Design for Manufacturing & Assembly (DFM/DFA)
Design parts the shop floor can actually make — at target cost, on the first prototype.
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About this course
Course overview
DFM and DFA are where good designs become profitable products. This course teaches you to think like the machinist, the molder, the welder, and the assembler — so the geometry leaving your screen doesn't get sent back with a 'we can't make this' email. Process-driven design across machining, casting, injection molding, sheet metal, and additive — plus the DFA principles that cut part count and assembly time in half.
Curriculum
What you'll cover
Process-Driven Design
Geometry rules for CNC machining, casting, injection molding, sheet metal, and additive — what each process likes, hates, and charges extra for.
Cost-Down Through Geometry
How a fillet, draft angle, or wall thickness changes cost. Reading a quote and finding the expensive features.
DFA: Design for Assembly
Boothroyd-Dewhurst principles, part count reduction, poka-yoke (mistake-proofing), handling and orientation, and snap-fit vs. fastener trade-offs.
Tolerancing for Cost & Material Selection
Tolerance bands and what they cost, fit/function vs. over-spec, material + process selection matrix, and case studies of redesign-for-cost wins.
Outcomes
By the end you'll be able to
- Design parts that match the chosen manufacturing process
- Read a fabrication quote and find the cost drivers in your geometry
- Cut assembly time and part count using DFA principles
- Specify tolerances that meet function without inflating cost
Who it's for
- • Mechanical designers shipping production parts
- • Engineers working with external machine shops, molders, or fabricators
- • Product engineers owning a cost target
Prerequisites
- • Comfortable reading engineering drawings
- • Some exposure to a manufacturing environment helpful but not required
Other courses
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From scan import to parametric CAD export. Covers auto-segmentation, mesh healing, and feature extraction.
Advanced Scan-to-CAD
Complex freeform surfaces, hybrid modeling, and design intent restoration for legacy aerospace parts.
PolyWorks Inspector
Master macro-driven inspection, GD&T evaluation, and reporting workflows in PolyWorks.
