Hypertherm's Mike Shipulski Named Distinguished DFMA Supporter of the Year
Hanover, NH, USA - Mike Shipulski, Director of Engineering at Hypertherm, Inc., has been honored with the DFMA (Design for Manufacture and Assembly) Award as Distinguished Supporter of 2006. DFMA is a program of methods and software, first developed by Boothroyd Dewherst, Inc. in 1983, that have dramatically reduced costs, improved product quality, and enhanced the competitiveness of many major U.S. manufacturers.
At Hypertherm, Dr. Shipulski lead a team of design engineers who utilized DFMA to produce the new HyPerformance HPR130 - a streamlined version of Hypertherm's standard-setting mechanized plasma cutting system. To customers, HyPerformance Plasma allows metal fabricators to get the very best cut quality at the lowest cost-per-foot-of-cut in the world.
A 3-page feature article in the July 17, 2006 edition of Design News titled "Part Cutters" detailed the process Dr. Shipulski and his engineer team used to reduce the overall complexity of the plasma arc cutting system. Starting on the factory floor, actually putting products together, the engineering team was able to identify hundreds of unnecessary parts. Armed with the knowledge gleaned from that hands-on process, a revamped product with notably fewer fasteners and connectors as well as other manufacturing breakthroughs took shape. The design team reduced the parts' count from more than 1000 components to fewer than 500 and assembly was cut to a quarter of the time.
Mike Shipulski is the 14th recipient of the Distinguished DFMA Supporter of the Year Award. He received the honor at The 2006 International Forum on DFMA held in Providence, Rhode Island in June. Through the award process, Hypertherm joins leading international corporations - including Lockheed Martin, Whirlpool, Harley Davidson and Raytheon - who have been recognized for their successful use of DFMA early design analysis methodologies and implementation.
Since 1968, Hypertherm has been the industry leader in plasma arc cutting equipment and service. Now, with its entry into the plate-laser cutting market, Hypertherm expands its technology leadership commitment. By continually delivering breakthrough advances in metal-cutting productivity and precision - first in plasma, now also in laser - Hypertherm reaffirms and extends its position as the world's leading supplier of advanced high temperature metal cutting technology. Hypertherm serves a wide range of industrial metal cutting needs from its headquarters in Hanover, New Hampshire, with subsidiaries, sales offices and partner representation worldwide.
Jennifer Ferland
603-643-3441 ext. 1322 Tel
603-643-5352 Fax
jennifer.ferland@hypertherm.com
http://www.hypertherm.com
