Learn how to make parts in the machine shop environment. Operate lathes and mills to create things that fit together and become usable. Use the 3d printer to make things. Go from art to part to see if it can be made. Talk to machinists about making parts you have designed. They will give to pointers on manufacturing parts correctly and at a reasonable cost.

First, consider Design for Manufacturability (DFM) principles from the outset, simplifying components and minimizing complexity. Standardize parts and materials where possible to reduce the number of unique components. Prioritize modular designs to promote easy assembly and maintenance with clear module interfaces. Opt for design elements that can be manufactured using common, cost-effective processes. Conduct DFA analysis to identify opportunities for reducing the number of fasteners and simplifying assembly steps. Collaboration between design and manufacturing teams is crucial, emphasizing regular communication to ensure that design choices align with manufacturing capabilities and cost-efficiency.

Modularity is the key. Design/ Develop/ Test - Validate each subassembly to achieve its objectives and adapt these Lego blocks in specific Design environment like Lego blocks.

Always keep in mind while doing the designing about 6 sigam design approach. Design for functionality, design for manufacturing, design for assembly, and design for disassembley and maintenance!

Design the product with standard components that are easy to source and install. Standard components are in plentiful supply and are relatively inexpensive. In contrast, when you design products with custom components, you’ll also have to invest money in the manufacture of those components. This obviously increases costs and complexity, whereas using standard components can reduce both.

The use of standard components has not informed my designs as much as my knowledge of the supply chain. My practice is dominated by get it done faster while making it possible to prove that it meets requirements. Standard parts are those that everyone uses. Supply chain knowledge helps you find the right process at the right speed with the right performance at the right price. Learn more about the industries upon whose shoulders you stand rather than following the standard. Identify trends that support not just today's work but the entire lifetime of the product you are designing by learning more about your partners in manufacturing.

This is a great principle up to a point - if something has worked for X but isn’t working for Y, more design work is needed. Don’t try to shove a square peg in a round hole. The same goes for specifications - don’t assume that one specification will work for another similar product. Do testing to confirm.

You don't have to manufacture your own fasteners, actuators or sensors unless that's what you make. Doing so really is a fool's errand. Save your energy for the big picture stuff.

The dream is to get supply chain aligned with adequate quality level in standard parts. Balance cost to quality. Reduced the number of different standard parts, same screws, head, diameter and length, whenever possible.

After following the DFM/DFA guidelines, the most practical ways to know if you applied the best practices in your design is to show your design to the toolmakers and production operators (through meeting/discussion) and get their perspective. You will be surprised on how much they can help you become a better designer.

One of the biggest pitfalls I encounter, specifically from an assembly perspective is that during the modeling step (regardless of the CAD program) we use Assembly Mates that do not reflect how the parts come together in real life or/and are not dimensioned to represent actual function of the part. For example, if you have two pins mating into two holes, during the CAD Assembly those two holes should be Concentrically aligned. Additionally, in this case, designers often worry about capturing size (aka diameter) but not straightness (of the axis) which can often lead to pins that are to size but jammed when assembled.

I've learned long ago--I AM A BAD EXAMPLE! Most engineers are. We are very atypical consumers. We don't see things the same way most others do. We need to be cognizant that things that seem natural and obvious to us are not necessarily so for the typical end user.

Best practices and easiest ways to have DFMA first time right are: 1. Always have a tooling/demolding direction in the CAD which makes it easier to calculate no. of lifters and Sliders. 2. Always have an assembly direction marked in your CAD. (Have the line separate color to tooling direction). 3. Get approval for Simulation team for assembly my giving a simple drawing/PPT on the locating and mounting strategy. 4. In case the part is assembled only by tapes or bonds, give references to features for easy locating and jig development. 5. Toolmaker sign off is absolutely mandatory for manufacturing. Proper understanding of Mold flow analysis or stamping simulations are must for Plastic and sheet metal manufacturing process.

DFMA is not just designing for manufacturing by reducing machining costs and material costs, but also designing for performance and verification. The best designs are those that incorporate cost intentionally to reduce cost. Identifying that places where errors in manufacturing can occur or where quality can pose a threat to yield eliminates re-work and automates quality. Insert the cost into the design in a manner that makes it easy to assemble correctly and hard to make a mistake. Add complexity and cost through parts, test points, and manufacturing processes to make it easy to see if the part is made right the first time and remove time from post sales service by making it easy to see what part of the product requires maintenance.

