Mechanical equipment design for simplicity

Mechanical product design can be greatly enhanced by following the principles of design for simplicity (DFS). Properly applied, DFS results in lower material cost, fewer mechanical parts and drawings, fewer suppliers, less inventory and storage space, and substantially easier assembly. This yields higher-reliability products at lower cost with more value to our customers. Field service personnel and customers also find that these products are much easier to use and that they get to the market sooner. DFS employs multifunctional teams early in the product realization process. Following straightforward design and assembly practices and drawing on their diverse backgrounds, these teams use brainstorming and concurrent engineering techniques to create the desired product design. Telephones with 50 percent fewer parts, minicomputers and printers with 40 percent fewer parts, and complete digital PBX systems with 25 percent fewer parts are typical results. The process is powerful, the results are impressive, and the future is bright! Once a design team has employed the process, its members often refuse to accept products that were developed without it.