STADIUM: a new tool for design for manufacturability through the use of statistical simulation

Abstract

Engineers have used simulation for product design for a number of years but only recently have tlie tools been in existence to aim new designs for manufacturability.This paper concentrates on coupling practical optimization techniques (based on a design of experiments methodology) to conventional simulators for the purpose of characterizing component and system performances in terms of manufacturing variables. This is accomplished with the aid of a software tool called STADIUM which will be described in detail in this paper.