TAM302

Engineering Design Principles

Syllabus Topic:
Design for Manufacture &
Assemble (DFMA)
Introduction

Course Instructor:
Mike Philpott
Director of Concurrent Design & Manufacture Lab
Associate Professor of Mechanical Science & Engineering
mphilpot@uiuc.edu

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 1

 Mfg. Alternatives:
Investment/Cash Flow
Decisions

     
x3

$95 $75 $55 $25

Trade off: $1.20 $0.30
Piece-part
Recurring Costs versuscosts
Non-Recurring Costs
Example:$100
$10 $60,000$400 $8 $5,000
tooling investment $60,000
= $0.30 per part
$5 Tooling
tooling investment
costs = $95 per part
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 2
 Mfg. Alternatives:
Investment/Cash Flow
Decisions

     
x3

$95 $75 $55 $25 $1.20 $0.30

Piece-part costs
$10 $100 $400 $8 $5,000 $60,000
Tooling costs
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 3
 DFM: where M =
Primary Mfg. Process

Select the Improve the

Manufacturing design for Analyze
Process manufacturability Cost

• Broad process • Quote

knowledge • Do's & Don'ts • Hist. data
• Comparative (Rules/checklist) • Models
cost knowledge • Cost-of-features • Software
knowledge
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 4
 Design For
Assembly (DFA)
Assembly typically occupies
between 40% and 60% of the
total production period.
Select
Analyze for $ Improve the
Assembly
Method Assembly % design

• Manual • DFA principles • Combine

• Robotic • BDI handbook • Eliminate
• Special • Software (BDI, • Simplify
purpose Sapphire, AEM)
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 5
 DFA Example
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 6
 Assembly Labor
Hours per Car

Japan 16

U.S. (Big 3) 25

Europe 36
Data Source: Detroit Free Press
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 7
 DFA on
Ford Taurus

Savings resulting from the use of

DFA techniques on Ford's TAURUS
Carline have been estimated to be
> $1 billion.
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 8
 NCR 2760 Point-of-sale
Terminal

 Assembled blindfolded at DFA conf. in 1.5 mins.

 Reduced number of parts by 80%
 Reduced number of vendors by 65%
 Eliminated special assembly tools
 Estimated lifetime labor cost redn. of $1.1 million
 Estimated savings from elimg. 1 screw $12,500
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 9
 Design For
Assembly (DFA)
Assembly typically occupies
between 40% and 60% of the
total production period.
Select
Analyze for $ Improve the
Assembly
Method Assembly % design

• Manual • DFA principles • Combine

• Robotic • BDI handbook • Eliminate
• Special • Software (BDI, • Simplify
purpose Sapphire, AEM)
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 10
 DFA
Principles

A. 'Product' Design for

Assembly
The design of the entire product with a view to
overall ease of assembly.

B. 'Component' Design for

Assembly
The design of each component for ease of
assembly to its neighbors.
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 11
 A. 'Product' DFA
Principle #1.

1. Design for minimum

number of parts
 Is there a way that reduces the number of
required parts?
 Are all components essential or can their
functions be achieved by modifying an
existing component?
 Can components be combined into one and
manufactured as an integral multifunctional
component?
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 12
 Ex. Application of
Principle #1.
Old design= 8 parts

New design= 3 parts

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 13

 Ex. Application of
Principle #1.
Old Design = 25 parts New Design = 2 parts

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 14

 A. 'Product' DFA
Principle #2.

2. Minimize number of
fasteners and their components
 Use snap fits where possible
 Use press fits where disassembly is not required
 Consider molded hinges, straps, or hook-unders
 Rationalize fasteners - types, lengths etc.
 Use one piece fasteners with lead in pilots
 Design geometry for automatic alignment

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 15

 Ex. Applications of
Principle #2.
Hook-under design to
minimize number of
fasteners

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 16

 Ex. Applications of
Principle #2.
Use single-piece
fasteners, with or
guide pilots inserts

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 17

 Ex. Applications of
Principle #2.

Recess for
release of Snap fits - can be
snap designed for ease of
assembly &
disassembly
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 18
 Ex. Applications of
Principle #2.
Hinges, straps
and/or snap fits:

Living hinges
& straps
Snap fits

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 19

 Ex. Applications of
Principle #2.
Rocker-box example:
Good ergonomics / style

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 20

 A. 'Product' DFA
Principle #3.

3. Design the product for

assembly from one direction
 Where possible assemblies should be
designed so that a base piece is established,
and remaining parts assembled from one,
ideally vertical (Z) direction.
 It is difficult to feed components in from the
side.

