Legacy Design Redevelopment
What is LDR?
LDR is the redevelopment of existing designs to improve manufacturing efficiently and, as a result, reduce production costs.
Why change something that isn't broken?
This is an approach adopted by many 'old school' engineers, however, whilst the product may be fit for purpose, the design may be inefficient when considered with modern manufacturing techniques. It is also worth considering whether the legacy production methods are still achievable and/or reliable.
Supply Assurance
The aim of LDR is primarily to reduce manufacturing difficulty and the incumbent costs, however, as a by-product, it also ensures the longevity of the design by opening the door to more manufacturers who may have previously not had the required equipment or experience to produce to the original designs.
Common issues affecting the industry
Supply Chain Interruption
Over the course of the last 50 years, manufacturing has developed as new technologies have become available. Consequently, legacy methods are used with far less frequency, leading to many companies ceasing operations.
This, combined with a decline in skilled operators and unknown location or loss of tooling, has resulted in high lead times, high costs, and often poor quality components, provided the product can be sourced at all.
Historic designs that are still used today are often made from castings, extrusions and mouldings etc., LDR supports improved and continuous production.
Sectors that have been affected by the progression of the manufacturing industry include, Aerospace, Clean Energy, Military, Nuclear, Switchgear & Traction.
Tooling Degradation
Tooling in various sectors generally tend to have an 'operational life cycle'. This means that you would expect to produce X amount of parts before failure, under normal operating procedures. This means that the tool would need to be reproduced if it could not be repaired, both can be costly and incur long delays.
RISK ASSESSMENT for CATASTROPHIC FAILURE
What happens if the supplier is no longer available?
What if the tool is damaged or needs replacing?
How will it affect production and lead times?
If the design can be redeveloped to be made from a solid billet, then a drawing and model can be supplied to many manufacturers and the lead time can be vastly decreased.
Obsolescence
Materials & finishes are superseded as modern techniques become available but due to drawing stipulation the new methods cannot be used. Whilst some suppliers may still be able to procure materials and apply these finish processes, the knock on effect is a reduced number of suppliers and large costs.
Health & Safety has played a role in the antiquation of certain materials and processes. Whilst some suppliers have been granted special permissions, these methods are expected to become defunct.
We can advise on alternative materials and processes which will allow the product to conform to current legislation. The product can then be sourced from a wider pool of suppliers resulting in shorter lead times and good potential for cost savings.
Lead Time & Expense
Special permissions and limitation of suppliers can create a bottle neck which increases lead time. This can also mean higher costing as these suppliers know work is constant.
Similarly, suppliers will often own the tool used to make the part and as such, they have a monopoly over its production. This then enables them to push dates back without fear of order cancellation due to the fact it cannot be sourced elsewhere.
Non-conformance can mean that the part will have to be remade. Examples of this are porosity and deformation in cast products.
Often cast/mould/extruded parts will need finish machining. This adds extra processes increasing the lead time - especially if the processes are to be outsourced. If a part is found to be flawed during finish processes, it will need reproducing from scratch.
Where Can We Help?
Advise
We advise when materials and applications can be updated to reflect modern standards and if we believe there is a potentially more efficient method of manufacture.
Redevelop
We liaise with the customer to make the necessary amendments to the design with a view to simplifying the design without loss of function.
Preserve
Redevelopment preserves the design by ensuring it can be manufactured with the minimum amount of difficulty, thus increasing the pool of suppliers.
Affect
LDR can reduce overheads, advocate repeatable quality production, and significantly reduce lead times whilst also mitigating significant supply interruption.