Product realisation and the services associated with it represent a critical success factor in the attempt to achieve sustainable growth. This often requires entirely new and system-oriented, but above all multidisciplinary, approaches that entail collaboration between different technologies and fields of expertise.
This report presents the result of the pilot project "Material selection and component design by total cost". The project have been co-funded by the Vinnova programme Efficient Product Realisation together with industrial funding. The programme started in 2003 and projects will continue throughout 2008. Some 30 research projects are funded by the programme.