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Article: Designs on Manufacturing: keeping the manufacturing process in mind when designing medical devices saves companies time and money.(FEATURE: Design Services)(Cover story)
- Article from:
- Medical Product Outsourcing
- Article date:
- September 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Rodman Publishing. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Design is an integral part of any manufacturing process. It affects every aspect of a product, from aesthetics and durability to cost and functionality.
At the dawn of the industrial age, craftsmen gave little thought to the relationship between product design and manufacturing. Late 18th-century musket makers, for example, crafted the entire weapon themselves, using saws and files to shape each part and fit them together. No two muskets were exactly alike because the craftsmen shaped each part to fit only the mating parts of the same gun. As a result, parts from one musket could not fit into another.
Eli Whitney changed that. At the turn of the 19th ...