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Early Cost Estimate of Product during Design Stage Using Design for
Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) Principles

Article  in  Advanced Materials Research · December 2012

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.622-623.540

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Advanced Materials Research Vols. 622-623 (2013) pp 540-544
© (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.622-623.540

Early Cost Estimate of Product During Design Stage Using Design for
Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) Principles
K. Annamalai1,a, C. D.Naiju1,b, S. Karthik1,c and M. Mohan Prashanth1,d
1
SMBS, VIT University, Vellore, 632014, India.
a
kannamalai@vit.ac.in, bnaijucd@gmail.com, ckarthik8118@gmail.com,
d
mohanprashanth6@gmail.com

Keywords: Product Design, Design for Manufacturing, Design for Assembly, DFMA.

Abstract. Application of Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA)
methodologies can be beneficial to industries involved in the design and development of products.
Improper design decisions are responsible for higher manufacturing cost for a product. Thus it is
important to include DFMA by combining principles of both DFM and DFA principle early in the
design process. This paper presents a case study of manufacture and assembly costs estimation
during the design phase of washing machine and which is to be manufactured in company located in
India, and intends to make this economically feasible. Solidworks and Solidview software tool were
used to generate CAD models which were further analysed using DFMA software tool. The result
obtained was accepted by industry and match with the market value of washing machine.

Introduction
Technological advancement and development in industries improve the demand of a product. To
fulfill this demand, speed and capacity of production of an industry must be enhanced. According to
Carlo et al [1], the decisions taken in product design stage not only have a significant effect on
product manufacturing ability, but also in the production costs. A survey indicates that although
design costs consume approximately 10% of the budget, typically 80% of manufacturing costs are
determined by the design of the product [2]. The manufacturing cost is decided during the design
stage because its definition tends to affect the selection of materials, machine tools and human
resources that are being used in the production process [3].
DFM is a systematic procedure to maximize the use of manufacturing processes in design of
components and DFA is a systematic procedure to maximize the use of components in design of a
product [4]. To be effective in the product design, procedures are often combined as Design for
Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA). DFMA methodology can be implemented to reduce the
manufacturing cost through reducing overall parts of the product and redesign of the parts, so the
product will be easy to manufacture and assemble [5]. DFMA concepts have proven to give us the
ability to estimate part manufacturing and assembly costs at earlier stages of the product design.
Creative thinking that rely on the intuition of the designer and logical methods which encourage a
systematic approach to design [6]. This method is used as support to improve the product concept or
an already existing product, resulting in a better design [7].
Aiming at using DFMA method in a practical case of product design in an industry, this paper
present a study of manufacture and assembly costs estimation during the design phase of a washing
machine and which is to be manufactured in company located in India, that intends to make this
economically feasible. To accomplish the overall cost estimation of the washing machine, the
methods of DFM and DFA were adopted as support guidelines. With the results of the analysis,
total cost of production of washing machine is estimated by fixing the batch size to the assumed
size. The main guidelines of DFMA as specified in general are used in this study [8]. To apply the
DFMA concept in the washing machine the following guidelines suggested by Boothroyd and
Dewhust are used [9, 10].

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 Advanced Materials Research Vols. 622-623 541

Washing Machine – A Case Study

A washing machine is designed to wash clothes with water as a primary cleaning solution. Washing
machine operates by an electric motor, which is connected to the agitator through a drive
mechanism. Motor and drive mechanism are mounted at the base of the machine (in case of top
loading machine) and agitator connected with drive mechanism rotates back and forth in the basket
and projected through centre of the basket. In normal operation, agitator and basket rotates back-
and-forth in opposite direction otherwise without drive mechanism the agitator and basket spin in
the same direction for extracting water from cloths. Main assembly of a washing machine
constitutes assembly of three sub assemblies viz., top cover assembly, cabinet assembly and
suspension assembly.
A detailed study of the washing machine is carried out initially. Different components and their
manufacturing details as well as the assembly details are studied. A CAD modeling software tool,
Solidworks is used to create 3D model of each component of the washing machine. The sub
assemblies of top cover, cabinet and suspension and the main assembly were carried out virtually
using this CAD software. These models, sub assembly and main assembly are imported through
Solidview software to the DFMA software tool developed by Boothroyd and Dewhust. The
modelled components are shown in Fig.1.

