Design for Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing

5Design for Manufacturability

5.1 Introduction

In the electronics industry, the quality and reliability of any product are highly dependent on the capability of the manufacturer, regardless of whether it is a contract manufacturer or a captured shop. Manufacturing issues are one of the top reasons companies fail to meet warranty expectations, which can result in severe financial pain and eventual loss of market share. What a surprising number of engineers and managers fail to realize is that focusing on processes addresses only part of the issue. Design plays a critical role in the success or failure of manufacturing and assembly.

Design for Manufacturability (DfM) is the process of ensuring that a design can be consistently manufactured by the designated supply chain with a minimum number of defects. DfM requires both an understanding of best practices and an understanding of the limitations of the supply chain. It is the process for optimizing all the manufacturing functions: supplier selection, procurement, receiving, fabrication, assembly, quality, operator training, shipping, delivery, and repair. The goal is to ensure that the critical objectives of cost, quality, reliability, regulatory compliance, safety, time‐to‐market, and customer satisfaction are known, balanced, monitored, and achieved.

Building on a Design for Reliability (DfR) foundation, successful DFM efforts require the integration of product design and process planning into a cohesive, interactive activity ...