Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
Design for manufacturing is a process and it is a structural engineering methodology which is guides to designer during designing the manufacturing product. It is using catalogs information, guide lines, checklist, diagram and graph, tables to help the designer to develop a good quality product or make a good design plan, decompose product into components and assemblies, evaluate the production costs of product design and the way is simplify the process of product design.
Design for manufacturing is developed for reduce the manufacturing cost of any product without any compromise with product quality.
Benefits of using DFM
• Product design by DFM will have a lower production cost.
• Here designer minimize the number of parts, total time required and the cost of production can be reduced.
• DFM improve the design productivity.
• Easy documentation.
• DFM identify product characteristics that will help to manufacture and assembly to follow to the design department.
• DFM catches the mistakes or faults and also remove it.
• Product development process will be short by DFM
Principles of DFM
• Minimise the Total number of parts:
Here designer eliminate the part which is not required. A part can be eliminate if there is no need in relative motion.
• Standardize Designs
Using standardized parts , modules,
sub assemblies, manufacturing process wherever possible.
• Use common parts in production Line
By using common parts which we have already made of same material, geometrical shape, size and weight in production Line requires less cost per unit to made product.
• Design parts to be Multifunction
If any part can perform more than one function it can easily reduce the number of parts.
• Design Parts for ease of Fabrication
While considering cost of materials selected for design cost of manufacturing should also be considered by designer.
• Reduce Secondary Operations
Secondary manufacturing operation like heat treatment, polishing, plating, painting should reduced. These processes will perform if needed for any functionality of product.
Effect of Design for Manufacturing
Design for manufacturing (DFM) is an approach that ensure the manufacturing requirements in the design process.
DFM guide these three sets of generic requirement – (i) Reducing variety, (ii) Considering operational convenience and the (iii) Reduce cost. DFM guideline provide advantage to an organization. They provide a sequence or methodology to identify the product qualities or attributes that will help to manufacture and assembly to highlight them while design team. DFM also reduce product development time and cost and improves design productivity and improves organization profit.
Author:
Dr. Hemendra Patle
Mechanical Engineering
NRI Institute of information Science and Technology (NIIST)