Part 3D Part 3D Part 3D

Name Model Name Model Name Model

Top Cover Cabinet Basket

Lid Gussets Basket Cover

Glass Support Caster Wheel Base Agitator

Detergent Feeder Caster Wheel Rod Auger

Detergent Holder Caster Wheel Cap

Connector Tub Spring Cap

Spring Support Steel Drum Pulley Plate

Suspension Support Basket Support Support Bar

Suspension Rod Tub Support Final Assembly

Fig. 1 CAD Models of Washing Machine parts

In order to implement DFMA methodology to the early cost estimate for the manufacture of
washing machine, a CAD model of top assembly, cabinet assembly, suspension assembly are used
to calculate the cost analysis for manufacturing of top assembly parts, cabinet assembly parts and
suspension assembly parts using DFM. Then cost analysis for assembly of parts of top, cabinet and
suspension using DFA is carried out. The final assembly cost analysis of washing machine
assembly is carried out using DFA. Finally Alternate design is suggested and re-estimation is
carried out using DFMA.
542 Manufacturing Science and Technology III

DFM and Concurrent Costing of Washing Machine Components

In order to estimate the manufacturing cost, it is necessary to input the cost of material, appropriate
hourly rate for machine and labour cost. In case of plastic components it is clear that if accurate
component cost estimate are to be made at the early product design stage, the injection molding
machine cost, mold base cost, number of cavities are to be fed with reasonable values.
Manufacturing cost of individual component is estimated for the given batch size of 1000
components. Part manufacturing cost for each component in top assembly is estimated and Table 1
shows the consolidated cost list for all the parts in the top assembly. Similarly the manufacturing
cost of parts for cabinet assembly and suspension assembly is shown in Table 2, 3 and 4
respectively.

Table 1 Manufacturing Cost per Part in Top Assembly

No. Part Name Manufacturing Process Material Cost per Part in $
1 Top Cover Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 12.85
2 Lid Blow Moulding ABS Plastic 5.64
3 Glass Support Thermoforming Mild Steel 0.83
4 Detergent Feeder Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 6.35
5 Detergent Holder Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 1.74
6 Connector Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 1.03
Total Cost 28.44

Table 2 Manufacturing Cost per Part in Cabinet Assembly

No. Part Name Manufacturing Process Material Cost per Part in $
1 Cabinet Sheet Metal Forming Aluminium 48.59
2 Gussets (4 nos) Sheet Metal Forming Mild Steel Sheet 3.72
3 Caster Wheel Base (4 nos) Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 5.62
4 Caster Wheel rod (4 nos) Parting and Facing Mild Steel 1.34
5 Caster Wheel (4 nos) Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 0.47
Total Cost 59.74

Table 3 Manufacturing Cost per Part in Suspension Assembly-ABS Plastic Parts

No. Part Name Manufacturing Process Material Cost per Part in $
1 Tub Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 0.41
2 Basket Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 0.66
4 Basket Cover Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 0.19
5 Agitator Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 0.07
6 Auger Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 0.03
7 Cap Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 0.02
8 Spring Cap (4 No.) Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 0.02
9 Spring Support (4 No.) Injection Moulding ABS Plastic 0.02
Total cost 1.42

