Automotive Design Engineering: Material and Processes Selection Problems

Multicrieria Decision-making methods (MCDM) are efficiently used as a support to engineering design, even if tested procedures and experience-based approaches are often preferred in SMEs and several industrial contexts. An extended critical review investigates how decision-making methods can help solving engineering design problems in automotive design. In particular, in this work, a classification of decision-making methods related to engineering design, is proposed, in which decisional techniques are matched with the design phases, and to corresponding automotive industry design problems. In literature a large amount of paper is dedicated to the selection of materials and manufacturing processes in the detail design phase. Also, hybrid methods, namely a combination of decision-making methods with other mathematical methods will be investigated to overcome some methodological drawbacks in MCDM methods. Due to the high impact of the problem in both industrial and research field, this work could help increasing production rate by reducing redesign errors related to material/processes selection problems, and concurrently transferring the knowledge of decision-making methods within the industrial context.