Making fastening and joining a ‘first thought’ rather than an afterthought

I saw an interesting presentation this week looking at the importance of design for manufacture and design for assembly – or DFMA. Focusing on manufacture and assembly at the earliest stages of a design can bring enormous benefits in terms of parts reduction and production cost reduction, as well as in optimising the performance of the product. But it can also aid in QA, by enabling a focus on design for ‘mistake-proof’ assembly. Developments in adhesives, mechanical fastening options and other joining techniques have a huge role to play, but it becomes very clear that, if we are to embrace DFMA, then fastening and joining needs to be a first thought, and not an afterthought.

With best regards

Mark Simms, Editor
editor@fasteningandbonding.net