Design for Manufacturing and Assembly
http://www.qmed.com/news/thoratec-lvad-recall-gets-class-i-status
↑Moral of the true story?
The deaths and serious injuries were not the result of device failure...It doesn’t matter how error free a device is in its mechanics or electronics if people can’t figure out how to use it.
Works in CAD? Great! → you're 1% of the way there...
- How are the parts going to be manufactured?
- How is it going to be assembled?
- How easy and uncomplicated is it to use?
- How easy is it to maintain? to clean? to fix?
Rules of manufacturability:
1. Keep it as simple as possible.
2. Start early with a prototype, and put this prototype into the hands of the people who are going to use it.
Prototypes should be
- Simple and uncomplicated
- Should not have all the details worked out
- "Rough Draft", unpolished, just good enough to get the main idea of the thing across.
- Pass prototypes around early in the project & get as much feedback as possible - then act on the feedback.
3. Pay attention to standards and regulations.
Standards and regulations = words of advice from wise people who have been working on this type of thing a lot longer than you have.
4. Minimize Production Cost
- Costs of components
- Costs of assembly
minimize the number of parts
create multi-functional parts
minimize the assembly steps
Use modular designs
Use standard components.
fabrication - painting, polishing, surface finishes, tolerance levels...
Bottom up assembly
Use Self-locating, self-aligning features
Exercise:
Pick an old phone, printer, bike, toy, pen - something requiring assembly.
Take it apart
- how many pieces does it have?
- is each piece absolutely necessary?
- How you redesign it more efficiently?
