Quantifying the effects of product family decisions on material selection: A process-based costing approach

A case study is detailed concerning two alternative material options for an automotive instrument panel beam: a die-cast magnesium design and a conventional design (i.e., discrete stamped steel components) which allows for more component sharing than the integrated magnesium design. The effects of component sharing on product family costs are analyzed. It is shown that the magnesium design is less competitive in platformed scenarios.