Fabricating products costs

The computational methods have replaced the oversimplified models of material behavior formerly relied on. However, for new and very complex product structures that are being designed to significantly reduce the volume of materials used and in turn the product cost, computer analysis is conducted on prototypes already fabricated and undergoing testing. This computer approach can result in early and comprehensive analysis of the effects of conditions such as temperature, loading rate, environment, and material... 

In order to fabricate a cost-performance effective molded product and understand potential problems vs. solutions, it is helpful to consider the relationships of machine-to-... 

Interesting is the fact that the actual time and cost to design products may take less than 5% of the total time and cost to fabricate products. Even though this is a relatively small percentage of the overall operation, it has a direct and important influence performance wise and costwise on the success or failure of fabricating products. 

A major cost advantage for fabricating products is their usual low processing cost. The most expensive part of the product is the cost of plastic materials. Since the material value in a plastic product is roughly up to one-half (possibly up to 80%) of its overall cost, it becomes important to select a candidate material with extraordinary care particularly on long production runs. Cost to fabricate using most processes and particularly... 

Low production cost. The production procedure of DSSC is relatively simple and the materials for DSSC are relatively inexpensive. Fabrication costs will, therefore, be less than that of conventional solar cells. For example, the estimated production cost, 0.60 US /Wp for a DSSC with 10% efficiency, is quite competitive with those of conventional solar cells [11,12]. 

Low-iemperature Ti02 film fabrication based on an understanding of tne electron transpor1 will also open up the possibility for further reduction in production costs. Study of the environmental aspects of dye-sensitized solar ceds revealed that DSC is a suitaole alternative for the electric generator because of its earth-friendliness.105) Based on a Life Cycle Assessment in ISO 14040 standard, carbon dioxiae emission of the cell is estimated to be 19-47 g C02/kWh, whicn is 1/10 that of the gas power plant (450 g C02/kWh). " oxicity of Dye 3 is negligible because of its negative Ames test.106 ... 

ISEs of the type shown in Fig. 2 are often expensive to fabricate as well as being relatively large in size. Conventional ISEs remain expensive to fabricate when transferred from the laboratory to mass-production scale and more work is being directed towards changing this trend. The high production cost is mainly due to the presence of an internal reference solution and therefore production normally requires large electrode dimensions. At present, most of the commercially available potentiostatic devices are based on conventional ISE technology. 

The often higher costs of solvents, salts, and fabrication methods of nonaqueous systems are weaker deterrents in secondary applications than primary ones since their cost is amortized over many uses. Higher costs indicate they are used to best advantage in relatively short-term, power hungry applications where portability or high product cost are considerations. At present, laptops, cellular phones and camcorders are obvious examples. 

Many fabricating processes are employed. Which process to use depends upon the nature and requirements of the plastic to be processed, properties required in the finished product, cost of the process, speed, and volume to be produced. Some processes can be... 

The major processing methods that process well over 80wt% of all plastics are extrusion, injection molding, and blow molding. These processes as well as a few others use a plasticator to melt plastics. It is a very important component in a melting process with its usual barrel and screw. If factors such as the proper screw design and/or barrel heat profile are not used correctly fabricated products may not meet or maximize their performance and very important not provide for low cost process. 

---