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Fewer parts, simpler assembly, lower unit cost, decided before tooling
Send your CAD and BOM. Get a roadmap to a lower-cost design. Free.
Most product cost is set by the design, long before the factory sees it. Design for manufacturing services review every part, fastener, and assembly step. Each one has to earn its place. Then we redesign the product so it is cheaper to make and faster to assemble.
When cost isn't designed out, teams fall back on one of two moves. Some push suppliers for lower prices on a design that is costly by nature. Others find the costly part, the slow step, or the extra fastener after tooling. By then, every change costs a new tool.
PPS runs DFMA reviews and redesigns alongside our engineering consulting services, CAD design services, and product development services. You get a design with fewer parts, simpler assembly, and a unit cost you can explain.
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Unit cost that suppliers can't bring down
The cost is in the design, not the quote.
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Too many parts and fasteners in one assembly
Every part adds handling, stock, and labor.
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Assembly steps that need special tools or skill
Slow assembly costs on every unit you ship.
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Parts made by a costly process
A different process or material could do the job.
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Quality problems that start at assembly
Parts that can go in wrong eventually will.
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Tight tolerances on parts that don't need them
Precision you pay for that adds no function.
Cost you carry
Decision it lets you make
Result
Unit cost
Material & weight
Decision
Question every part and fastener, then combine or remove what the product doesn't need.
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Result
Fewer parts and a lower unit cost.
Development
Prototypes & testing
Decision
Score assembly and process cost before tooling, and use prototypes to confirm the new design.
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Result
Faster assembly and fewer prototype loops.
Tooling
Rework & redesign
Decision
Find the costly process or feature in the design review and fix it before tooling is ordered.
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Result
No redesign after first article; tooling is made once.
After launch
Field failures & warranty
Decision
Release a design with process, material, and tolerances matched to what your suppliers run.
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Result
Lower supplier quotes and a cost you can defend.
Lean on the floor only goes so far when the parts fight you. If a part needs three setups, a custom fixture and a skilled fitter, no kaizen event removes that waste, because it was designed in. DFMA takes it out at the source: fewer parts, fewer operations, tooling and fixtures built for flow, and equipment that changes over fast. Error-proofed features stop assembly mistakes at the part, not at inspection. Your team runs the floor improvements. We engineer the parts, tooling and equipment so those improvements stick.
Decision
Fewer parts and fasteners
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Result
Fewer operations and less handling
Decision
Fixtures and tooling designed for flow
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Result
Faster changeovers and less work-in-process
Decision
Features that only assemble one way
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Result
Assembly mistakes stopped at the part
Looking for the floor-side principles? Read our lean manufacturing principles insights.
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A design that meets your loads at the lowest total cost, delivered as production-ready CAD and drawings
02
FEA results and margins you review and approve at each gate, before anything moves to prototyping.
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You own the IP by default, set in your contract.
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If we missed it in our QC, we fix it. If your supplier can't make the part within three years, or supply dries up, we fix that too.
You send
What we need to start
CAD, native or STEP
Loads and operating conditions, or how the part is used
Material specs or test data, if you have it
Targets: weight, cost, life, or code
Failure history, if a part already failed
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You get
What you hold at the end
The optimized design: CAD and drawings ready for production
Models and results you reviewed and approved
Documented margins or code compliance
Test correlation, when testing is in scope: a partner lab or yours
A roadmap for what comes next, and a team that stays with you
We price to the value we deliver, not the hours we log. If the value isn't there for you, we'll say so in the assessment.
We review your project scope and the data you have and screen where cost hides. You get: a free assessment.
Scope, targets, and gates, from where you are to where you need to be.
DFMA analysis and CAD redesign, with prototypes when the design needs them. You get: data to approve.
The design, drawings, and models, second-checked in our QMS.
We stand behind the design through production and supply issues.
PPS engineers run DFMA, FEA, and CAD as one loop. DFMA removes parts and cost. FEA checks that the new design still carries its loads. CAD changes follow, and supplier cost is checked before tooling. The design you approve is the design that ships.
Same design, lower quotes asked
Or cut corners until it does
Tooling and test article paid for
The cost was in the design
New geometry, new prototype, new test
Which parts and steps drive cost
Part count, process, assembly
Design refined to real cost
Second engineer verifies the model
Build once, to confirm
Every prototype loop you fund is margin lost. Get a free roadmap.
Get Your Free RoadmapBrackets, harness parts, and housings simplified so assemblies weigh less and take less time to build.
Lighter, simpler parts.
Applications
Part Count
Fasteners
Weight
Assembly
Interior, body, and powertrain parts redesigned for the process and volume your suppliers already run.
Built for high volume.
Applications
Castings
Molding
Stamping
Fasteners
Fabricated frames and guards simplified so the number of welds, parts, and field assembly hours all come down.
Fewer welds to make.
Applications
Weldments
Frames
Guards
Field Build
Fittings, housings, and structures redesigned to cut parts and use materials that last in salt water.
Built for harsh duty.
Applications
Fittings
Housings
Materials
Corrosion
FEA, CFD, CAD, DFMA, and testing under one roof. Engineering is a team sport, and you get the whole team.
One team, every skill.
Under One Roof
FEA
CFD
CAD
DFMA
Testing
Veteran-owned SDVOSB status gives defense and federal buyers a set-aside path to proven engineering.
Verify our SDVOSB status.
Credentials
SDVOSB
VOSB
CAGE 8ZK73
NAICS 541330
Missed something in our QC? We fix it. Supplier can't make the part within three years? We fix that too.
Support for the long run.
We Fix
Our QC Misses
Supplier Gaps
Supply Chain
We price to the value we deliver, not hours logged. You buy a design that works, not more iterations.
