Design For Assembly
Simplicity Pays Off

Design for Assembly is a methodology for evaluating part designs and the overall design of an assembly. It is a quantifiable way to identify unnecessary parts in an assembly and to determine assembly times and costs. Using DFA software, product engineers assess the cost contribution of each part and then simplify the product concept through part reduction strategies. These strategies involve incorporating as many features into one part as is economically feasible. The outcome of a DFA-based design is a more elegant product with fewer parts that is both functionally efficient and easy to assemble. The larger benefits of a DFA-based design are reduced part costs, improved quality and reliability, and shorter development cycles.

Benefits of using Design for Assembly software

Product engineers know that 85 percent of manufacturing costs are determined in the early stages of design. When you make informed design decisions during the concept stage, you avoid costly corrections later on. Use DFA software to

Estimate difficulty of assembly.
You can establish a rating for your product design in terms of its difficulty of assembly. The software rates each part according to how it is grasped, oriented and moved for insertion and to how it is inserted and/or fastened onto the product.

Support decision making.
The software provides you with objective, consensus-building information so your team can examine all the potential design solutions and select the most effective approach. You can easily incorporate product input from other groups, such as field service and marketing.

Benchmark existing products.
The DFA index, a measure of assembly efficiency, serves as a basis for quantitatively comparing design alternatives internally or against competing products. The software yields an objective measure that is independent of product size or complexity.

Add focus to design reviews.
DFA analysis can guide the progress of a design, verifying improvement as it evolves. As you eliminate redundant parts or operations and remove assembly difficulties, assembly efficiency scores noticeably improve.

Sharpen design skills.
The software helps designers establish the theoretical minimum number of parts for a product. In the process, engineers identify design concepts that reduce unnecessary complexity and cost.

Integrate design and manufacturing.
The DFA approach gives you an overall structure for making design changes in light of related material and manufacturing costs. Used together, DFA and DFM enable engineers to select appropriate and cost-effective shape-forming processes for components.

The Link to Design for Manufacture

DFA complements Design for Manufacture (DFM). Engineers use DFA software to reduce the assembly cost of a product by consolidating parts into elegant and multifunctional designs. DFM software then allows the design engineer quickly to judge the cost of producing the new design and to compare it with the cost of producing the original assembly. Used together, DFM and DFA software gives engineers an early cost profile of product designs, providing a basis for planning and decision making. Such analyses, when performed at the earliest stages of concept design, have the potential to greatly influence manufacturing and other life-cycle costs before the costs are locked in.
Click here for more information about DFM software.

Contact us to learn how DFA can make your designs more efficient and more profitable.

Additional topics:

Design for Manufacture

Design for Assembly

Design for Environment

Supplier Costing

Target Costing

Concurrent Engineering

DFMA Software Average Reductions

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

Dell Computer

“DFMA is a fundamental business process for the Dell engineering team because it supports our holistic approach to cost. It helps us analyze our designs and make decisions that lower overall costs, not just product costs.”

“Increased manufacturing throughput, reduced damage rates, higher quality, streamlined logistics, and faster delivery are all outcomes of weaving DFMA into the development cycle.”

“No New Factories,” Desktop Engineering, Jan 2004

MORE INFO

Click here to view a Demo of DFA

BROCHURE

Download the Design for Assembly Brochure

Click here to enlarge