DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE AND ASSEMBLY (DFMA): CONCEPTS, BENEFITS AND APPLICATIONS

ABSTRACT Design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) is the practice of designing products with manufacturing in mind so they can be designed in the least time with the least development cost; make the quickest and smoothest transition into production; be assembled and tested with the minimum cost in the minimum amount of time; have the desired level of quality and reliability; and satisfy customers needs and compete well in the marketplace. DFMA considers manufacturing issues early to shorten product development time and ensure smooth transitions to manufacturing, thus, accelerating time-to-market. DFMA reduces costs since products can be quickly assembled from fewer standard parts. Parts are designed for ease of fabrication and commonality with other designs. This, in turn, means a broader product line can be created by assembling common “building blocks” modules into new products.