How Century-Tywood’s Engineering Expertise Helps Customers Avoid These Common DFM Issues
At Century-Tywood, we don’t just produce and deliver accurate precision fabricated components, we offer meaningful partnerships with our customers. Of course, we communicate with buyers to provide accurate lead times and quotes. But we also forge relationships with our customers’ engineers to work out any DFM complications and enhance the manufacturability of their designs.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions or concerns regarding part design. We’re eager to support our customers’ unique specifications while ensuring parts are as functional and cost-effective as possible.
5 Common DFM Issues
Because we work with a range of customers across various industries, we see a lot of different models and drawings. Before beginning each job, our design and engineering team looks at each print to ensure we have everything we need. There are several specific discrepancies we see somewhat often:
1. Over-Toleranced Parts
Over-tolerancing is the most common issue our team comes across. It makes sense why this happens: our customers’ engineers naturally want parts to be as precise and perfect as possible. However, in this pursuit of precision, engineers may unintentionally make a part impossible to manufacture.
At Century-Tywood, we urge our customers’ engineers to find the right balance between precision and feasibility. Our engineers collaborate closely with our customers’ engineers to ensure that all tolerances are attainable and suitable to the part’s unique application.
2. Incomplete Documentation
Sometimes, our team receives incomplete RFQs, such as:
A drawing without a corresponding model
A drawing without dimensions
A PDF that doesn’t match the model
Conflicting data, in which one drawing doesn’t match another
Our engineers mitigate these potential issues before the parts go into production. For instance, when a drawing and model don’t match, we connect with the customer to verify if we should take the specifications from the drawing or the model into account.
We always recommend that customers provide a cohesive, complete set of documentation when they request a quote. As a result, we can reduce the need for back-and-forth communication and streamline the process.
3. Sharp Bends
Our experience has shown us the importance of clean bend reliefs in precision metal fabrication. We’ve found that some CAD software allows you to create bends that, when manufactured, would cause the material to rip into itself, resulting in twists, tapers, and overall inconsistencies in parts.
Instead, parts bend much better when they have clean reliefs at the end. Through collaborative efforts with the Century-Tywood engineers, our customers can refine their designs to incorporate effective bend reliefs, resulting in consistent, repeatable parts.
4. Standard Drawing Formats
Every part has unique requirements, so using a one-size-fits-all approach with standard formats isn’t the most productive, practical strategy. Engineers may use the same drawing format across the board, but certain factors may not matter for specific parts. For instance, if a standard drawing includes notes that call for cosmetic specs, it would only be relevant for parts that the end user can see, not internal parts. Including cosmetic notes for every single part could then add unnecessary costs to internal components, for which outward appearance is irrelevant.
We advise our customers to tailor their documentation to the specific needs of each part to avoid overpaying for features that may not apply.
5. Improper Hardware Placements
Details matter when it comes to adhering to hardware specifications. Deviating from the recommended center line to edge dimensions, for example, can compromise the part’s integrity. For instance, when a design calls for a PEM nut placement at 3/16” from the edge but the recommended distance for the specific material is ¼”, there may not be enough material to properly support the PEM; this could result in bulging at the end of the part.
Being mindful of hardware specifics ensures optimal functionality and longevity of the part. When our customers’ engineers aren’t quite sure about these torque-out details, we recommend that they give us a call so we can clarify before they put the design in print.
DFM Support from Century-Tywood
Reducing the aforementioned DFM discrepancies could result in fewer back-and-forth conversations between our customers’ engineers and our team. However, we’re eager to provide the DFM support needed to produce the highest quality parts possible. Here’s how we support our customers’ DFM needs:
Open Transparency
Century-Tywood is committed to maintaining transparency and being upfront about any suggestions that could enhance parts. Even if we want to add or increase something as simple as a bend relief, we will check in to provide our customers with information that could result in more accurate precision fabricated components.
Potential for Cost Savings
We don’t just quote parts; we provide insights (such as loosening tolerances) that could significantly reduce costs. This upfront dialogue ensures that customers make informed decisions that align with their budgetary constraints.
Upfront Dialogues Produce Accurate Lead Times
Century-Tywood prefers to have DFM-related discussions before putting in the purchase order to clarify all aspects of the design. This not only helps in accurately estimating lead times but also prevents delays caused by unrealistic tolerances or design complexities.
Time-Saving Benefits
Collaborating with Century-Tywood’s engineers can save time in the long run. By addressing potential issues early, we can limit extensive back-and-forth communication, streamlining the entire production process. This time-saving benefit translates to faster production and delivery.
Optimized Production
Providing us with information about the end use of parts allows us to think critically about certain considerations during design and fabrication. This can help us make strategic suggestions to optimize functionality.
When they have this information, we recommend that our customers disclose the following:
What the part attaches to
How the part is being installed
What is around the part – or what else might be in the way
Precision Fabricated Components Begin with DFM Expertise
At Century-Tywood, we’re a partner in your design process. Our commitment to transparency, collaboration, and quality ensures we exceed expectations from design to production.
Avoiding some common DFM mistakes and working closely with our experienced engineers will result in smoother production processes and greater end products. But don’t wait too long – the sooner you contact us, the sooner we can work together to build functional, aesthetic parts.