Contact:
Kenneth Currie
Tennessee Technological Univ.
Center for Manufacturing Research
Box 5077
Cookeville, TN 38505
Tel: (931) 372-3362
kcurrie@tntech.edu

Life cycle costs include those costs associated with the creation, production, distribution, operation, service, disposal and retirement of a product or product line. As such, the problem of reducing life cycle costs associated with composite manufacturing is quite involved and complicated by the fact that there is not a pre-existing body of cost data that covers the entire life cycle. A study commissioned by a prominent automotive company found that the design function contributed only 5% of the actual costs towards product cost using traditional cost accounting practices. However, it was found that the design function actually influenced 70% of the product cost through material selection. In a made-to-order environment such as the aerospace industry, it is suspected that influence of design is much higher and may approach 90%.

It's during these early stages of product development (requirements generation) that life cycle cost information is needed, but rarely available. Unforeseen problems coming out of the requirements generation phase are the most expensive to correct due to design reworks and the cost of rework grows logarithmically as the development progresses towards the production phase. Therefore, in order to influence the reduction of life cycle costs of advanced space systems products, the design function must be conducted with the full knowledge of available cost information and the drivers of those life cycle costs.

Tennessee Technological University (TTU) has undertaken an initiative focused on "Minimizing Life Cycle Costs of Composites through Design." The ultimate objective of this effort will be structured to provide design engineers with a means of taking solid model design of a composite structure (cured in an autoclave) and determine the life cycle costs within a 95% confidence level for a set production volume. TTU will utilize a three-phase approach commencing in 2001 with the development of cost models. Phase II, estimated to be completed in 2003, will implement interface requirements for use with solid model representation of composite designs with knowledge agents developed in Phase II.