With every project we work on, a crucial part of SPM’s process is Design for Manufacturing, or DFM. Incorporating DFM into our workflow ensures customer satisfaction, which is at the top of our priority list. Learn more about what Design for Manufacturing stands for and how it affects quality control—another major pillar of our process.
What is Design for Manufacturing?
Design for Manufacturing (DFM) is the process of designing a component or part to make it easy to manufacture while still achieving the best product at the lowest possible cost. Within this process, the product will be simplified, optimized, and refined until this goal is achieved.
There are five main principles of DFM, which are as follows:
- Process
- Design
- Material
- Environment
- Compliance/Testing
These five principles are essential in order to produce the best component for our customers. In essence, each product is taken apart and rebuilt until we achieve the strongest possible version of it. This is done through the evaluation of a number of different factors, including product drawings, user compatibility and feedback, and more.
At SPM, we do not produce original designs; our customers provide us with designs for the components they need. Using the principles of DFM, we work with our customers and their designs to make the parts they need more manufacturable before we head to the production stage.
How does DFM affect quality control?
Quality control plays a role within all of the aforementioned principles of DFM. Throughout the DFM process, it’s the role of quality control to make sure that there are no changes made to a component—typically to lower the cost—that will diminish quality. One such way this can occur is through the choice of materials used to produce the component.
The type of material you use depends on the intended use and environment the part will be in. Some attributes that are typically considered include thermal properties (heat resistance), flammability, optical properties, mechanical properties (strength), moisture resistance, and color, among others. At this stage, we must consider whether or not a more expensive material is necessary in order for a design to perform correctly, as well as whether or not a lower-cost material will sacrifice quality.
Other ways to consider quality control include choosing the correct manufacturing process and complying with industry standards for safety and quality.
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