How to Apply Design for Manufacturing Principles to Your Project

The overarching goal of Design for Manufacturing (DfM) is quite simple: manufacture a product at the lowest possible cost without sacrificing functionality and performance. However, in practice, the path to an optimal design can be complicated by various criteria, including raw material cost and availability, retooling needs, the ability to collaborate with production-side engineers, tolerances, and compliance and testing requirements.

Most of a product’s manufacturing costs derive from decisions made during the design process, rather than during production. Want to avoid overwhelm while dialing into what matters most? As ever, it’s a good idea to zero in on key principles. Here are five directives to keep top-of-mind at the outset of any DfM process, plus a few questions to ask yourself as the design takes shape.