Virtual prototyping boosts model-driven Design for Six Sigma methodology: Part 1 of 3 - The challenges and tools

By Darrell Teegarden, Mentor Graphics Corporation
April 09, 2008 -- automotivedesignline.com

To compete in today's rapidly changing business world, companies must be able to go to production with innovative designs. And they must be able to quickly attain high-yield, cost-contained, robust results to achieve high-quality, profitable products.

The latest automotive electronics features open up an array of opportunities for product and brand differentiation, but they also present unprecedented challenges for an industry faced with high volume production. When the development process encompasses hardware and software, analog and digital signals, sensors and actuators, or even a mix of disciplines, such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic, it can be extremely difficult to manage efficiently.

Model-driven Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) combines DFSS or Lean DFSS technology with a model-driven development process that builds on the strengths of each.

• In a DFSS process, Six Sigma principles are applied during the product development process to eliminate potential quality problems before the product goes to volume manufacturing.
• A model-driven development approach provides a framework for dealing with—and communicating about—complex development processes.

A development process that merges modeling and simulation with DFSS provides a versatile incubator for innovation. Model-driven development techniques allow a design to be captured and simulated using mathematical models—or virtual prototypes—across a range of abstraction levels. Through virtual prototyping, a broad range of new ideas can be quickly evaluated, optimized for cost, and efficiently put into production.

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