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Design for Manufacturing Course

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Design for Manufacturing Course

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Design for Manufacturing Course

Name: Design for Manufacturing Course
Price: 294 AUD

Design for Manufacturing gives engineers and product designers the practical tools to build products that are easier, faster, and cheaper to produce. You will learn how manufacturing constraints should shape every design decision, from material selection to tolerancing to assembly. Stop sending designs back for costly revisions and start getting them right the first time.

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What you'll learn:

This course covers the full spectrum of DFM practice, from foundational principles and cost drivers to process-specific rules for machining, casting, injection moulding, and additive manufacturing. You will learn how to select materials based on both performance and manufacturability, apply GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis, and design assemblies that minimise labour and error. The curriculum also addresses quality, reliability, cost modelling, and value engineering. You will use digital tools and simulation software to identify manufacturability issues before they reach the shop floor. By the end, you will have a complete, systematic approach to designing products that perform well and manufacture efficiently.

How you study in practice Design for Manufacturing Course

How you practise Design for Manufacturing Course

For businesses looking to train their team

With Dedika for businesses, the course includes exercises and examples tailored to your own business and the way your company needs.

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Course content

8 Chapters • 40 LessonsDuration between 4 and 360 hours (you decide)

Chapter 1See details

Foundations of Design for Manufacturing

Lesson 1 • What Is Design for Manufacturing
Defines DFM and its role in the product development lifecycle. Connects manufacturing constraints to design decisions from the earliest stages.
Lesson 2 • Manufacturing Process Overview
Surveys major manufacturing categories so students can match design features to appropriate processes. Builds vocabulary used in all subsequent chapters.
Lesson 3 • Core DFM Principles and Guidelines
Introduces universal DFM rules: simplification, standardisation, and error-proofing. These principles underpin every technique taught in later chapters.
Lesson 4 • Cost Drivers in Manufacturing
Identifies how geometry, material, and volume decisions drive production cost. Students learn to estimate cost impact during the design phase.
Lesson 5 • DFM Metrics and Evaluation Methods
Introduces quantitative and qualitative tools for scoring manufacturability. Provides a baseline measurement approach used in design reviews throughout the course.

Chapter 2See details

Materials Selection for Manufacturability

Lesson 1 • Material Selection Tools and Databases
Introduces structured selection charts and digital databases for comparing materials. Students practise narrowing candidates using performance indices and manufacturability filters.
Lesson 2 • Material Properties and Manufacturing Relevance
Links mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties to process suitability. Students learn which properties gate or enable specific manufacturing methods.
Lesson 3 • Material Substitution and Cost Reduction
Teaches systematic approaches to replacing materials without sacrificing performance. Students apply substitution frameworks to reduce cost and improve supply chain resilience.
Lesson 4 • Polymers and Composites
Examines thermoplastics, thermosets, and fibre-reinforced composites for manufactured parts. Addresses shrinkage, anisotropy, and joining constraints unique to these materials.
Lesson 5 • Metals in Manufacturing Design
Covers ferrous and non-ferrous metals commonly used in production and their DFM implications. Connects alloy choice to tooling wear, cycle time, and cost.

Chapter 3See details

Tolerancing and Geometric Dimensioning

Lesson 1 • Dimensional Tolerancing Fundamentals
Covers bilateral, unilateral, and limit tolerances and their effect on fit and function. Establishes the link between tolerance tightness and manufacturing cost.
Lesson 2 • Applying Tolerances to DFM
Integrates tolerancing decisions with process capability data to set achievable specifications. Students align drawing requirements with real manufacturing process limits.
Lesson 3 • Introduction to GD&T
Introduces the symbolic language of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing. Students learn to read and apply form, orientation, and location controls on drawings.
Lesson 4 • Location and Runout Controls
Deepens GD&T knowledge with position, concentricity, and runout tolerances. Connects these controls to assembly fit and functional performance requirements.
Lesson 5 • Tolerance Stack-Up Analysis
Teaches worst-case and statistical methods for analysing cumulative tolerance effects. Students identify and resolve stack-up problems before designs reach production.

Chapter 4See details

Design for Machining and Subtractive Processes

Lesson 1 • DFM Review for Machined Parts
Applies a structured checklist to evaluate machined part designs against DFM criteria. Students conduct peer reviews and document improvement recommendations.
Lesson 2 • Surface Finish and Machining Cost
Connects surface finish specifications to machining operations, time, and cost. Students learn to specify only the finish level that function actually requires.
Lesson 3 • Machining Process Fundamentals
Reviews turning, milling, drilling, and grinding operations and their geometric capabilities. Provides the process knowledge needed to design machinable features correctly.
Lesson 4 • Workholding and Setup Reduction
Teaches how part geometry affects fixturing complexity and the number of setups required. Students redesign parts to enable single-setup or reduced-setup machining.
Lesson 5 • Designing Machinable Features
Covers rules for holes, slots, pockets, and threads that minimise machining difficulty. Students apply feature-specific guidelines to reduce tool wear and cycle time.

