Resources Hub
Design for Manufacturing
Solve for Manufacturability and Cost Drivers Early in the Development Process
What is Design for Manufacturing?
Design for Manufacturing or DFM is the process by which product design engineers tailor their designs to meet two critical metrics:
Manufacturing Feasibility
Optimizing the design so that it can be easily manufactured. This includes solving for material selection, specialized tooling required, machine capabilities, and feasibility rules. Design for manufacturing requires the design engineer to have a keen understanding of the manufacturing process and factory capabilities. However, many companies are turning to the use of digital factory software to automate and streamline DFM.
Manufacturing Costs
Probably the single most important metric for designers is ensuring each product is designed to cost (DTC). An enormous amount of factors can contribute to how much a particular product design will cost. A rounded corner instead of a sharp edge could save your company thousands. But a keen understanding of manufacturing feasibility, as well as global sourcing options, material selection, and machine capabilities is critical to design to cost. That’s why many companies use CAD model heat mapping software for real-time DTC suggestions.
Who Should Care About Design for Manufacturing?
Designers and Engineers
For organizations developing new products, designers and engineers can utilize DFM tools and methodologies to proactively prevent manufacturability issues and cost overruns.
Cost Engineering Leaders
Cost engineering leaders may bring DFM analyses to bear on current product offerings to pinpoint opportunities for manufacturability-driven cost reduction opportunities.
Senior Leadership
Senior leadership can help to streamline, optimize, and automate DFM processes by investing in the right digital solution. With on-screen guidance, regional sourcing libraries, and customized dashboard reporting, DFM can be easier than you think.What Are the Goals of Design for Manufacturing?
What Manufacturing Processes are Important to Consider?
Want to learn more about Design for Manufacturability? Read our comprehensive guide
Design for Manufacturing Can Be Fast and Easy
Traditional methods of DFM relied heavily on senior designers to share their expertise and multiple back-and-forth exchanges between design engineers and cost engineers. In many cases, design for manufacturing issues aren’t identified until very late in the product development process.
Not only does DFM streamline your internal processes, but relationships with your quoting team and suppliers can improve when you bring forward optimized products from the start.
