New product and process development methods as applied to polymer matrix composites: a perspective influenced by a JTEC study

In an effort to expand the applications for polymer composite structures, a panel was convened to evaluate the status and outlook for manufacturing technology in the USA and Japan, with an eye to finding or developing mechanisms of cooperation. A 10–person team visited approximately 20 Japanese organizations over a 10–day period in December 1992. This paper addresses the general topic of the product realization process with emphasis on examples gleaned from the visit and from research on Japanese Industrial practices. The paper presents a glimpse of developments in Japan while simultaneously exploring the product/process realization process as applicable to the manufacturing of polymer matrix composites.