L16 Evaluation / Technology Readiness Level & Costing

What are Technology Readiness Levels?

A systematic nine-level scale that measures the maturity of a technology, from TRL 1 (basic principles observed) to TRL 9 (actual system proven in operational environment).

What is the purpose of Technology Readiness Levels?

To assess and compare technology maturity, identify critical risk areas (CTEs), and ensure technologies reach required readiness (TRL 6 before engineering, TRL 7 before low-rate production).

How can costs be divided?

By behavior into fixed vs variable costs; by nature into direct vs indirect costs; and by function into categories like administration, production, sales & distribution, and R&D.

Draw a simple, linear function of costs and revenue and mark the breakeven point.

Total cost = fixed cost + variable cost per unit × quantity (line starting at fixed cost intercept); Revenue = price × quantity (line through origin); their intersection is the breakeven point.

How can modularization reduce costs?

By designing common modules used across multiple products, boosting production volume of shared parts, cutting R&D and tooling expenses, and enabling economies of scale and scope.

Explain the difference in cost function between additive manufacturing and injection molding.

Additive manufacturing has low upfront costs but high constant unit costs (ideal for small batches), whereas injection molding has high tooling/setup costs followed by very low variable costs per unit (ideal for high-volume runs).

Where are the majority of costs typically determined and where do they appear within a product lifecycle?

Costs are primarily defined during product definition and development but actually incurred later in production and disposal/recycling phases.

What are the 7 forms of waste?

Overproduction; waiting (idle time); transportation; processing (unnecessary steps); inventory; motion (unnecessary movement); defects (rework/scrap).

Why is manufacturing cycle efficiency as a measure alone not enough to determine manufacturing effectiveness?

Because it only captures the ratio of value-added time to total cycle time and ignores equipment availability, performance rate, and quality losses.

Describe a measure which is better suited.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), which multiplies Availability × Performance × Quality to pinpoint true production bottlenecks.