is lower than its rated maximum stress so as to improve the reliability. Fault Tolerance- Designing alternative means to maintain operation when elements of a product become faulty. Design Reviews- informal or formal free evaluation and critique of a design in order to detect and correct both hardware and software faults. Critical Item Identification-Cataloging elements that have considerably high bearing in determination of product reliability. These can include software and hardware. Changes in the design technology over a period of time have vastly revolutionized the nature and reliability of products (Faste 59). These changes have made possible the globalization of design of products. The products in manufacturing industries, such automobiles, telephones and household appliances, have changed over time as a result of new design strategies, affecting product reliability. To achieve a comprehensive solution to a design, a method is required. The design process normally uses five steps: definition of the problem, collection of required information, generation of multiple solutions, analysis of the chosen solutions and testing and implementation of the design solution (Tooley and Michael 78). Attaining a solution first requires a trial and following a process so as to reach a solution. The solution of a design process is usually an interactive process; as the solution to a design problem develops, so does the process of refining the design. For example, in the design of semiconductor components, it is indispensable to analyze product reliability based on degradation. These components are designed so that operational parameters are similar to guarantee that any parameter that shapes the product reliability will also have an impact on failure of a product. Creativity and innovation, human safety factor, environmental sustainability and efficiency in extreme climate are also key elements in product reliability that should be considered during product design (Bernard 66). Material used in making a product determines the reliability of the product. The material selection process entails identifying product and element design requirements, probable materials, evaluation of the materials, and determination of whether the materials are able to meet the selection criteria. Some of the potential solutions for the material selection process include: Material Application- Using materials parts under design rules intended to guarantee that they will operate reliably when subjected to the anticipated operational and environmental stresses. Parts Selection- selecting components parts that will be reliable and effective in the intended application and which should be available at reasonable price during the product’s life. Environmental Characterization- Determining the environmental and operational stresses that the product is anticipated to exhibit. The effect of degrading materials should be taken into account in the initial design, particularly the rate at which materials degrade, since this will determine the duration of reliability (Pfeifer 189). Using materials which degrade easily will cut the period of reliability. The intended function of the material is also put into consideration. Therefore, a detailed knowledge of the scope of function of the product can be used as a guideline in selecting the most suitable materials. For example, the quality of materials and function of product automobiles costumed for different age groups, gender and purpose go hand in hand (Davies 130). Cars perform multiple functions and the material selected must be a reflection of the intended function. Achieving better product reliability also requires a glimpse of the variety of families of materials and strategic analysis so as to match material selection and design. The creativity employed in matching these elements determines the features and reliability of the final product. A strategy is essential in getting the final product since the features of the product are particularly valuable. In summary, the material selection affects the design process, cost and reliability of the product, environmental sustainability and safety of the product (Jadon et al. 56). The potential solutions to the manufacturing process are consideration of the problem of cost of manufacturing, energy and precision machining, which directly affects product reliability in the long run. Manufacturing can be analyzed using three models: material flow, information flow, and energy system (Robert et al. 124). Material flow is explained by the process, state of the work piece material and nature of the energy used for processing. The process is in the mode of shaping process change, the primary geometry of the material being used, and the other is no shaping process – both change the characteristics of material being used. The material under processing can be manufactured in a solid, liquid, vapor or granular state (Ashby et al. 294). Different manufacturing energy is used in shaping the material in each state. In the nature of processing, only specific methods of processing can be applied. The type of interaction in the middle of processing and work piece is mechanical, thermal or chemical. The ultimate cost of manufacturing relies heavily on the cost of design. Insufficient knowledge of the manufacturing process leads to unreliable products, and solving this problem requires enough knowledge during manufacturing. The future of manufacturing industries largely relies on the capability to adapt to the fast changing global conditions (Aaron 317). This is due to global competition, rapid growing dependence and rising environmental concern issues. Precision machining with a geometrical cutting edges stands for critical manufacturing engineering technology with high efficiency, security and machining quality (Madsen et al. 60). Section3 The first step in tackling the issue of product reliability is to understand the causes and to analyze possible solutions. Mechanical engineering technologists can learn about new technological advancements to help improve manufacturing processes (Faste 51). Gaining a good knowledge of relevant laws governing the production and changes that occur in these laws is a key step to ensuring reliability of products. Engineers should be enlightened on legal and ethical concepts of all the processes to keep their practice within the legal and ethical boundaries before venturing into product design. The engineers can use past mistakes to act as lessons to develop suitable alternative means of producing reliable products that satisfy modern consumer standards. This may be change in design, equipment, process or material used to manufacture products. This can be a viable step in integrating feasible, efficient and appropriate technological innovations and viable production processes to develop reliable products. Finding a solution to the problem is vital since it will help in the creation of effective strategies that will improve design, material selection criteria, production and manufacturing processes (Jadon et al. 135). This is significant since it will eventually lead to the development of better products in terms of reliability. Another step that mechanical engineering technologists could take is to inspect the types and construction of mechanical installations and examine the efficiency cost of manufacturing processes as this stage plays a key role in the final performance of a product. They should also plan outlines for new equipment designs, machinery and plants, analyze and carry out performance tests on various products, components and equipment. “A reliability prediction for a product is dependent on its structural architecture, material properties, fabrication process, and the life cycle environment” (Mishra 92). Modern design methods such as computer aided design programs and use of robots in the manufacturing process should be reviewed in order to determine whether their efficiency meet required health safety and ethical standards. Works Cited Aaron, K. Manufacturing Processes 2: Grinding, Honing, Lapping, New York: Springer, 2009. Print. Ashby, M. F., Hugh Shercliff, and David Cebon. Materials: Engineering, Science, Processing and Design. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2010. Internet resource. Bernard, Alain. Global Product Development: Proceedings of the 20th Cirp Design Conference, Ecole Centrale De Nantes, Nantes, France, 19th-21st April 2010. Heidelberg, [Germany: Springer, 2011. Print. Budynas, Richard G., J. K. Nisbett, and Joseph E. Shigley. Shigley's Mechanical Engineering Design. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print. Chitale, A. K, and R. C. Gupta. Product Design and Manufacturing. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India, 2007. Print. Davies, Geoff. Materials for Automobile Bodies. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2003. Print. Faste, Rolf. The Human Challenge in Engineering Design. TEMPUS Publications. Engng Ed. 17. 4/5 (2001): 327- 331. Print. Jadon, Vijay K., and Suresh Verma. Analysis and Design of Machine Elements. New Delhi: I.K. International Pub. House, 2010. Print. Khandani, Seyyed. Engineering Design Process. 2005. Print. Madsen, David A, and David P. Madsen. Print Reading for Engineering and Manufacturing Technology. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar, Cengage Learning, 2013. Print. Mishra, Satchidananda, Michael Pecht and Douglas Goodman. "In-situ Sensors for Product Reliability Monitoring." CALCE Electronic Products and Systems Center; **Ridgetop Group, Inc. (2012): 1-10. Print. Murthy, D. N. Prabhakar, Marvin Rausand, and Trond Osteras. Product Reliability: Specification and Performance: Springer Series in Reliability Engineering. New York: Springer, 2008. Print. Pfeifer, Michael. Materials Engineering Selection: A Product Life Cycle Approach. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007. Web. 20 October, 2012. Raheja, Dev, and Louis J. Gullo. Design for Reliability. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2012. Internet resource. Todd, Robert H., Dell K. Allen, and Leo Alting. Fundamental Principles of Manufacturing Processes. New York: Industrial Press Inc., 1994. Print. Tooley, Michael H. Design Engineering Manual. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2010. Print. 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