Design for Manufacturability There are a number of rules that will result in lower manufacturing costs: Use standard components whenever possible Keep the design simple Be generous with the tolerances Avoid secondary operations Let the forecast production quantity guide the design Specify performance or appearance desired do not specify the process, finish or material whenever possible. Work with manufacturing to balance design requirements with manufacturing capabilities Each process has its own capabilities and limitations.  There are brief design guidelines for many processes.  Click on the name of the process to see the design rules: Investment casting

Design for Assembly There are some basic principles to follow in order for manual assembly: Reduce the number of parts in the assembly Eliminate adjustments as much as possible Design parts that are self-aligning and self locating Make sure the assembler can see and reach areas they need to locate the parts Parts should be easy to remove from their box or other container Minimize the need for re-orientation during assembly Design parts that cannot be installed incorrectly Maximize part symmetry or make parts obviously asymmetric The principles for automatic assembly are similar with an emphasis on ease of automatic part feeding and orientation.

Design Evaluation Time to market is critical to your success. You do not want to waste valuable time making prototypes only to find that they do not fit together properly. We can perform tolerance stack up, motion simulation, hole alignment check and finite element analysis. We can also work with you to produce prototypes as well as proof of concept prototypes.