{"id":5047,"date":"2023-09-29T22:01:47","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T22:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durolabs.co\/?p=5047"},"modified":"2024-07-04T19:49:12","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T19:49:12","slug":"design-manufacturing-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durolabs.co\/blog\/design-manufacturing-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"How to bridge the divide between design and manufacturing"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A healthy partnership between product designers and manufacturers is critical for bringing products to market successfully. Timely market entry necessitates streamlined collaboration to maintain operational efficiency and meet deadlines.\u00a0<\/p>

However, challenges with distributed teams, evolving supply chains, and heightened competition often hinder that relationship. Additionally, each team relies on disparate software to manage their data and processes, complicating the relationship.<\/p>

This blog explores the practical aspects of strengthening the ties between design engineers and manufacturers. We cover which software to choose, how to set up repeatable processes and why you need a regular cadence of communications that doesn\u2019t hinder productivity.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Engineers and manufacturers face challenges with siloed data and rework loops<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Both hardware designers and contract\u00a0manufacturers<\/a>\u00a0face pressure to get to market quickly. In the past, Time to Market (TTM) was typically driven by product development and manufacturing lead times. However, the rise of digital technologies has led to new challenges.\u00a0<\/p>

On the one hand, digital technologies help to streamline product development and manufacturing processes. But they can also make it easier for competitors to quickly bring new products to market.\u00a0<\/p>

As a result, hardware engineering companies are facing increasing pressure to shorten TTM. To succeed, companies must invest in digital technologies and adopt new ways of working. They will need to be agile and responsive to market changes. More streamlined collaboration across distributed teams is necessary to facilitate faster, more efficient reaction times.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Manual data input is time-consuming and risks inaccuracies<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Inaccurate data can significantly impact operational efficiency and product quality. One of the primary issues is the time-consuming nature of data entry. When manual data entry is the norm, and there is a lack of cohesion between different data sources, it opens the door to the risk of errors. This lack of standardization and repeatability can lead to inconsistencies and inaccuracies in crucial manufacturing data.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Lost information inhibits product quality and market success \n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Another challenge stemming from inaccurate data is the omission of critical information. Vital details may be overlooked or excluded from manufacturing records, potentially causing disruptions in the production process and compromising product quality.<\/p>

Rework loops are a common consequence of inaccurate data. When changes are required to improve product manufacturability or rectify errors, it often triggers circular communication between engineering and manufacturing teams. This creates a perpetual process of changes and verifications for each product variant. For example, Product A undergoes multiple rework loops during development. Then Product B, a variant of A, undergoes a similar number of loops. This pattern continues for Products C, D, etc., resulting in inefficiencies. The unplanned loops aren\u2019t repeatable or scalable across products. Consequently, they add time and cost to the production process that can quickly multiply for each new product iteration.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Siloed systems and disjointed processes only add to the issues<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Manufacturing teams typically rely on specialized software, such as Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), to perform their tasks. However, obtaining necessary information from engineering can be cumbersome, involving file transfers and sharing of spreadsheets. Plus, engineering data is not adequate for manufacturing. Manufacturers require different information and as a result, designs get augmented for manufacturing purposes. Small changes to the design lead to disparities between the Digital and Physical products. Critical changes made to the product to make it manufacturable, don\u2019t get captured back into the digital design record.<\/p>

Moreover, MES systems require additional manufacturing information and machine settings that are not included in the engineering Bill of Materials (BOM). This discrepancy exacerbates the challenge of maintaining data accuracy and consistency throughout the manufacturing process.<\/p>

Disjointed processes compound these challenges. It becomes difficult to determine who holds the authority to make changes, and the responsibility for filling gaps between systems often falls on individuals. This human intervention can introduce risks, such as changes not being fully considered, leading to parts being affected by alterations that were not adequately planned for.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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How to improve collaboration between design engineers and manufacturers <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Design for Manufacturability<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The further downstream issues are caught, the more expensive they are to fix. Ideally, quality issues are discovered in the digital environment upstream before a product goes to production.\u00a0Design for Manufacturability (DFM)<\/a>\u00a0is a process that enables some of these issues to be resolved early on.\u00a0<\/p>

DFM helps product designers create products that provide the best cost-efficiencies and yield during manufacturing by improving quality. By considering the manufacturing process early in the design phase, product designers can avoid costly mistakes and ensure that their products are produced on time and within budget. It can save time and money as well as improve quality. Product designers can avoid costly rework and delays by identifying and addressing potential manufacturing problems early in the design process.<\/p>

Here are some ways that product designers can tackle DFM:<\/p>