Design is the first step in manufacturing, and it is where most of the important decisions are made that affect the final cost of a product. Since 1980, analysis techniques have been made available which can guide designers towards products which are easy to manufacture and assemble. The availability of these techniques has created a revolution in manufacturing industry, especially in the USA, leading to reduced product cost, better quality, shorter time to market, lower inventory, few suppliers, and many other improvements. The paper first stresses the importance of taking careful account of manufacturing and assembly problems in the early stages of product design. Then, using a case study, the philosophy of the Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) methodology and its application are explained. The historical development of design-for-assembly and design-for-manufacturing techniques in Japan, Europe and the USA is presented. A review of published case histories emphasizes the enormous advantages to be gained by adopting this relatively new approach as the major tool in concurrent and simultaneous engineering. Finally, a discussion of the various roadblocks affecting DFMA implementation is followed by a discussion of current developments, which include product design for disassembly, service and recycling.
