Using enclosure design to minimize display costs

摘要

Electronic displays play a key role in the positioning and sale of personal-computer systems. In addition, as computer prices continue to tumble, the display accounts for an increasing percentage of a typical system's price. Consequently, monitor development is receiving a lot of attention, with particular emphasis on the performance and cost of the display device and its supporting electronics. But one important part of the monitor is often overlooked during product design: the enclosure that houses the display. The enclosure contributes greatly to the overall “look and feel” of the monitor, to the product's style and attractiveness, and to the way in which the user interacts with the display. Moreover, it affects the manufacturability and ultimately the cost of the product. Clearly, the enclosure design helps determine a customer's acceptance of a product. Monitor enclosures, like many other engineered products, can be developed with a standardized method. The methodology we've developed at the Palo Alto Design Group (PADG) systematically describes the impact of enclosure design on overall product development and manufacturing cost, and highlights for display engineers the key factors they should consider when designing a monitor product. The methodology has been used to develop some of the most effective and least costly enclosures in the computer industry [Fig 1]. In the not-too-distant past, mechanical designers designed a product, “tossed it over the partition” into the manufacturing department, and figured that making products to that design was manufacturing's problem. We now know that approach is a recipe for disaster in today's competitive international marketplace. It has been replaced by “design for manufacturing” (DFM), which focuses on designing a product to meet a customer's manufacturing cost targets. DFM, an integral part of the enclosure-design methodology we are about to describe, aims at developing enclosures possessing a minimum number of parts, each of which offers maximum utility. Features and details that would be costly to build are identified early and designed out of the product. This leads to enclosures that can be assembled quickly, which minimizes overall manufacturing costs. The initial stage of an enclosure design program consists of “fact finding”—an industrial designer compiles information regarding the basic needs of the target product's end-users, as well as the product's technical requirements. As the designer becomes familiar with these needs and requirements, he or she will brainstorm a broad range of product design concepts, perhaps developing as many as 30–40 rough concept sketches. An informal team—typically consisting of several industrial designers and mechanical engineers—usually reviews concepts and ideas. The concept-review team quickly evaluates the 30–40 rough sketches based on appearance, human factors, and criteria such as volume requirements, schedule, and target manufacturing costs. The result is a short list of design ideas—3–6 concepts—which is subjected to an iterative process in which the team reviews and refines each concept. During this review process the team investigates market-oriented design issues—such as the type, placement, and number of operator controls—and factors them into the design of the enclosure. The team also considers other human-factors issues, including monitor height, tilt and swivel adjustment, bezel contrast, glare, and overscan. The type, number, physical size, and placement of the components that must fit inside the enclosure are also considered for their effect on the mechanical design. At the end of this first stage, it is up to the design team to provide management with enough information to make an informed decision. To help decision makers visualize the design options, color renderings and volumetric models of each final concept are presented, along with descriptions of how the product options would be constructed and first estimates of ma