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DESIGN FOR X (DFX)

• The development of the DFX methodologies was accelerated by
the growing emphasis on Concurrent Engineering

Module 4 • Concurrent engineering involves cross-functional teams,

parallel design, and vendor partnering

• It involves consideration of all aspects of the product life cycle

from the outset of the product design effort

• Ability to do this has been greatly facilitated by the creation and

use of computer software design tools

• DFX tools are sometimes referred to as concurrent engineering

tools.

Concurrent Engineering Design for X

• The basic premise for concurrent engineering revolves
around two concepts. • X can be

• The first is the idea that all elements of a product’s – Assembly

life-cycle, from functionality, producibility, assembly,
testability, maintenance issues, environmental impact – Environment
and finally disposal and recycling, should be taken into – Manufacture
careful consideration in the early design phases. – Quality
– Reliability
• The second concept is that the preceding design – Safety
activities should all be occurring at the same time, i.e., – Serviceability
concurrently.
– Tolerances

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE (DFM)

DFM Guidelines
1. Minimize total number of parts: Eliminating parts results in
• DFM show that it is almost always less costly to make and great savings. A part that is eliminated costs nothing to make,
assemble fewer, more complex parts than it is to design assemble, move, store, clean, inspect, rework, or service.
with a higher part count.
• Combining two or more parts into an integral design
architecture is one approach.
• Associated with this is the closely related area of design
for assembly (DFA).
2. Standardize components: Costs are minimized and quality is
• The field is often simply described by the abbreviation enhanced when standard commercially available components
DFM/DFA or DFMA are used in design.
• Cost reduction comes through quantity discounts, elimination
• DFMA methods should be applied during the embodiment of design effort, avoidance of equipment and tooling costs,
stage of design and better inventory control.

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3. Use common parts across product lines: It is good

business sense to use parts in more than one product. This
provides economies of scale that drive down unit cost and
simplify operator training and process control.

4. Standardize design features: Standardizing on design

features like drilled hole sizes, screw thread types,
minimizes the number of tools that must be maintained in
the tool room.

This illustrates a multifunctional part. By incorporating a spring

function in the lever, the need for a separate coil spring is eliminated.

7. Design parts to be multifunctional

5. Aim to keep designs functional and simple: don’t specify
8. Design parts for ease of fabrication
more performance than needed.
• When adding features to the design of a component,
have a firm reason for the need. 9. Avoid excessively tight tolerances: will results in need for
secondary finishing operations like grinding, honing,
and lapping……
6. Minimize secondary and finishing operations: Use only
when there is a functional reason for doing so.
10.Utilize the special characteristics of processes: For
• Machine a surface only when the functionality requires it example, molded polymers can be provided with “built-in”
or if it is needed for aesthetic purposes. color, as opposed to metals that need to be painted or
• Use near net shapes plated.

DFA Guidelines
DESIGN FOR ASSEMBLY (DFA) 1. Minimize the total number of parts

• Once parts are manufactured, they need to be assembled into 2. Minimize the assembly surfaces
subassemblies and products.
• 3. Use subassemblies
• The assembly process consists of two operations, handling,
which involves grasping, orienting, and positioning, followed 4. Mistake-proof the design and assembly: Components should be
by insertion and fastening. designed so that they can only be assembled one way.
• Asymmetrical holes and stops in assembly fixtures are common
ways to mistake-proof the assembly process.
• The cost of assembly is determined by the number of parts in
the assembly and the ease with which the parts can be
handled, inserted, and fastened. 5. Avoid separate fasteners or minimize fastener costs: When the
design permits, use fewer large fasteners rather than several
small ones.
• Design can have a strong influence in both areas.
6. Minimize handling in assembly

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Design for Reliability

• Reliability refers to the ability of a product to perform its • Design for reliability is a process which is performed
specified function under service conditions. during the design of the product so as to ensure that the
product is able to perform to a required level of
• In other words, reliability can be depicted as the reliability.
probability that an item will perform appropriately for a There are a number of reasons why reliability is an essential
specified time period under a given service condition. attribute of a product:
• Reputation
• For example, a reliability of 0.997 for a typical part • Customer satisfaction
implies that there is a probability of failure (an inverse of • Warranty Costs
reliability) of 3 parts in every 1000 parts.

• Redundancy: One of the most efficient ways to increase

Various techniques are used by the design team
reliability is with redundancy.
to improve reliability.
• Reducing variability: Mechanical properties of • Components that are critical are duplicated such that two or
engineering material exhibit variability. This has a huge more of them may exist in parallel to perform the same
impact on the probability of the failure of product hence function within the product thus increasing the reliability of
affecting the reliability of the product too. the product.