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 21

 A. 'Product' DFA
Principle #4.

4. Avoid the need to

turn the assembly over
 If previously placed components have not been
fastened, they may move out of position.
 Datum and location points change, and
complicate the assembly process, which leads
to jamming and assembly failure.

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 22

 A. 'Product' DFA
Principle #5.

5. Standardize on Components,
Materials, and Fasteners
 Components can be difficult to differentiate,
particularly small similar shaped ones.
 It is relatively common for feeders to become
jammed because wrong parts have been fed
in by operators.
 Considerable savings in storage, inventory,
ordering etc.
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 23
 A. 'Product' DFA
Principle #6.

6. Provide location surfaces that are

closely related to datum surfaces
 This ensures a known location tolerance for the
automatic placing of components.
 Care should be taken to avoid tolerance build-
up.

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 24

 A. 'Product' DFA
Principle #7.

7. Consider ease of
disassembly for maintenance,
service, repair, and recycling
 Integral snap fits, press fits, and retaining clips
(circlips) allow compact designs, but if care is
not taken, result in impossible disassembly
 Disassembly is frequently necessary due to
incorrect assembly, the need to service/repair,
and now the requirement to recycle

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 25

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 26
 A. 'Product' DFA
Principle #8.

8. Adopt a modular design

philosophy for the product group
 Allows model variations to be accomplished at
a sub-system level. Subassembly volumes
increase, total parts decrease.
 Modular sub-assemblies may be built and
tested by specialist teams (higher quality).

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 27

Modular Design
Assembly time reduced from 540 hrs to 180 hrs

Design time per crane =

350 man hrs - 18hrs

Fabrication time = 1500 hrs to 550 hrs

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 28
 A. 'Product' DFA
Principle #9.
9. Avoid the need for
assembly adjustments
 Eliminating adjustments will usually reduce
assembly time considerably; and reduce
service / maintenance
 Equipment going out of adjustment is one of
the biggest causes of customer dissatisfaction.
 Spring loading can be used effectively to avoid
assembly adjustment and to eliminate
adjustment for wear.
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 29
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 30
 A. 'Product' DFA
Principle #10.
10. Minimize assembly
steps and extra operations
 Each assembly step or operation must be
resourced
 Mistakes in assembly are one of the greatest
cause of product malfunction and customer
returns. The fewer the steps the fewer the
opportunities for error.
 Extra operations such as applying grease,
sealants, turning part over etc. add to time and
reduce assembly efficiency.
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 31
 B. 'Component' Design
for Assembly
The design of each
component for ease of
assembly to its neighbors;
i.e. the following tasks:
• Feeding the components: from a bin, bulk
feeder (e.g. bowl feeder), or magazine, or
continuous strips.
• Orienting the components: by human operator,
by the feeder tracks, and by the robot /
workhead.
• Positioning and Placing the components
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 32
 B. 'Component' DFA
Principle #1
1. Components should be
symmetrical or have
exaggerated assymetry
Symmetrical shapes
have a predictable 
rest aspect

Non-symmetrical shapes
have an unpredictable 
resting aspect
exaggerated assymetry
and part falls on one 
of its flat faces
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 33
 B. 'Component' DFA
Principle #2
2. Components should
have the least number
of important directions
To reduce the chance of correct
feeding and positioning:

A
is better
than
A B
B is better
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly than 34
 B. 'Component' DFA
Principle #3
3. Provide Lead-in or
Chamfers
Where possible make chamfers and lead-in angles
generous, and avoid sharp corners, to avoid jamming:

OR

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 35

 B. 'Component' DFA
Principle #4 & #5
4. Components should be
free from burrs and
flash, and be smooth in surface finish.
5. Design parts to prevent tangling:
Often a small design change can eliminate the
tendency of components to tangle. Close ends and
keep material thickness greater than gaps and slots:

TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly 36

 B. 'Component' DFA
Principle #4 & #5

6. Consider the dimensions

important to feeding and orienting
Loosely tolerancing non-functional dimensions
can cause problems
if the feeding and Feeder / Hopper
orienting method is Delivery
not considered - Tube

jamming may occur

if components are at extremes of limit:
Parts
TAM 302 Design for Manufacture & Assembly out
37