Fix It on Paper.Not on the Floor.
A DFM review catches the problems in your design before they become scrap parts, retooling costs, and production delays. It is the cheapest engineering work you will do on any project.
Request a DFM ReviewThe manufacturer does not absorb your design problems. You do.
Parts that will not assemble
If mating parts are not designed with sufficient tolerance control, they will not fit together in production. You receive a batch of parts you cannot use and a decision about whether to scrap them or rework them -- both at your cost.
Machining time 3--5x over estimate
Features that look simple on a drawing can be expensive to cut. Unnecessary tight tolerances, features that require additional setups, or geometry that limits tool access can multiply your machining cost before the first part ships.
Tooling that has to be redone
When a design flaw is caught after tooling has been cut, the fix is expensive. Redesigning and remaking tooling to correct a problem that a DFM review would have found in an hour is one of the most avoidable costs in manufacturing.
Three things every DFM review covers
How the part will be made
I look at your design through the lens of the manufacturing process -- CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, or 3D printing -- and flag anything that adds cost or time without adding value. That includes features that require additional setups, geometry that limits tool access, and wall thicknesses that are outside the process's reliable range.
Where cost and time can be reduced
Tight tolerances cost money. If a tolerance is tighter than the function requires, loosening it reduces machining time and inspection cost without changing how the part performs. I identify every place where the design is spending more than it needs to.
Whether the assembly will go together
I review how mating parts interface and whether there is sufficient tolerance control to guarantee assembly across the full production range. This includes checking for tolerance stack-up -- where the accumulated variation across multiple parts can cause an assembly to fail even when every individual part is within spec.
Manufacturing processes I review
CNC Machining
Setup count, tool access, tolerance requirements, surface finish callouts, and feature geometry that affects cycle time.
Sheet Metal Fabrication
Bend radii, hole placement relative to bends, flange lengths, and features that affect flat pattern complexity and forming sequence.
3D Printing
Orientation for strength and surface finish, support structure requirements, wall thickness minimums, and tolerance expectations for the specific process and material.
A written report and redlined drawings -- not just a conversation.
Written DFM report
A clear document listing each finding, the manufacturing risk it creates, and the recommended fix. Something you can hand to your engineer, your manufacturer, or your investor.
Redlined drawings
Your existing drawings marked up with specific callout changes, tolerance revisions, and notes tied directly to each finding in the report.
If findings require CAD model changes, that work is scoped and quoted as a separate effort -- it does not get absorbed into the review.
Before your first production run.
The right time for a DFM review is after your design is stable but before you commit to production quantities. You have a finished or near-finished model, you know what process you are using, and you are about to place an order with a manufacturer.
That is the window where a review costs the least and saves the most. Changes at the drawing stage are cheap. Changes after parts are cut are expensive. Changes after tooling is built can be project-ending.
If you are within two weeks of sending files to a manufacturer, now is the right time.
Send me your files before they go to the shop.
Share your drawings or model, tell me the manufacturing process, and I will scope the review and give you a capped cost estimate within one business day.
Request a DFM Review