Our Design,Your Success!

NeuronicWorks Inc.

Design for
eXcellence (DFX)
Authored by: Bogdan Morosan & Team

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Our Design,Your Success!

Table of Contents

Design for eXcellence (DFX) 3

Design for Reliability (DFR) 5

Design for Security 9

Design for Compliance 11

Design for Supply Chain (DFSC) 12

Design for Cost 13

Design for Assembly (DFA) 14

Design for Testability (DFT) 15

Design for Manufacturing (DFM) 16

Design for Serviceability (DFS) 18

Design for Innovation 18

Design for Environment 19

Design for Recyclability 21

Design for Disassembly & Serviceability 22

Design for Energy Efficiency 22

Why DFX? 23

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NeuronicWorks Inc.

Design for eXcellence (DFX)

Designing for Excellence (DFX or DfX), as the name The product value can be regarded as the benefit
suggests, is a set of established practices and perceived by the customer (functionality, usability,
methodologies aimed to increase the product value robustness, reliability, maintainability, etc.) relative
by meeting its defined requirements simultaneously to the total cost of ownership for that product.
with optimizing the entire product development cycle.

IDEATION & ARCHITECTURE PROTOTYPE PILOT FIELD

PROOF OF DESIGN, TEST, PRODUCT
PRODUCT & HIGH-LEVEL VERIFICATION & NEW PRODUCT OPERATION &
CONCEPT VERIFICATION MANUFACTURING
DEFINITION DESIGN VALIDATION INTRODUCTION SERVICE

DFR: DESIGN FOR RELIABILITY

DESIGN FOR COST/ TARGET COST

DFX : DESIGN FOR EXCELLENCE

DESIGN FOR COMPLIANCE

DESIGN FOR SUPPLY CHAIN

DESIGN FOR ASSEMBLY

DESIGN FOR TESTABILITY

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING

DESIGN FOR SERVICEABILITY

DESIGN FOR INNOVATION

Design for eXcellence in NPI

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It is crucial to be armed
with all the information,
expertise, and experience
right from the beginning of
a project while being guided
by the Design for Excellence
methodology.

As covered in our previous blog on the electronic Late changes can significantly drive-up development
product development process, there are several costs and project timeline.
learnings that can be extracted from the design To avoid such issues and oversights, it is crucial to
journey of concept to manufacturing. Decisions that be armed with all the information, expertise, and
are made early in the design stage have cascading experience right from the beginning of a project
implications on the project in terms of cost, quality, while being guided by the Design for Excellence
and development time. If errors, omissions, or non- methodology. To understand the use of the Design
compliances are detected early in the design phase, it for Excellence methodology in design engineering
is much easier to accommodate changes then, rather practice, let us discuss some of the key categories by
than later in the prototype or manufacturing stage. the DFX umbrella:

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DESIGN FOR RELIABILITY (DFR)

Designing for Reliability means designing a product to identify, assess and reduce the risk of product
that performs its required functions under stated failures, as well as approaches to predict product
conditions for a specified time-period. To build reliability. Product reliability can be expressed as
reliability into a product, considerations shall be MTBF (mean time between failures), MTTF (mean time
made from the concept design phase, must continue to failure), failure rate during useful life, etc. Product
throughout the full development cycle, and extend MTBF is expected to be estimated and published as
through manufacturing. an important product characteristic.
Designing for Reliability includes methodologies

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DFR techniques that can and should be considered
in product development: Certified components with known reliability
characteristic are preferable for critical functions.
Components selection with derating analysis Parametric margins (i.e., do not design at functional
All components and materials shall be selected based limits) should be provided according to derating
on well understood environmental, operational, and factors that follows company or industry guidelines
stress conditions that they will function as part of the and standards. Derating analysis shall be performed
product. at every design iteration.

Design Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (DFMEA)

This analysis should be performed at different levels:
subsystems, assemblies, and necessarily at system
level, and should start with as soon as the high-level
system design is available. The failure modes and their
effects are identified from historical data (product
variants), competitive research (similar products),
or brainstorming sessions (for new products). For
each failure mode, the design controls for failure
prevention and detection are analysed, and then a
final score RPN (Risk Priority Number) is calculated.
The RPNs that exceeds a specific threshold triggers
design improvement activities that aims to reduce
the score to below an acceptable level. Obviously -
the later DFMEA is performed, the more difficult it
will be to reduce the RPNs. DFMEA is updated during
the design process, to include all design changes
implemented towards reliability improvement.