Table 4 Manufacturing Cost per Part in Suspension Assembly-Mild Steel Parts

No. Part Name Manufacturing Process Material Cost per Part in $
1 Steel Drum Sheet Metal Forming Mild Steel Sheet 31.62
2 Basket Support Sheet Metal Forming Mild Steel Sheet 7.59
3 Tub Support Sheet Metal Forming Mild Steel Sheet 7.55
4 Pully Plate Sheet Metal Forming Mild Steel Sheet 3.7
5 Support Bar Sheet Metal Forming Mild Steel Sheet 1.78
6 Suspension Support Sheet Metal Forming Mild Steel Sheet 1.48
7 Suspension Rod (4 Nos) Steel Rod Mild Steel 0.4
Total cost 54.12
 Advanced Materials Research Vols. 622-623 543

DFA and Concurrent Costing of Washing Machine Assembly

After the Design for manufacturing (DFM) is performed, the results are imported in the DFA
module. The directions for fixing the parts are given and time taken for assembly is noted.
Assembly cost is also calculated and other standard procedures like painting, greasing, visual
inspection are mentioned. As the assembly unit structure changes from company to company, all the
parts have been assumed to be within reach. Once the assembly unit structure is known, the time
and cost for moving the parts can be added correspondingly. The results obtained from the DFA of
the three sub assemblies are given in Table 5, 6 and 7.
Table 5 DFA of Top Assembly
Entities Labour Labour
Per Product Data
(Including repeats) Time (s) Cost ($)
Component Parts 13 87.35 0.85
Subassemblies Partially or Fully Analyzed 2 6.90 0.07
Subassemblies not to be Analysed 0 0.00 0.00
Standard and Library Operations 0 0.00 0.00
Totals 15 94.25 0.92

Table 6 DFA of Cabinet Assembly

Entities Labour Labour
Per Product Data
(Including repeats) Time (s) Cost ($)
Component Parts 33 247.38 2.4
Subassemblies Partially or Fully Analyzed 4 26.70 0.26
Subassemblies not to be Analysed 0 0.00 0.00
Standard and Library Operations 0 0.00 0.00
Totals 37 274.08 2.66

Table 7 DFA of Suspension Assembly

Entities Labour Labour
Per Product Data
(Including repeats) Time (s) Cost ($)
Component Parts 38 260.00 2.52
Subassemblies Partially or Fully Analyzed 6 20.70 0.2
Subassemblies not to be Analysed 0 0.00 0.00
Standard and Library Operations 4 28.00 0.27
Totals 48 308.70 2.99

Final Assembly Cost Analysis

The main assembly of washing machine is carried out by assembling all the three sub assembly to
make the final product as shown in Fig. 2. Assembly cost for the main assembly is also estimated in
the similar manner. Total cost for manufacture and assembly of washing has been calculated by
adding the part manufacturing cost of all the components, three sub-assembly costs and the cost of
the other parts like electric motor, front panel, PCP (Printed Circuit Board), ball bearings etc.
Overall cost of the washing machine at industry is shown in Table 8.

Table 8 Cost Analysis of Washing Machine

Entities
No. Cost in $
(Including repeats)
1 Top Cover Assembly 29.37
2 Cabinet Assembly 62.41
3 Suspension Assembly 128.15
4 Motor 19.78
5 Front Panel 3.96
6 Printed Circuit Board 39.55
7 Ball Bearings 11.87
8 Drive Assembly 17.8
Total Cost 312.89 Fig. 2 Washing Machine Assembly
 544 Manufacturing Science and Technology III

Conclusion
The principle of DFMA is at least more than ten decades old, by which they provide a huge
potential savings in design and manufacture of a product. It is found that very limited industries are
implementing this method. This is may be due to lack of its unique way of implementing these
principle and methods in industry ambient. In this paper, a commercial DFMA software tool has
been used to early estimate the cost of manufacture and assembly of washing machine aiming to
make this product economically feasible to the market potential. This study shows that the method
of implementing DFMA is not unique; the procedure is well adopted for cost estimating in the early
stages of product design before detailed design has taken place for any kind of products that is to be
made successfully available in the market.

Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the school of mechanical and building sciences for supporting the
project. We also thank Product Design Laboratory, VIT University for carrying out the analysis.

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