Why choose Design for Manufacture (DFM)

Managing production cost is a major concern for any manufacturing company, small or large. So engineers now have many tools, like DFM, to help them achieve simple, efficient and low-cost designs that help to reduce those costs. Design for Manufacture (DFM) is a rigorous engineering design process, preventing wasted project time, poor supplier chain selection & more confident projection of long term piece costs. It makes pricing and revenue plans easier; and it’s a critical factor for achieving optimum efficiency of product manufacturing. The more efficient a product is to manufacture or assemble, the more the cost of production goes down.

The benefits are far reaching and it can seem, at the outset, like an obvious no-brainer. However, it’s a process which demands rigour around budgeting and project management throughout the design process – from idea to production and sale. More than 70% of the cost of a product is determined at the design stage. 

We’re disappointed- but not surprised – at just how often an engineering design gets to the prototype stage with scant consideration of the manufacturing process that will follow. Partly, this can be down to inexperience. New and enthusiastic young CAD designers or project managers, keen to impress – or inexperienced at asking pertinent and challenging questions – can go full pelt at producing a design or prototype, only to discover they’ve overlooked vital criteria. Sometimes, it’s a problem with mis-guided budget planning that considers only CAD design time as a factor pre-production. It’s frustrating for the designer and the project management team. It’s costly for the business.

What’s involved in DFM?

Expert DFM practitioners are consumed by the efficiency and ultimate cost of production. They consider ALL the following key criteria during the design process of a product and component parts:

• Manufacturing processes
  • Injection Moulding
  • Pressing
  • Casting
• Production versus prototype
• Assembly process 
• Component Materials:
  • Polymers (thermoplastic grades, Thermosets, Rubbers…) 
  • Metals (Aluminium, Steel, Titanium…) 

• Cost Target: 
  • Bill of materials cost 
  • Profit target 
  • Recommended Retail Price(RRP)
  • Tooling cost
  • Assembly cost
  • Overhead cost

The more efficient a product is to manufacture, assemble or produce the more the cost of the actual product goes down. However, good DFM can sometimes result in the need for higher front end investment. For example, you might discover that investing in a casting tool is needed in order to decrease the final piece price, compared to machining from a billet.

Why choose DFM? 

When you take into account each of the above criteria early on the design process, you will guarantee certain things: 

• Consistent rates of production
• Quicker route to market 
• Cost effectiveness
• Product durability
• Low warranty rate

Why Design for Manufacture (DFM) is important for business owners

No successful product has ever been made right first time. Design and manufacture are always full of surprises. But, if you apply all the important principles as early as possible in the design process, you will diminish the likelihood of errors and surprises. Simulation helps the designer pre-empt, as much as is humanly possible, the potential issues and include solutions in the design to avoid the failures found in simulation. 

By applying DFM principles you will guarantee that every stage of the manufacturing, from creating the tooling up to the assembly of the final product, is as smooth as possible with few issues. 

The closer you get to a final product launch, the more it costs to unravel problems and make changes. It’s far better to iron out as many potential problems as possible during the early design process than wait for issues to occur. That way, you cut long term production cost and increase profit margins.