Design for Manufacturing and Assembly

This chapter provides manufacturing and assembly considerations and methods that can be used during the early design phase of the components. Manufacturing here refers to the production of individual parts (or components) from raw materials. Manufacturing generally involves series of operations such as stamping, forging, casting, machining, and heat treating during their production. Assembly refers to the addition or joining of parts to form sub-assemblies or assemblies. Assembly typically involves human assemblers, special purpose automated machines, and/or robots. It also involves operations such as moving, positioning, inserting and aligning components, and fastening them to the base component (or an assembly of components) using methods such as welding, riveting, nailing, fastening screws/nuts/bolts, and applying forces or adhesives. Design for manufacturing (DFM) and design for assembly (DFA) are primary tools for reducing costs and improving plant operations. Considerations involved in the applications of these methods and vehicle assembly lines along with illustrations of a vehicle assembly line and unboxed vehicle assembly process are also covered in this chapter.