Case Studies

Selected placement history: "Designed for Time," Mechanical Engineering, September 2002, pages 54-55.

Transforming a Computer Chassis with DFA®
How Dell Computer redesigned one successful product to make another

When Dell Computer Corporation (Round Rock, Texas) launched a new chassis design for its desktop and workstation families, the company had ambitious goals. It wanted one family of chassis to serve its Optiplex, Precision, and Dimension product lines. It wanted 25 percent less assembly time than the previous chassis, the Optiframe. And it wanted increased ease of service.

The trouble was, Dell had already optimized its previous-generation chassis. Introduced in 1997, the Optiframe design had reduced assembly time an average of 32 percent and was so easy to put together that Dell could postpone constructing several new factories worldwide. The Optiplex computer built on the frame sold well. As for serviceability, the chassis design helped Dell earn an 'A' from the PC Magazine Reader's Choice Service and Reliability survey for the fourth straight year.

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