DFX

81. DFX
81.1. DEFINITION
DFX , or design for X , can be dened as a knowledge-based approach that
attempts to design products that maximize all desirable characteristicssuch as high quality, reliability, serviceability, safety, user friendliness, environmental friendliness, and short time-to-marketin a product design while at the same time minimizing lifetime costs, including manufacturing costs. Historically, designers have tended to underemphasize or overlook the preceding factors and have concentrated their eorts on only three factors: the function (performance), features , and appearance of the product that they develop. They have tended to neglect the downstream considerations that aect the usability and cost of the product during its lifetime. AT&T Bell Laboratories recognized the need to satisfy these objectives and used the term DFX to designate designing for all desired factors.
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DFX was

described as a design procedure in which the objective broadly covers costeective downstream operations: distribution, installation, service, and customer use. Reliability, safety, conformance to environmental regulations, and liability prevention are also objectives. These are in addition to low manufacturing costs. DFX is the process where the full life-cycle needs of the product are addressed during the products design. AT&T made note of the value of incorporating DFX knowledge into CAE/CAD (computeraided engineering/computer aided design). Education was stated to be essential.
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81.2. THE ATTRIBUTES OFA GOOD DESIGN

The following design objectives have been recommended as being most important. 81.2.1. Function and Performance These are still vital. The product must perform the task for which it is designed. 81.2.2. Safety Those involved in the manufacture, sale, and use of the product and other persons must be protected from physical injury and illness. A sound design from the safety standpoint is one whose manufacturing process does not involve hazards to workers; it is one whose operation poses the minimum risks to the user and those in the vicinity; it is one which, when the product is discarded after its useful life, does not entail hazardous waste. 81.2.3. Long-Term Quality That is, quality, reliability , and durability (the customer tends to group these objectives together; the designer should also). Will the product continue to provide its desired function over a period of time? Will it retain its appearance, its accuracy, its ease of use, etc.? Quality and reliability result from care and attention at a number of stages, but perhaps the most important stage is the design stage. Quality and reliability cannot be built in if the basic design is not conducive to them. 81.2.4. Manufacturability This includes testability, shipability, etc.all the objectives of DFM. 81.2.5. Environmental Friendliness This is closely related to safety but aects all living creatures and plant life. Will the product, its manufacturing process, its use, and its disposal avoid the release of pollutants and other environmental hazards? The manufacturing process should be one that generates minimal pollution. The product itself

should be nonpolluting and, as noted above, nonhazardous in its operation and disposal. Even if nonhazardous, are its components congured so that they can be recycled easily? Design for the environment (DFE) has been used as a term to describe this approach. Designfor disassembly is the name given to the system of product design that emphasizes recyclability of components. Primarily, this involves designs that ensure that recyclable components can be separated easily from the rest of the product. 81.2.6. Serviceability (Maintainability and Repairability) This involves the ease with which the product can be returned to use after some failure has occurred, or the ease with which it can be attended to to avoid future failures. This objective is closely related to reliability. Easy serviceability may compensate for what otherwise would be a reliability problem. 81.2.7. User Friendliness, or Ergonomics This involves how well the product ts its human users, how easy it is to use. (Human factors engineering was a previously common term for the discipline that this involves.) Is the product easy for the user to install and operate? Are all functions and controls clear? User unfriendliness can lead to safety and reliability problems as well as make the product less functional. 81.2.8. Appearance (or Aesthetics) This is the attractiveness of the product, which may be a very important factor in its salability, particularly with many consumer products. 81.2.9. Features The accessories, attachments, and peripheral functions, like the stereo, airconditioning, and cruise control in an automobile, may be more important to the buyer than its basic function, i.e., in the case of an automobile, transportation. 81.2.10. Short Tlme-to-Market This is how suitable the design is for short lead-time production. This

normally means whether the design is one that requires unique long leadtime tooling for some of its components. Short time-to-market has important implications in the current era where product designs change rapidly and where commercial success often hinges on being the rst supplier to market a product with particular features. The company that puts an innovation on the market rst often reaps ongoing benets in the form of increased market share for its product. Other objectives such as installability, testability, shipability, upgradeability,

easy customizing , etc., also may be important in many cases.

REFERENCES
[3.] James G. Bralla, Designfor Excellence, DFX , McGraw-Hill, New York, 1996. [2] David A. Gatenby, Design for X (DFX): Key to Ecient, Protable

Product Realization, in J. A. Edosomwan and A. Ballakur (eds.), Productivity and Quality Improvement in Electronics Assembly , McGraw-Hill, New York,
1989, Chap. 45. [3] R. A. Layendecker and B. Suing Kim, From DFMA to DFX: An AT&T

Example, paper presented at the 1993 DFM Conference at the National

Design Engineering Conference, Chicago, March 1993.
Citation
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James G.Bralla: Design for Manufacturability Handbook, Second Edition. DFX, Chapter (McGraw-Hill Professional, 1999, 1986), AccessEngineering

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