Automobile DevelopmentOctober 19, 2011

Eric NormanMBA 2012

Why don’t cars look like the beautiful car show models?

Source: Toyota Europe (YouTube)

Historical Context

Hand crafted Mass Produced

Mass customization

Image source: Toyota.com, Ford

…Modern variations can be in the millions

Image source: MANAGING COMPLEXITY IN AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTION

Variations offered on Ford Fusion:

…and they must be made thousands of times per month

Product Stanley screwdriver

HP DeskJet VW (new) Beetle

Boeing 777

Annual Production volume

15,000 4 million 100,000 50

Sales lifetime 40 years 2 years 6 years 30 years

Sales price $6 $130 $20,000 $200 million

Parts 3 parts 200 parts 10,000 parts 130,000 parts

Team size 6 people 175 people 1,600 people 16,800 people

Development time

1 year 1.5 years 3.5 years 4.5 years

Total cost $300,000 $75 million $900 million $6 billion

Source: Ulrich, Eppinger Product Design and Development

If you want one beautiful car, have a craftsman make everything by hand

Source: CT Heritage

• http://youtu.be/La73Oy9ZGVw?t=2m8s

Ferrari makes more profit than Fiat does in revenue (per vehicle)

Company Units Sold Rev (M Eur) Proft (M Eur)Profit margin

(%)

Fiat 2,081,800 27,860 515 2%

Ferrari 6,573 1,919 302 16%

Company Rev Profit

Fiat 13,383 247

Ferrari 291,952 45,946

Per Vehicle:

Source: Fiat Group 2010 Annual Report

But if you want high quality at a fair price, design by satisfying constraints quickly

Design

Engineering

Production

Sales

First develop the car that you want (engineering prototype)

youtube

Then prepare to build it thousands of times (mass production)

youtube

N-36 (month) N-24 (month) N-12 (month) N

Production Trial （号口試作）

ProductionPreparation

（生産準備）

Regular Drawing （正式図）

（ＣＥ構想）

▽ ▽（開発提案）

Styling（デザイン審査）

▽

Prototype Evaluation （試作評価）

VehicleDevelopment

（車両開発）

ConceptDevelopment Proposal Approval

CE

Prototype Drawing （試作図面）

Prototype Production （試作）

Tooling & Equipment making（型・設備製作）

（目的）

SE

Engineeringsimultaneously- Design- Production Engineering- Production (Plant)- Supplier

Advanced version: do both simultaneously and iterate

Source: Toyota presentation 2004

An example of iterative flow in the Design Process

Paper Sketches

Digital Drawings

3D Rendering

Clay model (full size)

Image source: Ford.com

3D Drawings CAD Doughbo

yEngineering:

Design:

When designers make the show car, they may not be satisfying constraints for manufacturing and durability

Image source: Bloomberg

The ultimate goal is customer satisfaction (leads to sustainable profits)

Image source: lexusenthusiast.com, carinsurance.org

KEY CONCEPTS

Clay models are used for design human ability to “feel proper design”

Image source: BMW

Mules are a quick/cheap way to test ideas

Weld and paint quality checks are done by humans do to incredible sensitivity of human hand

• http://youtu.be/rg1IPXiRva0?hd=1&t=3m57s

Simulations speed up design process…

Image source: Autoworld.com

… but live testing is required for confirmation

Image source: google image search

Previous evaluation

① Put paint on inside of outer panel ② Set inner panel to outer panel

③ Fitting confirmation

by checking paint stuck porti on

④ Modify part & re-design

Repair → Re-design

⑤ Re-try

Source: Toyota presentation 2004

＋

＋

－

－

Interference

Latest evaluation

Inner panel

Outer panel

Digital Assembly

Source: Toyota presentation 2004

Buy a new car 6-12 months after a major/minor model change

Major6 years

Major6 years

Minor3 years Minor

3 years

Annual1 year

Annual1 year Annual

1 yearAnnual1 year Annual

1 yearAnnual1 year Annual

1 yearAnnual1 year

• Minor problems sometimes cannot be addressed until the next fix cycle

• Long-term testing takes time to complete

Camry life cycles (link)

Final cosmetic touches

Platform/Underbody is the heart of a car

• Like Windows 7• Shared among vehices• Defines major driving characteristics• Engineering typically done at HQ• See also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toyota_platforms

Camry platform (link)

APPENDIX

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lolnxhYPEJc (Ford Escape Mule on road)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHtQDZOQJV0 (FT 86 pretty body)

• http://youtu.be/3SYJjE7Xrf4 (FT86 track test)• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg1IPXiRva0 (Kaikain

factory process)• http://youtu.be/QXOguvLi9Fo?t=49s (Ontario factory)• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La73Oy9ZGVw&feature=

related (Ferrari hand made)• http://youtu.be/1rA9qOdyEYs?t=3m59s (IS wood)• http://youtu.be/hWjSOe55zPQ (RORO)• http://youtu.be/zw-6gNd-bz4 (RORO 2)• http://youtu.be/Mp8Y2yjV4fU (sudoku mind)

US PPI

Hand craftsmanship can have high variability

In January 1801 he went to Washington where he made an unforgettable demonstration before government officials. He spread out on a table many parts of gunlocks, then randomly picked up pieces to assemble a lock. He then disassembled it and invited his astonished observers to emulate him. In 1812 he was awarded a contract to manufacture 15,000 muskets

Source: CT Heritage