CEO  and  Board  Member at  Arka Tech. Company

DFMA (Design for Manufacture and Assembly) is a structured methodology that consists of two interrelated activities. DFA (Design for Assembly) focuses on product simplification by eliminating and combining unnecessary parts, and designing the parts to remove assembly difficulties. The goal is to develop a product design that is easy to assemble.  DFM (Design for Manufacture) provides greater understanding into the cost drivers and issues regarding fabrication of the parts that comprise the assembly. Additionally, DFM facilitates exploration of alternative materials and processes for manufacturing parts.

The use of DFMA harnesses the power of collaboration within product development teams. It provides an organized approach to identifying and evaluating alternative design concepts using objective criteria. Instead of relying on the limited experience of prior engineering efforts, and sometimes gut-feel, DFMA unleashes creative innovation that ultimately leads to optimized designs.

DFMA also fosters an active style of design review, compared to the traditional review method of an engineer having manufacturing representatives’ red-line drawings prior to product release. The engineer might feel that their one or two-hour drawing review exercise somehow involved manufacturing, but in reality, most of the suggested changes won’t be incorporated because it is too late to change the design. Therefore, it is vital to implement the DFMA methodology early in the concept stage of design. This ensures that manufacturing, purchasing, quality and other functions are actively involved and providing input in the early design phases.

This workshop have instructed in over 15 organizations, companies and universities during recent years by me.