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The successful development of new products is contingent on clearly understanding product requirements and defining appropriate design activities to deliver the right product. Even if one can clearly understand the abstract requirements implied by the voice-of-customer (VOC), engineers still work best to a set of specifications that define the product in objective measures. The task of extracting the systems specifications from text versions of product requirements is not trivial. Full order dynamic models of mass, springs and dampers provide understanding of vehicle performance; however, the engineer has to define the dynamic characteristics based on his understanding of requirements and translate them into technical specifications. The result can be too dependent on human assumptions and judgments at this point. This work was done to understand how to apply Object Oriented Design (OOD) methodology to trace requirements of a mechanical system to design parameters.

The development of new sheet metal stampings represents a considerable risk to a new program because it requires long lead times to develop and test the parts and dies. If forming problems are discovered late in the product development process, there can be serious consequences to the program cost and delivery. This work demonstrates the benefits of using advanced forming simulation software early enough to avoid forming problems by making changes to part and die designs. The objective of this work was to identify and eliminate forming problems in the sheet metal stamping operation of the large, complex body panels prior to prototype builds.