Automated System Design for Manufacturability (DFM)
Creative’s custom automated systems are engineered for efficiency and designed for manufacturability. Our aim is to develop the most practical and economical automation solution possible for each customer’s unique production requirements. To that end, we take into consideration the total manufacturing and assembly process, along with the long-term product life cycle to develop truly optimized automated equipment.
Engineering Better Automated Systems for More Sustainable Manufacturing
Design for Manufacturability (DFM) is an engineering methodology that we employ to develop practical and highly efficient automated systems for complex manufacturing processes. DFM principles play a crucial role in ensuring the successful implementation of the equipment, while also ensuring the overall production process remains as cost-effective and sustainable as possible.
The Advantages of Designing Special Purpose Machinery for Optimum Manufacturability:
Streamlining the Assembly Process – Through DFM, Creative aims to simplify all custom assembly processes by designing machinery around the typical product specifications, such as part geometry, size, material properties, or volume requirements. This ultimately facilitates faster, more accurate product assembly operations and more efficient material handling.
Minimizing Process Variability – Our design team carefully takes into account the dimensional requirements and part tolerances that each machine will address. Through the implementation of innovative design techniques, such as geometric dimensioning and automatic tolerancing, we minimize process variability and ensure a much more consistent manufacturing process.
Optimizing Production Flow – We apply DFM to analyze and optimize the production flow achieved by each of our automated systems, ensuring each customer’s volume requirements are reliably met. This is achieved through the integration of unique machine features, such as part nesting, sequencing, and custom tooling – all carefully engineered and cost-optimized for the application at hand.
Standardizing Components and Processes – The standardization of components, interfaces, and processes wherever possible. Standardizing these factors with your existing equipment as well as commonly available equipment simplifies the initial manufacturing and integration of the system. Perhaps more importantly, it drastically simplifies ongoing machine maintenance, future system upgrades, and reduces the overall cost of ownership.
Designing for Maintenance and Serviceability – Going further to tackle our customers’ equipment maintenance requirements, Creative’s design process takes into account all aspects of serviceability. For example, wear components and tooling are designed to be easily accessible, replaceable, and repairable whenever possible.
Single-Source Design, Engineering, and Integration for Custom Automated Systems
By incorporating DFM principles during the design phase of each project, Creative helps customers achieve maximum efficiency, reduce ongoing costs, and enhance overall productivity. Furthermore, our expertise in the design for manufacturability process ensures the simplified and successful systems integration of our machines/upgrades with all existing equipment.