An integrated approach to design for manufacturing and assembly based on reduction of product development time and cost

Abstract

Time and cost reduction during product development is important to meet the competitiveness in the market. Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) plays a key role in product development, especially in industries like aerospace, wherein variety in component geometry is more. Parts count reduction is one of the basic principles of DFMA. Design for Manufacture (DFM) considerations lead to simplification and standardization of design and manufacturing processes. It also facilitates integration of function and form and optimizes the workflow. This paper outlines the DFMA considerations to sheet metal parts considering factors such as standardization of geometric shapes and integral part design through parts count reduction. A methodology for integration of parts is presented, which is partly interactive, to evolve an integral design from a multipart sub-assembly. The method proposed is applied to a sheet metal parts sub-assembly, and it also compares the time and cost of manufacture and assembly.