Chapter 5See details

Design for Casting and Forming

Lesson 1 • Sheet Metal Design for Manufacturing
Covers bend allowance, hole placement, and feature proximity rules for sheet metal parts. Students produce flat patterns and folded designs that minimise scrap and tooling cost.
Lesson 2 • Forging and Stamping Design Rules
Introduces design constraints for hot and cold forging and sheet metal stamping. Students apply grain flow, flash, and bend radius rules to improve part strength and yield.
Lesson 3 • Process Selection for Cast and Formed Parts
Guides students through selecting the optimal casting or forming process for a given design. Decisions are based on volume, geometry, material, and cost targets.
Lesson 4 • Designing for Castability
Applies draft angles, wall thickness rules, and parting line placement to casting designs. Students redesign parts to eliminate shrinkage, porosity, and ejection problems.
Lesson 5 • Casting Process Fundamentals
Covers sand, die, and investment casting processes and their geometric capabilities. Students learn which features are achievable and which cause defects in each process.

Chapter 6See details

Design for Injection Moulding and Plastics

Lesson 1 • Wall Thickness and Rib Design
Covers uniform wall thickness rules and rib geometry to prevent sink marks and warpage. Students apply thickness-to-rib ratios and draft angles to structural features.
Lesson 2 • Injection Moulding Process Fundamentals
Explains the injection moulding cycle, tooling components, and material flow behaviour. Provides the process foundation needed to apply plastic-specific DFM rules.
Lesson 3 • Tooling Cost Reduction Strategies
Identifies design changes that reduce mould complexity, cavity count, and tool maintenance. Students apply family mould and modular insert concepts to lower tooling investment.
Lesson 4 • Draft, Parting Lines, and Ejection
Teaches draft angle requirements, parting line placement, and ejector pin positioning. Students learn how these decisions affect surface quality and tool life.
Lesson 5 • Gate, Runner, and Venting Design
Covers gate types, runner systems, and venting to ensure complete fill and part quality. Students evaluate gate location effects on weld lines, stress, and appearance.

Chapter 7See details

Design for Assembly and Joining

Lesson 1 • Part Consolidation and Simplification
Teaches criteria for combining multiple parts into single components without losing function. Students apply consolidation to reduce part count, fasteners, and assembly steps.
Lesson 2 • Fastening and Joining Methods
Compares mechanical fasteners, adhesives, welding, and snap fits for assembly efficiency. Students select joining methods based on load, disassembly needs, and cycle time.
Lesson 3 • Self-Locating and Error-Proofing Features
Covers chamfers, lead-ins, asymmetry, and poka-yoke features that guide correct assembly. Students add these features to existing designs to reduce misassembly risk.
Lesson 4 • Assembly Sequence and Line Balancing
Teaches how assembly sequence affects labour time, error risk, and line efficiency. Students map assembly sequences and identify reordering opportunities to improve flow.
Lesson 5 • Design for Assembly Principles
Introduces Boothroyd-Dewhurst DFA methodology and assembly efficiency metrics. Students evaluate assemblies using part count, handling, and insertion criteria.

Chapter 8See details

Advanced DFM: Additive Manufacturing and Systems

Lesson 1 • Design for Supply Chain and Scalability
Connects design decisions to supply chain risk, lead time, and production scalability. Students evaluate designs for sourcing flexibility and volume ramp-up readiness.
Lesson 2 • Design for Additive Manufacturing Rules
Covers support structure minimisation, build orientation, and wall thickness for AM parts. Students redesign conventional parts to exploit AM's geometric freedom responsibly.
Lesson 3 • Hybrid and Multi-Process Design
Addresses designs that combine AM with machining, casting, or injection moulding. Students identify which features to assign to each process for optimal cost and performance.
Lesson 4 • Additive Manufacturing Process Overview
Surveys FDM, SLA, SLS, and metal AM processes and their design freedoms and constraints. Students distinguish where AM outperforms conventional processes and where it does not.
Lesson 5 • DFM in the Product Development System
Integrates DFM into stage-gate, agile, and concurrent engineering development frameworks. Students define DFM checkpoints and deliverables for a complete product development process.

Certification

Your valid completion certificate

This course is for you:

Mechanical engineer: wants designs approved by manufacturing without revisions.
Product designer: struggles to bridge the gap between aesthetics and production reality.
Manufacturing engineer: needs to communicate DFM requirements back to design teams.
Recent engineering graduate: entering industry without hands-on manufacturing design exposure.
Hardware startup founder: building physical products and trying to control production costs.
Industrial design professional: moving into roles where producibility decisions are expected.

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