How Our Engineering Expertise Supports Customers’ Cost Savings and Lead Times
Athena Manufacturing employs some of the most talented engineering professionals in the industry – those with years of experience and the next generation of engineers. Our team of innovative problem-solvers shares the common goal of achieving optimal results for our customers, such as:
Cost reduction
Faster lead times
Improved manufacturability
Allow us to walk you through some of the main benefits of connecting with Athena Manufacturing for DfM expertise and share a success story that resulted from our advanced engineering solutions.
Athena’s Engineering Expertise: The Highlights
At the core of Athena’s success lies a commitment to providing Design for Manufacturing (DfM) advice that enhances product designs and significantly impacts cost, lead times, and overall efficiency. Here are some of the ways our talented, experienced engineers add value to our customers:
Trusting DfM Partnership
Athena Manufacturing’s approach to offering DfM advice begins with fostering strong customer relationships. Understanding each customer’s unique needs is essential for us to be a trusted partner in their design process. By developing a rapport, Athena becomes a reliable source of guidance, helping customers optimize their designs for manufacturability while ensuring the best pricing when they bring their products to market.
Engineering Expertise
What sets Athena Manufacturing apart is our ability to offer engineering services and the depth of expertise and care we bring to the table. While many contract manufacturers offer DfM support, our team of expert engineers goes above and beyond to help customers achieve their goals. Athena’s engineers leverage their experience and skills to turn SolidWorks designs into manufacturable solutions that exceed expectations.
Culture of Continuous Improvement
Our engineers challenge conventional methods and embrace modern solutions to exceed customer expectations. This is a result of our company’s culture of innovation – including our 2-second Lean approach – and our ongoing collaboration efforts with customers to enhance their product offerings further.
A DfM Success Story
One of Athena Manufacturing's greatest success stories involves our partnership with a major helicopter company to redesign electrical housings used in military helicopters.
To provide some context, this aerospace manufacturer needed to retrofit several helicopter platforms with legacy castings they’ve used since the 1960s. However, they faced a challenge when working with casting houses to get their lines up and running again. With a 9- to 12-month lead time just to get the castings and an 18-month timeline before they could get these components into production, this company sought support from Athena.
Recognizing the urgency of this project, Athena’s engineering team proposed a groundbreaking alternative: redesigning the housings using sheet metal enclosures. This innovative approach yielded the following results:
Cost savings: By switching to Athena Manufacturing components, our customer experienced drastic cost savings to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. This drastic pricing reduction had them paying about half what they paid for those legacy castings decades ago.
Shorter lead times: Our innovative approach slashed lead times for our aerospace partner.
Weight reduction: By adopting lighter and more durable sheet metal enclosures, the aerospace company achieved significant weight savings – a crucial factor in aerospace applications. For each aircraft, which housed a family of 12-16 Athena components, our customer saved approximately 10 pounds!
Partner with Athena Manufacturing for Success
In every interaction with Athena’s talented engineering team, our team works hand in hand with customers to achieve the desired result. Our collaborative approach ensures that we approach each project with care, efficiency, and a shared vision for success.
Contact the Athena Manufacturing team to get started.