Understanding Design for Manufacturing & Assembly (DFMA)

Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) helps us integrate product and process design such that an optimum combination of function and manufacturability is maintained. A DFMA expert would be able to design products that are simple in structure, and easier to manufacture, assemble and service.

 

What are the benefits of DFMA?

 

DFMA helps organisations to integrate concurrent manufacturing and also helps to improve the efficiency of manufacturing plants. 

Proven to reduce wastage of materials, DFMA is implemented throughout the manufacturing segments of products and has significantly saved production costs and time.  

DFMA adopts the methods and approaches for developing, implementing, and nurturing an effective process within the firm. It also aims to ease the assembling and manufacturing of critical components. Overall, DFMA boosts product design and development. 

 

Over-the-Wall method

 

Earlier, manufacturing was carried out through the “Over-the-Wall method”, which followed the principle that the customer would design it and the company would build it. This system however caused a dip in product quality.  

 

 

The only solution to this problem was to facilitate effective communication between designers and manufacturers. This approach was later called “concurrent engineering”. This system reduced raw material wastages in industries improved efficiency. In concurrent methods, adequate inputs are taken from manufacturers during the design phase, thereby minimising manufacturing constraints. 

 

 

Role of DFMA

 

DFMA helps in shaping the PDD (Product Design & Development) process. It reduces manufacturing obstacles and speeds up the production process. 

 

 

DFMA can be implemented in many sections of PDD. One can consider manufacturing aspects in material selection, based on which machine-friendly materials can be selected.  

When applying DFMA, one can be assured of the quality of products, the net cost of manufacturing, process and sequence of manufacturing etc. DFMA also ensures ease of assembly of parts such that they function appropriately and efficiently. 

 

 

DFMA in reviewing design

 

DFMA can be summarised as the design review process. This review can be split into two different sections, Design for Assembly (DFA) and Design for Manufacturing (DFM). 

 

• Design for Assembly

DFA facilities the assembly of parts in a streamlined fashion. It also estimates the assembly costs in the early stage of product design, thus playing a crucial role in delivery of the product in the market. 

Here, the number of parts of an assembly will be minimized to optimize the assembly time. You can refer to the example shown in below images, where the number of parts are reduced from an assembly without affecting its functionality. 

 

 

• Design for Manufacturing 

DFM ensures the manufacturing of the collection of parts that form the product after assembly. Here, the manufacturing process, steps, constraints and flaws are considered in the initial design phase itself. This ensures that production time and costs would be reduced significantly. Parameters such as “best process”, Best material, and Tolerances Optimized process parameters are considered while designing the product. 

For best process selection the main requirement is the functionality of the product so based on that one can choose the process. 

 

 

 

Impact of DFMA on time

 

Implementing DFMA can be time-consuming in the initial stages of product design, as many aspects must be factored in. The manufacturer can however be assured that the extra time spent in the early stages of design would yield better results in the long run, in terms of saving cost and time during prototyping.

 

 

The implementation of advanced manufacturing processes is a great achievement for DFMA techniques, as several manufacturing issues are avoided. Adapting the advanced techniques leads to reducing material wastage, and also saves costs for the manufacturer. It helps consumers utilise the best quality and finished products at reduced costs. 

 

 Applications of DFMA

 

DFMA has been applied in various manufacturing sectors of the industry, right from daily use accessories to high precision instruments.   

The various domains where it is widely used are: 

• Plastic products manufacturing
  
  
• Sheet metal assembly and design sectors
  
  
• Automotive industries, especially on assembly lines
  
  
• Aerospace industries and R&D sectors.