Edition #7 - Designing Products That Actually Get Made

Even the smartest product ideas fall flat if they can’t be built efficiently. Yet, it happens all too often, even in experienced teams. Teams get deep into development only to discover that their design isn’t practical to produce, or needs major changes to suit real-world constraints. The result? Delays, redesign loops, and frustration for everyone involved.

Design for Manufacture isn’t just about technical know-how, it’s about timing, collaboration, and process. The earlier manufacturing considerations are brought into the design process, the better the outcomes. Too often, manufacturing input is left until the end, when changes are harder, costlier, and more disruptive.

One of the most effective ways to design with manufacturing in mind is to build closer working relationships between engineering, design, and production teams. When designers and engineers spend time on the workshop floor or with suppliers, they start to internalise what works, what doesn’t, and why. That insight helps prevent mismatches between intent and execution. Involving key suppliers as partners, rather than simply vendors, can unlock design improvements and cost savings that would otherwise be missed.

Designing for manufacture means understanding how design choices affect production efficiency, tooling costs, material use, and quality outcomes. It’s a balancing act, and a process of continuous feedback between disciplines.

The insights gained through close collaboration with manufacturing teams can be captured in a set of design guidelines tailored specifically to your products and business. These internal guidelines are where all the small but important lessons live, the ones learned the hard way, through experience. They help ensure consistency, reduce errors, and keep design aligned with real-world production constraints.

Design for Manufacture typically falls into three key focus areas:

1. Design for Part Production: Create parts that can be manufactured using existing processes, equipment, and materials, without unnecessary complexity, risk, or cost.
2. Design for Assembly: Simplify and streamline how components fit together by reducing part count and variation, preventing assembly errors, and enabling faster, more reliable assembly.
3. Design for Production Efficiency: Make the most of your equipment and materials by designing for efficient setup, minimal waste, and smooth throughput across production steps.

Let’s look at each of those in detail:

Designing for Part Production
Designing parts with manufacturing in mind means considering how each component will be made, ideally using the processes and equipment already available, or with minimal new investment. This includes avoiding overly tight tolerances unless absolutely necessary, designing features that are easy to machine, mould, or form, and thinking about material availability and suitability early on. A very small reduction to the maximum dimension of a part for example, could mean the part can be produced in a smaller machine which can reduce part costs considerably. There are countless examples where a minor change to a part can save you money and make the part easier to make, which reduces manufacturing risk.
Ask your teams:

• Can this part be made without specialist equipment or excessive hand-finishing?
• Are the tolerances appropriate for the manufacturing method?
• Is the material easy to source, and does it suit both the product requirements and the production process?
• What small changes could be made that have a big impact on manufacturing?

Designing for Assembly
Even if individual parts are well-designed, the real test is how they come together. Design for Assembly focuses on making that process simple, fast, and foolproof. That often means reducing the number of parts, ensuring they only go together one way, and making it easy for operators to perform tasks consistently.
Good assembly design minimises reliance on skill and maximises clarity. Think of features that self-locate, fasteners that don’t require juggling different tools, and components that can’t be installed upside down. Less handling, fewer steps, and fewer decisions mean less errors and faster throughput.
A product with multiple screw types or sizes can slow down assembly. It can also increase the risk of the wrong fastener being used in the wrong place. Parts that are handed (mirror images of each other) can be confusing for people to identify correctly so should always be marked in some way. This is also true for parts that look similar. Ultimately it should not be possible to put the wrong part in the wrong place.
Ask your teams:

• Can parts be assembled easily, without forcing or adjusting?
• Can they only go together one way?
• Can you reduce the number of different parts or fasteners used?

Designing for Production Efficiency
This involves ensuring that production can run smoothly, with as little waste, downtime, and variability as possible. This includes designing parts and assemblies that align with standard batch sizes, tooling setups, and material dimensions. It also means thinking about how designs affect machine uptime, changeover times, and scrap rates.
Good design supports high yield and predictable performance. It’s about helping your manufacturing team maintain flow, without needing to constantly adapt or stop to troubleshoot.
For example, the design of a plastic part so that the injection moulding tool incorporates a lifter rather than a slide, can speed up production time and therefore reduce part cost.
Ask your teams:

• Does this design make the best use of raw material dimensions or standard stock sizes?
• Will it create unnecessary waste, changeovers, or downtime?
• Have we made it easy to inspect, test, or pack consistently?

Designing for manufacture requires a careful balance of technical expertise, process understanding, and strong collaboration across teams.

By bringing manufacturing into the design process early, fostering strong team collaboration, and using shared knowledge to guide decisions, businesses can develop more efficient, cost-effective, and resilient products.