Manufacturing and assembly design (DFMA) is the process of designing products with production in mind so that they can be designed with the least development cost in the least time; allow the quickest and smoothest transition into production; assemble and test in the shortest amount of time with the minimum cost; have the required level of quality and reliability, and meet the needs of customers.
In order to shorten product development time and ensure smooth transitions to production, DFMA considers manufacturing problems early, thereby accelerating time-to-market. As products can be rapidly assembled from less standard parts, DFMA reduces costs. Parts are intended for the simplicity of production and commonality with other designs. This, in turn, means that by assembling common "building blocks" modules into new products, a wider product line can be developed.
DfMA incorporates two methodologies – Design for Manufacture (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA):
Design For Manufacturing (DFM)
DFM requires planning for the ease of production of the constituent parts of a component. The selection of the most cost-effective products and methods to be used in manufacturing is concerned, and the complexity of the production operations is reduced.
Assembling Design (DFA)
For a product's ease of assembly, DFA requires design. It deals with reducing the cost of assembly of the product and decreasing the number of assembly activities.
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