Foresight Vehicle DMaP Thematic Group

The DMaP Thematic Group has been established to promote the research, development and adoption of efficient, world-class design and manufacturing processes.

As the name implies, DMaP is process orientated, whereas the other Thematic Groups are primarily product-based. This makes it different and, in many ways, it can be considered as an umbrella organisation, since Design and Manufacturing interests span across those of the other Thematic Groups.

The Design and Manufacturing Processes theme is broad, covering the full life cycle of road vehicles, with strong links to other technology themes.

In tomorrow's world there will be several new issues. We must prepare to address and tackle these today. We are already considering 'Design for Recycling'. We talk about 'End of Life' vehicles and methods are being researched for us to carry out 'Life Cycle Assessments' (LCA) to ensure that the best possible use is made of sustainable technologies in order to minimise the amount of damage done to the environment in which we live.

The pressure to be economically 'lean and mean' also means that we must consider the life process of a vehicle from beginning to end (the point at which recycling or regeneration has occurred). The Design and Manufacturing Processes must, therefore, encompass processes which occurs after the vehicles (or components) have reached the end of their useful life. The seven segments of the 'umbrella' in the logo each represent a process, starting with Design, leading to Engineering, Prototyping, Manufacture, Assembly and Use and finishing with Recycling (regeneration).