DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING
DFM and DFMA – What do they mean and how can they be applied?
Design for Manufacture or Manufacturability – a general engineering practice to design and develop products that are easy to manufacture. Concurrent with DFM is DFMA or Design for Manufacturing and Assembly – general techniques used to minimize product cost during the part/system assembly.
The design of a part or assembly drives the overall cost, quality, and cycle time of the finished product. In general, most designs can be built, it is just a matter of time, resources, and money that differentiate between a successful program and a failure. The design of the part drives 60-80% of the costs – only 30% is the actual cost of manufacturing and overhead charges.
DESIGN FOR SAFETY AND PRECISION
Understanding how each of the inputs in the design stage impact how the part will be built is the crucial part of DFM.
Calling out tight tolerances or performance requirements without understanding the impact on the process adds loops of additional cost. The impact can range from additional process steps to the necessity of developing entirely new technology. Sometimes these loops are disastrous causing delivery delays, racking up cost and in some cases program cancellation. This can all be avoided by simply opening lines of communication and working together during the design phase.
At IDC you work directly with our engineering team to custom design your parts. We can explain the impact of inputs on the process and show you how material selection can achieve tight tolerances so your custom part can be made quickly and efficiently. Our highly skilled tenured workforce have saved our customers millions.
Protecting Lives with the Highest Precision Parts
Partner with us to bring your most challenging and complex components to life—and we’ll help you deliver parts that citizens can count on to keep them safe.
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