Product design for manufacture and assembly

doi:10.1016/0010-4485(94)90082-5

Computer-Aided Design

Volume 26, Issue 7, July 1994, Pages 505-520

https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-4485(94)90082-5 Get rights and content

Abstract

Design is the first step in manufacturing, and it is where most of the important decisions are made that affect the final cost of a product. Since 1980, analysis techniques have been made available which can guide designers towards products which are easy to manufacture and assemble. The availability of these techniques has created a revolution in manufacturing industry, especially in the USA, leading to reduced product cost, better quality, shorter time to market, lower inventory, few suppliers, and many other improvements.

The paper first stresses the importance of taking careful account of manufacturing and assembly problems in the early stages of product design. Then, using a case study, the philosophy of the Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) methodology and its application are explained. The historical development of dessgn-for-assembly and design-for- techniques in Japan, Europe and the USA is presented. A review of published case histories emphasizes the enormous advantages to be gained by adopting this relatively new approach as the major tool in concurrent and simultaneous engineering. Finally, a discussion of the various roadblocks affecting DFMA implementation is followed by a discussion of current developments, which include product design for disassembly, service and recycling.

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¹: Professor Geoffrey Boothroyd gained a BSc in 1957, a PhD in 1962 for research into the temperature generated in metal cutting, and a DSc from the University of London, UK, in 1974 for research into manufacturing engineering. After his first degree, he spent ten years in the UK heavy-engineering industry, mainly in engineering design. He then became a reader in mechanical engineering at the University of Salford, UK, and manufacturing engineering. In 1967, he joined the University of Massachusetts, USA, and acted as a consultant to various machine-tool, cutting-tool and automation-equipment industries. He moved to the University of Rhode Island, USA, in 1985, where he develops research and teaching programmes in manufacturing engineering.

View full text

Product design for manufacture and assembly

Abstract

Ann. CIRP

Ann. CIRP

Ann. CIRP

Ann. CIRP

The Machine That Changed the World

Team design cuts time, cost

Wedding Des. & Fabric.

Product Design for Assembly

The Hitachi Assemblability Evaluation Method (AEM)

Design for assembly in action

Assembly Eng.

Development of an automatic assembly system for tape-recorder mechanisms

Res. & Develop. Jap.

The Hitachi New Assemblability Evaluation Method (AEM)

Trans. North.Amer. Manuf. Res. Inst. SME

Working together

Manuf. Breakthrough

An assembly ease evaluation method for product designers: DAC

Techno Jap.