About DFM 4.0

DFM 4.0 provides a deep dive into the unconventional culture and principles that make for absurdly great design for manufacturability.

Yes, we cover the technical and engineering aspects of DFM, but that really just scratches the surface of all that is DFM.  Our intent is to go far deeper, exploring where culture, emotion, artwork and humanities converge with excellent engineering. DFM 4.0 is a reboot of generations of DFM technical knowledge, combined with the people and culture (or counter-culture) that brought us this knowledge. We're about the people that continue to innovate in Design and Manufacturability today, and the stories they bring with them. We are about engineering not only great products, but also the great cultures that innovate great products.

Building DFM Momentum

Great DFM culture is in so many ways like the Flywheel defined in Jim Collins book Good to Great.  What is a Flywheel? A flywheel is one of the oldest engineering means of storing energy.  How does it work?  It's simply a massive wheel that is spun, and hence the kinetic energy is captured in the spinning of this mass.  A common historical application is a pottery wheel.  It's massive base is brought up to speed, and the weight of the base keeps the table spinning while the clay is formed.  Collins argues that great cultures are built over time, with many small pushes from passionate people driven by a common cause. Eventually, that momentum builds into a powerful force that transcends companies into greatness.

Great DFM cultures are centered around this drive to constantly make designs better, simpler, and more elegant. This drive is felt at every level of the organization, but perhaps most strongly at the engineering and technical levels. It comes from the engineers in the lab, passionately testing and redesigning, the technicians experimenting better ways to put parts together, and the operators with the curiosity to ask why.   All of these passionate efforts act as small pushes on a massive flywheel, with each of those pushes building momentum. Great DFM management seeks to nurture these pushes, and clear any obstacles inhibiting creativity.  Furthermore, great DFM leadership empowers innovators to be creative while challenging accountability for their results.  Likewise, great DFM innovators challenge the status quo, and cannot turn away from the drive to engineer better, holding themselves accountable to deliver results. These actions characterize the many pushes that build a powerful cultural momentum which transforms companies and products.

Is the flywheel designed for manufacturability?

The flywheel is perhaps the perfect embodiment for DFM. It's arguably the simplest designed battery, technically made from just a single part. This ancient storage device is still used today in high tech applications. One perfect application is in satellites orbiting the earth from space. As they pass around the earth, the solar panels that power these satellites are only in direct sunlight when passing between the earth and sun. As they travel away from the sun, they require a means to store the collected energy. Chemical batteries require replacement and can be prone to reliability issues. What better means to store energy than utilizing a single massive flywheel, spun by electromagnetics? This device, made from just a single part, can operate incredibly efficiently in a virtually frictionless environment (space). Its powerful and robust design ensures a high degree of reliability due to its simplicity in nature.  Hence, the flywheel is a perfect analogy for DFM both technically and culturally.

Thanks for reading!

DFM4.0 is an independent publication launched in May 2022, dedicated to all things Design for Manufacturability in a new era of Industry. If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available. Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows DFM4.0 to continue to exist. Thank you!