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Cost reduction is not magic, but rather skillful management.
Profit or loss is determined during product development
Based on the experience that 70% of the manufacturing and assembly costs of a product are already determined during the development process, Dr. Geoffrey Boothroyd, a scientist at the University of Salford, developed guidelines.
These guidelines are reflected in DFMA and provide inspiration for the development of an improved overall product concept. Based on this concept, optimization then takes place in terms of manufacturability, costs, and quality.
The targeted use of DFMA—which analyzes new products for manufacturability and improvements during the development process—ensures that necessary changes to the product are identified and made early on, so that the cost of change does not exceed the benefits of change.
This results in solutions with a clear product structure, assembled from a minimal number of components. The consistent application and implementation of DFMA has made it possible, for example, to reduce the number of parts by 30–70%.
Target cost management and DFMA
Ein Käufer ist bereit, für den Nutzen, den er aus einem Produkt zieht, einen gewissen Preis zu zahlen. Dieser extern ermittelte Preis wird im Zielkostenmanagement der internen Kostenkalkulation gegenübergestellt. Ist der ermittelte Verkaufspreis niedriger oder der erzielbare Gewinn zu gering, muss nach Lösungen gesucht werden. Mit allen Mitteln der Produktgestaltung müssen Wege gefunden werden, wie mit dem gegebenen Marktpreis ein zufriedenstellender Gewinn erzielt werden kann.
From this perspective, too, DFMA offers you invaluable assistance. The balancing act between market price and profit becomes easier with DFMA, as new product design strategies are developed.
Teamwork and responsibility at DFMA
A methodical approach and teamwork lead to success. An interdisciplinary team from all relevant departments scrutinizes the product in detail. At DFMA, design, production, assembly, quality assurance, production planning, and costing all work together.
There is no excessive burden on individual departments; instead, the consequences of the design on manufacturing processes, assembly, and manufacturing costs are examined together in advance. As a result, many of the usual problems do not arise in the first place or can be solved at an early stage.
DFMA catches on
The list of DfMA users is long and includes leading companies such as ABB, Ascom, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Hilti, Kontron, Nissan, Opel, Renault, and Toyota, to name just a few.
For example, Vorwerk succeeded in reducing the assembly costs for one product by almost 80% by reducing the number of parts.
As practical projects show, ambitious results can be achieved, according to various DFMA forum reports and publications.
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development time reduction
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division reduction
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reduction in assembly time
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investment cost reduction
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In the DFMA forum, you will learn about the DFMA methodology using a case study and numerous application examples.