There are the six manufacturing processes (in no particular order): 1.Repetitive manufacturing 2.Discrete manufacturing 3.Job shop manufacturing 4.Continuous process manufacturing 5.Batch process manufacturing 6.3D printing Based on this you can choose the mfg method with consideration of following factors. 1.Materials & Components 2.Budget 3.Length of Phases 4.Wastage 5.Volume of Products 6.Product Dimensions

Select the right manufacturing methods that suits the costs, volume, function and appearance of the part. Injection Molding, Casting, etc are some of the cheapest and quickest ways to produce parts in larger numbers. Similarly, for precise manufacturing, use CNC machining equipment, jig boring, etc

From 3D printing to machining and injection molding there are too many options to escalate serial production, and optimize parts cost oriented to minimize assembly labour cost

It's a compromise between quality, quantity and cost (although at times it can be more like a three way wrestling match between departments). Then you have to consider which processes suit your materials under the circumstances and of course environmental factors before during and after the process (which might save you some grief down the line if handled right). Other than that, just see what you're company or supplier is able to do in the first place.

Management must first provide direction to the product development team if the product is expected to be manufactured from existing processes/equipment, or new. The Product/Design Engineers need to have a good understanding of the limits and capabilities of the manufacturing processes to be used or available, and the relative costs. Where their knowledge is lacking, they need to proactively seek it out from their Manufacturing Engineer colleagues.

Manufacturing engineers should be involved in the concept and early development phases, but almost as early, the actual assembly workers should be involved. At the point when the first physical prototypes are being built, the experience of the technicians and operators who build the products day in and day out needs to be incorporated. Open-ended questions and 5 whys are crucial to using this feedback in product AND process design.

CPPD (Concurrent Product and Process Development) methodology can be leveraged whereby reviewing the design with cross functional teams (manufacturing, quality and suppliers) at the initial stage of the development of a component/ assembly helps to address the challenges related to development, assembly etc. - This will then help to incorporate all the learnings from earlier projects into the design even before the prints are released for prototypes. - This will save expensive and effort consuming design changes further into the project when component goes into production.

Getting a Manufacturing Engineer involved early can avoid a lot of pain later in the plastic tooling process. Often how parts are grouped in injection molded tools can save part cost in ways that are not obvious. Duplicating parts in one mold to match the number required in one product can often reduce mold cycle cost. Also, many considerations in respect to part color and material combinations in one mold can avoid the need expensive extra tools. One informed question such as “does it really need to be that material” or “the part is inside, if we mold it in this color, we can save an entire tool”.

This is the most important part of this list I believe, and I agree with others that it’s not just manufacturing engineers, production workers should be involved as well. They are the process experts and will ask the right questions. The fostering of a sense of ownership around the products being made is just an added bonus.

Assemblies involves a fastening method. Choosing a fastening method based on cost, after confirmation that it meets mechanical requirements, without understanding assembly time and method can result in an assembly that cannot fit into the manufacturing footprint based on labor cost, time required and available space. Understanding these parameters early in the process is critical to success.

Design validation is a process of continuous testing – that is, validating. Verification, on the other hand, confirms whether design outputs match design inputs. The main difference is that validation is used for checking whether the product or service you’ve created meets end users expectations, while in verification, you’re making sure you’re building the product or service in the right way. In other words, you’re finding out if you’ve fulfilled your design requirements or not.

A design that is not testable is not worth making. An engineer's primary job is to produce the documentation necessary to make the product and prove that it meets requirements and specifications. This means efficient and convincing testing. The best designs are those that are intuitive to determine that they work properly. This can mean adding cost to integrate test points, alignment features, interfaces to test equipment, or a process that by its heritage need not be tested at all. The best advice I received from the field of software engineering was the Unit Test. Consider your hardware to require a Unit Test and design / build to easily demonstrate that every requirement has been met.

A good product design always has to start with a good system FMEA and then with a good multi disciplinary team develop a good product FMEA then using the FMEA information design your product and develop a good DVP to verify the functionality/performance and pass the design through 3 prototype phase builds to ensure performance inline with all the specifications. After the first prototype phase develop a good process FMEA and process flow chart to ensure best process capability and repeatability. For each phase of the prototype build develop a good quality control plan and a gauging strategy. This is a lengthy process but the end result will be a product that you can launch and sleep easy.

In my view, the most crucial step in simplifying the design of products for easy manufacturing and assembly is ensuring that designers possess a strong understanding of part manufacturing processes, raw material sourcing methods, and available market equipment. Understanding the product's requirements through collaboration among all stakeholders is the next critical step. Subsequently, the designer can generate a 3D prototype using software or a 3D printer, providing a precise representation of the product, where everyone can contribute their feedback. Finally, engineers and designers can refine the engineering and cost calculations to ensure that the product's manufacturing is both reasonable and aligns with the specified requirements.

Deep Function Analysis before Design: one step that is usually skipped is a good analysis about the needs and functions of the product to be made, it may be thought that the functions are obvious but giving this step the time suitable in clearly identifying the functions -especially when there are more than stack holder- would save a lot of effort and time in the future.