Information About

Who takes it

This course is essential for anyone who plans to work in a manufacturing industry where parts are made and assembled. This course is usually taken by graduate MMM students and mechanical Engineering students.

What it's about

Design for manufacture (DFM) is recognized as the key to industrial efficiency…to minimizing manufacturing costs…to assuring product quality…and generating the increases in productivity promised by advanced manufacturing technology. This five-week course presents underlying principles, best practices, design guidelines, and management techniques for improving assembly and manufactureability of mechanical products. Topics include product simplification approaches, modularization (chunking) strategies, design for assembly, design for manufacturing processes such as plastic injection molding, analysis of tolerances, and standardization of components and features. Depending on class interest, other structured design methods such as FMEA, value engineering, and robust design are also covered. "Hands-on" exercises are employed throughout the course to help ensure mastery of proven methods such as the Boothroyd/Dewhurst Design for Assembly method. This course is an excellent way to bring yourself up to speed in DFM. A solid working knowledge of DFM is essential for anyone who plans to work in a manufacturing industry where parts are made and assembled.

Contact:

Professor: Henry Stoll
e-mail: hstoll@northwestern.edu