How to Design for Manufacturability

Manufacturing is a big part of the U.S. economy. Did you know we would be the ninth-largest economy in the world if we were looking at manufacturing alone? But more than simply manufacturing, it’s important to create a high-quality, usable product, and to do so, you must create a seamless integration between your product design and your planning process.

Over the course of creation, there are hundreds of components and steps to consider as you plan out a cost-effective set of specifications, materials, parts, and more. As you plan, it’s helpful to hire engineering and consulting services to create structured guidelines for assembly, manufacturing, and testing so you can reduce the difficulty and cost of production as you move forward.

How Poor Planning Can Hurt You

Decisions you make about design, such as assembly, processes, and materials, can add up to 70 percent of your manufacturing costs. Production decisions, such as tool and machine selection, on the other hand, only add up to about 20 percent of your expenses. By making poor planning choices, your costs could skyrocket.

Designing for Manufacturing

When designing for assembly and manufacturing, there are some common themes to consider. Aside from creating a design that functions, engineering and consulting services can help you make sure that:

• Parts are easy to purchase
• Assembly is easy
• Testing is easy
• Reworking is easy

Blackfox offers support and guidance in engineering and design, including the following:

• Engineering processes
• Engineering design and customer review
• Quality engineering
• Engineering services
• EEE parts
• Independent design review
• Small and midsize satellite experience

Questions You Should Ask When Designing for Manufacturability

When you design for manufacturing, there are some important questions you should be asking in order to decrease your time, level of complexity, cost, and manufacturing efforts. Consider this checklist:

• Can the quantity of off-board assemblies and components be reduced?
• Can more cost-effective or standard components be utilized?
• Can the number of manual operations, such as soldering, be reduced?
• Instead of separate fasteners, can you use tabs or snap fits?
• Can you reduce, simplify, or automate testing operations?
• Can you update software externally?

Blackfox will guide your manufacturing design from start to finish, creating turnkey solutions for a stress-free process. You won’t need to work with separate assemblers and manufacturers or source parts, and we’ll help you save money and time by eliminating unnecessary and complex processes and parts. Call us today to make a plan.