• Derating: The reliability of the product can be increased • The existence of parallel paths results in load sharing and
if their maximum operating conditions (temperature, each duplicate component is derated and has its life
pressure, etc) are at values lower than their name plate increased by a longer than the average time.
values.
• Another way to increase the redundancy is by having a
standby unit that cuts in and takes over when the current
operating unit fails.

There are three aspects to design for safety:

Design for safety
1. Make the product safe, that is, design all hazards out of the
product.
• Safety involves designing products that will not injure people
or damage property.
2. If it is not possible to make the product inherently safe, then
• A safe design is one that instills confidence in the customer design in protective devices like guards, automatic cutoff
and does not incur product liability costs. switches, and pressure-relief valves, to mitigate the hazard.

• To develop a safe design one must first identify the potential 3. If the above step cannot remove all hazards, then warn the
hazard, and then produce a design that keeps the user free user of the product with appropriate warnings like labels,
from the hazards. flashing lights, and loud sounds.

• The product must be safe to manufacture, to use, and to

dispose of after use • E.g. shock, burns, fatigue, electromagnetic radiation, ignition
source, sharp edges, lightning

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Design for Maintainability

• Maintainability is the degree to which a product • Two kinds of maintenance activity can be
allows safe, quick and easy replacement of its identified for any product:
component parts.
• Preventative maintenance: for example
replacing engine spark plugs every 30,000 km,
• It is embodied in the design of the product.
or changing the oil filter.
• Remedial maintenance (repair): for example
• A lack of maintainability will be evident as high
product maintenance costs, long out-of service times, fitting a new vehicle starter motor where the
and possible injuries to maintenance engineers. existing motor has burned out.

Some of the general rules-Design for

maintainability
• An effective DFM minimizes: • Maintainability is created during the design process.
It cannot be added later.
(1) The downtime for maintenance,
• Keep it simple. Complex arrangements are usually
(2) User and technician maintenance time, harder to maintain.

(3) Personnel injury resulting from maintenance tasks, • Provide warning labels where a maintenance
engineer may be exposed to danger.
(4) Cost resulting from maintainability features,
• Avoid the requirement for special tools

Design for Quality

• Quality is generally defined as "compliance with • Use of quality management tools (e.g. cause and
requirements", that is the degree to which the specific effect diagram, control charts).
range of characteristics of a product conform to the
requirements.
• Ensure that the variations among manufactured
units of a design will not substantially reduce the
• If they match well, then the quality is high; otherwise
quality is considered poor. quality of a product.

• Benchmarking
• Quality Function Deployment

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Design for Environment Design for recycling

• In an effort to meet the world’s growing energy needs, the • There are several steps that the designer can take to
dependence on fossil fuels has become a necessary endeavor. enhance the recyclability of a product.

• Global studies have concluded that increased fossil fuel • Make it easier to disassemble the product, and thus
consumption has led to increased carbon dioxide release, enhance the yield of the separation step.
which in turn causes atmospheric heating.
• Minimize the number of different materials in the
• Since the introduction of DFE, one can view the environment product to simplify the identification and sorting issue.
as a customer!
• Choose materials that are compatible and do not
• Reduce the use of nonrenewable energy and maximize require separation before recycling.
recyclability.
• Easy identification of the material that the part is made.

Design for Disassembly

• Design for Disassembly (DFD) is the process of designing • Extended producer responsibility in Europe:
products so that they can easily, cost-effectively and
rapidly taken apart at the end of the product's life so that “…making the manufacturer of the product
components can be reused and/or recycled. responsible for the entire life-cycle of the
product and especially for the take-back,
• It is an important contributor to Design for Environment recycling and final disposal of the product”.
and Design for Recyclability.

• This need is driven by the increasing disposal problems of

large amounts of consumer goods, and the resultant
pollutant impacts and loss of materials resources and
energy that is embodied in these products.

Design for logistics Design for handling

• Design for Logistics uses product design to address • Easy handling (Worker, customer)
logistics costs
• Size
• Design products so that they can be efficiently • Surface finish
packed, stored and transported. • Material usage

• Use standardization.

• The idea of standardization is to exploit economies of

scale.

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• Re-engineering begins with

Design for re-engineering
 Defining the scope and objectives of the reengineering
• Re-engineering is most commonly defined as the project,
redesign of business processes—and the associated
 Learning from customers, employees, competitors, and
systems and organizational structures—to achieve a technology,
dramatic improvement in business performance.
 Creating a vision for the future and designing new
business processes,
• The purpose of reengineering is to make all processes
the best possible.  Creating a plan for action during the transition period,
and
• Design for reengineering helps to achieve this.  Implementing a solution.

• Design mineral water bottles that could be

packed compactly for transportation.