This paper demonstrates the significance of location-specific differences in manufacturing characteristics and in consumer demand for technology competitiveness. It looks, in particular, at the economic viability of emerging polymer composite automobile body technologies if produced in the...

Product designers must continually assess trade-offs among various performance attributes and cost. Materials choice can play an important role in that decision-making process. Product platforms are used to meet the demand for increased product variety, while also managing costs. Because of...

Informed technology decision-making requires a structured understanding of cost evolution over time. A dynamic approach integrating learning curves and process-based cost modeling is introduced to examine learning in manufacturing. The approach is applied to the case of a hydroforming process,...