A truck cab latch assembly is presented as an example to illustrate the usefulness of computer based geometrical and statistical modeling. An economic analysis is conducted to show a typical cost benefit of the approach. Further applications of the approach relative to existing computer design tools is discussed as a topic for presentation in a later paper. Various packages currently available from SDRC are referenced as typical examples of these tools. Product cost is shown to be significantly reduced using this method. Correlation of the manufacturing scenerio to a “real world” situation is discussed.
