Background
of the DFMA tool
Design
for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) is the process of proactively
designing products to optimise all the manufacturing functions and
assure the best product performance. Parts are designed for ease of
fabrication and commonality with other designs. DFMA encourages standardisation
of parts, maximum use of purchased parts, modular design, and standard
design features. Designers will save time and costs by not having
to "re-invent the wheel". This tool is sometimes known as
Design For Manufacture (DFM) and Design For Assembly (DFA).
The DFMA tool
The design
stage is very important in product design. Most of the product lifecycle
costs are committed at design stage. The product design is not just
based on good design but it should be possible to produce by manufacturing
as well. There’s no point having a good design if it is difficult,
impossible or costly to produce.
The manufacturing of a part or a product must be considered as being
part of the design of the part or product. It is not a separate entity
that someone else deals with after the part or product has been designed.
The DFMA tool is a structured process that encourages the design engineers
to very seriously consider how their design will be manufactured.
The DFMA process steps are:
- The
cost of re-work
- Manufacturing
problems both current and past
- Number
of parts
- Modular
designs
- Standard
components
- Ease
of manufacturing
- Manufacturing
capabilities
- Mistake
proofing (poka-yoke)
- Parts
orientation and handling
- Automated
production
- Fasteners
- Flexible
parts and interconnections
- Assembly
direction
- Adjustments
and settings
- Design
tolerances
The DFMA training course
The DFMA
tool can be used where any parts or products are being developed and
is used extensively in the Automotive environment. Essentially the
DFMA process should be applied in the development of any products
where, efficient and effective manufacture and assembly is important.
This could be in new product concepts or if the market is very competitive
and a product advantage is needed.
This
one day on-site DFMA training course starts with an overview of the
DFMA tool and the DFMA process.The intent of this and all our training
courses is not to tell or show the trainees what to do but to impart
the capability to perform the required tasks. There is no limit to
the number of trainees but we strongly recommend no more than 5 individuals
attend per course. We find that if there are any more than this the
training becomes ineffective and wasteful.
This course
is targeted at the product design engineers, the manufacturing engineers
and the programme managers delivering new products. This training
course is given in English. All our courses are designed to be informal
and are based around a series of discussions and practical exercises.
A DFMA excel template is provided.
Booking the DFMA training course
This DFMA
on-site training course can be booked on line with payment made on-line.
Alternatively contact
us to discuss your requirements.