Design for Manufacture and Assembly

There are thousands of products that enter the market every year, and the majority of them are not successful. The reason? It often comes down to a lag in the production process or an unnecessary reliance on outside manufacturers. At Datum3D, we do things differently.

We were founded on the principle of Design for Manufacture and Assembly, also known as DFM&A. At its core, this means strategically designing products that are simple to manufacture and that contain a small amount of parts. When executed correctly, DFM&A results in lower overhead costs and a quicker time to market. In other words, our DFMA services are synonymous with success.

Why DFM&A Is Important

When a product is designed without considering how many parts it will have or how complicated the manufacturing process will be, it is bound to fail. It doesn’t matter how amazing the product is, if it is not cost effective to produce, it will not make money. When you design for manufacturing and assembly, the components that make the biggest impact on profitability take the forefront.

With our 20+ years of experience leveraging DFMA in Boston, products are carefully designed to make the manufacturing process as simple as possible. We provide competitive product benchmarking using techniques such as product teardowns and cost optimization analysis. When DFMA leads the design, quality devices can be created while also streamlining the product development process.

History of Design for Manufacture and Assembly

While the concept of Design for Manufacture and Assembly is at the core of Datum3D, it was originally thought up by the National Science Foundation at the University of Massachusetts in 1977. The researchers behind the strategy combined two existing concepts into one: Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA). Essentially, in order to fit the qualifications for design for manufacturing and assembly, a product must:

• Reduce Number of Parts & Materials
• Limit the Use of Fasteners
• Provide Modularity
• Minimize Assembly Adjustments
• Allow for Product Variation

Benefits of DFMA Services

Organizations that adopt DFM&A or collaborate with external manufacturers that use the strategy tend to see significant results. Producers have been known to cut required parts inventories in half, a material savings that results in sturdier, easier-to-replicate products that cost less and hit the market quicker. Additionally, because DFM&A emphasizes holistic product development, many businesses see cost savings as a result of more in-depth product planning processes. Some additional benefits can be seen below:

• Lower Production & Assembly Costs
• Improved Supplier Negotiations
• In-Depth Product Assessment
• Decreased Time to Market

DFM&A Is Used in Everything We Do

From a helicopter joystick, molecular analyzer, and a lighting fixture, our portfolio is laden with products that were created with our Design for Manufacture and Assembly concept at the forefront. By undergoing an in-depth cost analysis of your product and then looking at ways to optimize the product’s design for simple manufacturing and assembly, we are able to help you create a product that is destined for success.