Closed Loop Tolerance Engineering – A Relational Model Connecting Activities of Product Development

Abstract

Product development (PD) includes multiple activities and actors. Tolerances and process variations are key elements within most of these activities. This paper suggests a model to describe the relations between four activities within a product development process (PDP) with a focus on Closed Loop Tolerance Engineering (CLTE). The CLTE model, is based on results from a survey (n=155), of both design and manufacturing employees. This model fills a research gap as it holds a relational focus on how actors, tools, and communication flow in collaborative design between the different main activities in PD. The model serves the identification of an unbalanced CLTE process.