TDD is a powerful concept that allows you to change your thinking from the part or component level (how do I design the part to fit & do it's job within the product) to the product level (how do I design this product to be manufactured and assembled and to do what it needs to). Skeleton models are one implementation, the old master model technique is another.
We use skeletons extensively and it greatly improved our ability to get to market fast. The biggest challenge for users is the change in thinking. They think at the part level, not at the assembly or above. Next biggest challenge is keeping the lead engineer(s) responsible for the skeleton and assy development ahead of the users developing the parts.
How much of an impact can it have? Just last year our small team of about 6 engineers took 5 products with 40-75 injection molded components each from clean sheet of paper to tooling release. One of them, started mid-March, was on store shelves in October for the Christmas shopping season, another, started Sept. 1, will start shipping to customers in July. I don't think we could have done that with traditional modeling techniques.
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Doug Schaefer | Experienced Mechanical Design Engineer
LinkedIn
