Design for Manufacturing

Summary

In this episode, two designers discuss 'Design for Manufacturing' (DFM), a critical phase between conceptual design and production. They cover key aspects like value engineering, maintaining design intent, and sourcing materials. Value engineering focuses on making products affordable while maintaining quality. Maintaining design intent ensures that a product's original vision is preserved through production, emphasizing the importance of designer-engineer collaboration. Sourcing involves finding the right manufacturers and materials. Effective communication and teamwork are highlighted as essential to overcoming challenges and bringing high-quality products to market.

Takeaways

• 🤖 Design for Manufacturing (DFM) is the process of transitioning from conceptual design to something manufacturers can build.
• 💡 Value engineering is key in aligning the needs of the product with manufacturing costs, ensuring a balance between affordability and quality.
• 🎨 Maintaining design intent is critical, ensuring that the original design's look and feel are preserved throughout manufacturing.
• 🔍 Sourcing involves finding the right manufacturers, components, and partners to align with the desired quality, cost, and functionality.
• ⚙️ Cycle time, or how long a part takes to go through a process like injection molding, impacts overall production costs.
• ✂️ Loss rates in production should be kept as low as possible to minimize defective products and reduce waste.
• 🛠️ Engineers play different roles in the design process, with the best ones offering solutions while maintaining design integrity (Yes, but engineers).
• 📚 Designers need to understand manufacturing processes to communicate effectively with engineers and maintain design intent.
• 🔧 Mechanical and design engineers are key collaborators for designers in solving technical challenges while respecting design nuances.
• 🛑 Prototypes, both 'looks like' and 'works like,' are essential to ensure the final product aligns with design expectations and functions as intended.

Q & A

What is 'Design for Manufacturing' (DFM) as discussed in the video?

Design for Manufacturing (DFM) is the process that occurs after conceptual design, where the product is prepared for manufacturing. It involves making the design ready for production by aligning it with manufacturing needs, ensuring the product can be produced efficiently while maintaining the design intent.

What are the three main points covered in the DFM process?

The three main points of the DFM process are value engineering, maintaining design intent, and sourcing. These steps help ensure the product can be manufactured cost-effectively, remains true to its original design, and involves finding the right components and manufacturers.

What is 'value engineering' in the context of DFM?

Value engineering in DFM involves aligning the needs of the product with manufacturing considerations. It focuses on making the product manufacturable at a reasonable cost, while also ensuring that the manufacturer can make a profit. It considers factors like material choice, mold-making, and manufacturing efficiency.

How does maintaining design intent affect the DFM process?

Maintaining design intent is crucial for ensuring the product looks and feels as it was originally envisioned. It requires good communication between designers and engineers to preserve aesthetic and functional aspects of the design throughout the manufacturing process.

What role does sourcing play in the DFM process?

Sourcing involves finding the right manufacturers, suppliers, and components for the product. It ensures that the chosen materials, parts, and partners meet the quality and price expectations. Sourcing also ensures that components will be available throughout the product's lifecycle.

Why is the concept of 'cycle time' important in DFM?

Cycle time refers to how long it takes to produce a part or product during manufacturing. Shorter cycle times are more efficient and reduce costs, while longer cycle times can increase costs significantly. Managing cycle time is essential for keeping production efficient and affordable.

What are the different types of engineers discussed in the video, and which is preferred?

The video mentions three types of engineers: 'no engineers' who reject ideas outright, 'yes engineers' who agree to everything without considering feasibility, and 'yes but engineers' who offer constructive feedback and propose alternatives. The preferred type is 'yes but engineers' as they provide practical solutions while keeping the design intent intact.

Why is communication between designers and engineers emphasized in DFM?

Good communication is essential to ensure that the design intent is preserved while resolving technical challenges. Designers need to understand manufacturing constraints, and engineers need to respect the design vision. Open dialogue helps prevent misunderstandings and ensures the final product is both functional and visually appealing.

What is the significance of prototypes in the DFM process?

Prototypes are critical for demonstrating how the final product will look and function. There are two types: 'looks-like' prototypes that focus on aesthetics, and 'works-like' prototypes that focus on functionality. A combined 'looks-like, works-like' prototype helps convey the complete design vision to the manufacturer.

Why is it important to consider the availability of components during the sourcing phase?

It's important to choose components that are widely available and won't be discontinued, as this ensures a stable supply throughout the product's lifecycle. If rare or custom components are chosen, it could lead to production delays or issues down the road if those parts become unavailable.