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The choice of the right process for casting components is a complex activity that directly impacts on the product's design and manufacturing. A single failure in the casting process selection can increase design and production time and, in critical cases, result in a collapse of the manufacturing and assembly of components. In this context, our goal is to adapt a previously developed method for casting process selection into a Web platform to aid the casting process selection. The adopted selection method uses Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles to provide a structure to support casting selection decision based on part features and process demands. The proposed software was developed for the Web using HTML and JavaScript, providing better usability than the previously proposed selection method format using spreadsheets. For validation, ferrous and nonferrous cast parts were analyzed using the proposed Web platform. The results showed a good relation to other methods, also providing a quantitative classification (prioritization) of the results. In addition, this software supports the design of the manufacturing process by means of a checklist to adapt the part to the metal casting process presented to the designer.

The product development process is important for industrial competitiveness. Many companies have been reorganizing from a sequential to an integrated path known as simultaneous engineering, whose objective is to reduce development time and costs. This paper proposes a model to improve the use of simultaneous engineering by integrating project and manufacturing knowledge areas based on concepts of Manufacturing Readiness Level, Design for Manufacturing and Assembly and Technology Readiness Level. Based on a bibliographic review and a preliminary study conducted over one year in a multinational metalworking company, a model was proposed that is a systematic approach composed of a sequence of activities and tools to be applied in the early stages of product development. To evaluate this model, a workshop involving professionals who work in the product development was held. The results show an integration of proposed engineering areas into a product development process, reflected by a product cost reduction of 20% and manufacturing investments of 25%, which are mainly related to a 33% reduction in number of parts and to changes in the concepts of joints and in the component manufacturing process. The effectiveness of the model was also proven as a working tool and a reference model.

RESUMO INTRODUÇÃOA modelagem funcional permite descrever os produtos em um nível abstrato, onde é possível visualizar a estrutura do produto por meio das funcionalidades. Analisar o produto em um plano abstrato possibilita uma abrangência na obtenção das soluções. A abstração também pode ser empregada na identificação de restrições fictícias, que possam restringir a utilização de novas tecnologias no produto, materiais e processos de fabricação. Como vantagem, o resultado da análise destes fatores possibilita um melhor entendimento da tarefa de projeto e identificação das funções do produto contribuindo significativamente para o Projeto Conceitual. (ROZENFELD et al., 2006) Back et al. (2008 se referem a modelagem funcional com o termo síntese funcional e atribuem a origem na década de 1970 citando trabalhos de pesquisadores alemães como: Koller (1985), Pahl e Beitz (1996), Rodenacker (1991) e Roth (1982. Para Ferreira (1997) e Back et al. (2008) a modelagem funcional é representada inicialmente pela função global ou total do produto, sendo esta um resumo do que se deve esperar do produto e normalmente é obtida com a análise dos requisitos funcionais contidos na lista de especificações meta do produto. Rozenfeld et al. (2006) completa que a função global é representada em geral por