Pay for the result only.
Collections
Gold
Platinum
Diamond
When is a product too expensive to manufacture?
A product needs design for manufacturing services when its cost is set by the design, not the supplier. Suppliers can't bring the unit cost down. Assemblies carry many parts and fasteners. Assembly needs special tools or skill. Parts use a costly process. Quality problems start at assembly. Price talks alone can't fix a part that is costly by nature. Each sign adds cost to every unit for the life of the product. Tolerances are a quiet cost driver. ASME Y14.5 gives designers the tools to set only the precision a feature needs. Tighter limits than the function needs add machining, inspection, and scrap on every part.
Any one of these signs means cost can be designed out. PPS reviews your project scope and costs in a free assessment and tells you where the savings are likely to be. Our analysis also flags tolerances that add cost without adding function. If the design is already lean, we say so. Our DFMA implementation guide shows the method step by step, with examples.
How does a DFMA review reduce part count in assembly?
Our design for manufacturing services follow a simple sequence. First we look at the product as it is: every part, fastener, and assembly step, with its cost and its job. For each part we ask whether it must be separate, for motion, material, or service reasons. Parts that don't need to be separate cost you twice: once to make and once to assemble. Fasteners get special attention, because each one adds a part, a step, and a chance for error. The method is well proven over decades. Geoffrey Boothroyd set it out in Product Design for Manufacture and Assembly, published in Computer-Aided Design in 1994.
Then we score assembly time and process cost, so every change has a number behind it. Next we redesign. That can mean combining parts into one casting or molding, replacing fasteners with snap fits, or changing a process or material. FEA checks that the new design still carries its loads. You get redesign options with cost and part count for each, and you choose what to build.
Can DFMA help us run a leaner production line?
Yes. DFMA is the engineering side of lean manufacturing. Lean tools on the floor remove waste in how you run the line, but much of the waste on a production line is built into the parts themselves: extra components, extra setups and fixtures that slow every changeover.
That waste survives every improvement event, because no amount of floor work changes a drawing. NIST's Manufacturing Extension Partnership describes lean as removing waste so value flows steadily to the customer. When the part design forces three setups and hand fitting, flow stops at the same station every shift, and the line pays for it in labor, scrap and work-in-process.
We redesign the parts, tooling, fixtures and equipment so the line can flow. That means fewer parts and fasteners, features that only assemble one way, and fixtures built for fast changeover. Your team keeps running the floor improvements, now on parts that support them. You approve the data at each gate, and the new design package and the IP are yours by default.
Can DFMA help us run a leaner production line?
Yes. Design for manufacturing services are the engineering side of lean manufacturing. Lean tools on the floor remove waste in how you run the line. But much of the waste on a line is built into the parts: extra components, extra setups, and fixtures that slow every changeover. That waste survives every improvement event, because no amount of floor work changes a drawing. NIST's Manufacturing Extension Partnership ties lean to a continuous flow of value to the customer. When the part forces three setups and hand fitting, flow stops at the same station every shift. The line pays for it in labor, scrap, and work-in-process.
We redesign the parts, tooling, fixtures, and equipment so the line can flow. That means fewer parts and fasteners, features that only assemble one way, and fixtures built for fast changeover. Your team keeps running the floor improvements, now on parts that support them. You approve the data at each gate. The new design package and the IP are yours by default, set in your contract.
What do you need from us to start?
To start design for manufacturing services with PPS, send what you have, in any format. That usually means CAD, native or STEP, and the BOM with part costs and volumes. Add assembly steps or photos, your cost or time targets, and the problems you see today. Missing data is the most common reason engineering projects stall. A cost model built on guessed inputs gives a guessed answer, and the guess shows up later as rework. That is why we don't start the work until every data set is in. For gaps in material data, NIST material measurement data is a good first stop for test values.
Once your data is in, the first step is a free assessment of your project scope. We confirm what the work can and can't answer, and tell you what is still missing. Then we send a roadmap proposal with scope, targets, and approval gates. Every project is scoped on its own, so the roadmap sets the schedule, not a stock promise. NDAs are available before you share any files.
Who owns the design and the models?
You own the IP from your design for manufacturing services project by default, as set in your contract. That covers the design, the drawings, and the models. Some firms keep the models or license them back to you for a fee, so every later change sends you back to them. That locks your product to one vendor. It also makes design reviews harder, because your team can't open the evidence behind each decision. Export rules add real risk. On defense work, the State Department's ITAR rules control who may see technical data, and loose file handling can break them. Your data deserves the same care as your design.
At delivery you receive the native CAD, the drawings, the cost model, and the documented results. Your engineers can check the work, make the next change, or hand the package to a supplier. We sign mutual NDAs before any data is shared. Your files stay in controlled project folders. If export-control or customer data rules apply, we set up data handling to match.
What happens if a prototype fails in test?
If a prototype fails in test, we find out why and fix the design with you. With design for manufacturing services from PPS, you approve the data at each gate. So each test result is checked against predictions you have already seen, not a black box. Hard engineering carries unknowns on any project. Real loads, material lots, and assembly effects never match a model perfectly, however careful the work. A failure in test is data: it shows which assumption was wrong and why. NASA's standard for models and simulations treats verification and validation as part of judging whether a model can be trusted.
When testing is in scope, we plan the test to confirm the margins that matter most after parts are combined. Then we correlate the model to the results. If the miss was ours, because something slipped through our QC review, we fix it. If the test uncovers a condition nobody knew about, we scope the change with you and update the roadmap. Either way, you get a clear path forward.
Not sure where the cost hides? Send the BOM. Get a free roadmap.
Send your project scope and costs. We review your project scope in a free assessment and reply within one business day with next steps.
On-site assessments that require travel are quoted separately.
