Fabricators are looking for solutions to help them thrive in a digital industry, but disrupters like IIoT and the pandemic have complicated the path to sustainable production. Customer expectations for speed to market, cost and quality have also escalated, along with demands for adding value downstream. Balancing these tasks against the need to earn revenue and position production lines for future profitability is another challenge facing companies.

The answer could be as simple as looking at how one approaches part design. Design for Manufacturing (DFM) first emerged more than a decade ago. Its basic guidelines focused on part consolidation, easy assembly and the idea that a good design doesn’t strain a fabricator’s existing sheet metal capabilities. Since then, industry and customer trends have pushed DFM to evolve, prompting fabricators to consider both their design approach and the production technology they will use.

“There are really two components to the DFM process,” says Peter Kitzler, Salvagnini’s project manager for sales and application engineering. “The first is finding a way to design a part so that it costs you less to make the same thing. The second is taking a look at the equipment you have and evaluating how well positioned you are for flexibility in part production. Traditional sheet metal forming equipment such as press brakes, roll forming and hard tooling limit the types of design features a fabricator can achieve. So it is important to think beyond the current equipment you have. Using an effective DFM strategy can not only improve your current production output but also set you up for a successful growth path in the future.”

When approaching part design, there are a number of key parameters fabricators should consider, including material type, thickness, the value of standardizing part models, and when steps like pre-painted or coated processes make sense. Parametrics, identification of bottlenecks, part integration, 3D conceptualization and alternatives to embossing should also be explored. (See our tip sheet for part redesign guidelines at www.salvagnini-america.com/ReDesignTips)

DFM gives engineers the capability to think about redesign in terms of looking at different manufacturing technologies as part of the equation. If a job shop’s capital equipment consists of press brakes, a redesign needs to identify how a new part concept would be processed on that equipment. But it’s also important for an engineer to analyze a part redesign in terms of equipment the manufacturer doesn’t have—such as a panel bender. (To see an infographic comparison between a press brake and a panel bender visit www.salvagnini-america.com/BrakesOrBender)

Thinking outside the box gives a company the chance to evaluate its overall manufacturing flow, identify bottlenecks and consider the answers to such questions as, “What if we relocated our fiber laser next to a new panel bender?” Suppliers like Salvagnini can conduct time studies to illustrate the advantages of making a new part using different technology. This type of proactive thinking allows management to plan for the future in terms of new capital equipment investments along with understanding the advantages that might make the return on investment worth considering.