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Process Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (PFMEA) by various guidelines, standards, papers, component
While similar in principle to DFMEA, PFMEA focuses databases, software tools that generate a reliability
on analyzing the failures caused by product life cycle model of the designed subassembly or system, and
processes (supply chain, manufacturing, service, which can predict its MTBF (and other reliability
shipment, etc.) that can inadvertently impact the metrics). Predicting reliability using models is difficult,
product reliability. laborious, empirical, and rather inconsistent: various
methods return different values; the modeling
Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) methodologies are rather simplistic and cannot
A planned, structured, documented set of tests comprehensively express the product functionality,
designed to bring the product to its destruct limits, the stress factors, the design robustness, etc.
by applying various types and levels of stress over However, these methods are broadly used, as they
the product under test, with the aim of identifying the can help compare design options, identify design
“weakest reliability links” - i.e. the component(s) or the weaknesses, assess whether some reliability goals
subsystem(s) that will fail first. Typical stresses are: are feasible, etc. The analysis is typically performed
temperature, vibration, humidity, voltage, electrical during prototype design and may initiate design
discharges, and they can be applied independently or changes.
combined, steady, incrementally increasing or cyclical.
The failed components or failure modes identified
through HALT are studied by the development teams
and corrective actions are taken, as they are expected
to have a major detrimental impact on product
reliability. HALT is performed for subassemblies and
systems, during the product development, ideally for
the first lot of prototypes, sometimes even earlier.

Analytical Reliability Prediction

A broad range of analysis methodologies, supported

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Reliability prediction models extensive analysis and modelling. ALT predicts

- Parts Count (all parts are considered operating at product reliability (during useful life) and drives
reference conditions, and all have equal impact to reliability improvement early in the development.
system reliability), Product reliability (MTBF) can be estimated by
- Parts Stress (components failure rates are weighted mapping ALT failure data (stress level) with field
by factors modelling the actual component stress failure data using acceleration factors that depend
level). on stress and system specifics.
- Commonly used reliability standards and handbooks: It is worth mentioning that similar dependencies
IEC 61709 guidance modeling the reliability prediction could be established for HALT, so in this respect both
of electric components considering the stress factors; ALT and HALT data can be used for relative reliability
MIL-HDBK 217 military handbook for reliability prediction, and both are typically more accurate than
prediction of electronic equipment, with widely used analytical prediction.
prediction data; Telcordia (Bellcore) SR-332 / TR-332
- similar reference, evolved from telecom industry Environment Stress Screening (ESS):
experience; Siemens Standard SN 29500 - provides This is a test process used in manufacturing, for
failure rate for major electrical components. the final product, that applies stress conditions as
temperature and vibration, to reveal latent product
Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) failures that went undetected during manufacturing
This is a test process using accelerated stress factors assembly or test. ESS reduces early failures (i.e.,
to generate failures in a shorter time than it would infant mortality) and can identify weaknesses of the
happen during the actual life of the product. The manufacturing process.
accelerated stresses emulate the time passing in the Highly Accelerated Stress Screening (HASS) is similar
field. to ESS, the difference being higher level stress factors
ALT is complex and expensive, requiring technical used to find potential failures faster. Like ESS, HASS is
equipment (similar to HALT), high effort, expertise, also part of the manufacturing processes.

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DESIGN FOR SECURITY

Frequently, the security aspect of a device is an The approaches which hackers commonly employ
afterthought, added as a top layer to a finished to achieve these exploits are well known, as are the
design. The Design for Security principle dictates practical steps which designers can take to deter
that security should instead be an integral part of a them. But the steps must be taken proactively and
design from the beginning of the project, to ensure not in the eleventh hour.
that proper security protocols are implemented. Often by a combination of techniques – such as
Improper or inadequate security leaves a product dumping and rewriting flash or RAM memory,
vulnerable to hacking, and if an attacker is successful, discovering and gaining access to a communication
serious consequences can include: port that has not been disabled, or obtaining a
• Unauthorized use – for example, with subscription- firmware image from the vendor’s server for analysis
based products – leading to loss of revenue for the – the successful hacker is able to alter a device’s
product manufacturer. running firmware code, or discover cryptographic
• Hijacked control of the product’s behaviour, keys and other secret materials.
endangering the security of an entire facility, and And while one might point out that the countermeasure
possibly even the physical safety of its personnel. of enabling write- and read-protection does happen
• Manipulation of the product as a “back door” into in the eleventh hour at production time, this is not
the local network, breaching the data privacy of users. the rule but an exception,

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which furthermore protects only code and data that (having designed that secure element IC into the
resides in the device’s internal memory, and only PCBA, for example).
against the less hardcore casual attacker. Today with the rapid proliferation of IoT and IIoT
Unlike this exception, other countermeasures do devices, Designing for Security is no longer an
not operate by the flip of a switch, but by carefully optional feature, but a mandatory requirement.
thought-out design, often on the part of multiple And although on the one hand their ever-growing
disciplines. To prevent unauthorized access to numbers represent collectively a vast attack surface
firmware images from the vendor’s server, for for hackers, on the other hand embedded systems
instance, encryption and authentication should be can potentially be made more secure than a bank
implemented, which involves effort in both firmware vault, since the latest cryptographic techniques can be
and cloud software. A good method to prevent deployed to them as soon as outdated weaker ones
discovery of the cryptographic keys needed for get defeated. (Whereas a bank needs years to change
defeating the encryption and authentication – as well its security protocols). With technologies advancing
as to avoid disclosure of secrets generally, for that quickly, products should be designed with an agile
matter, by dumping memory – can be to introduce and scalable approach so that security updates can
a secure element IC, which entails work on both the be launched faster and achieve global coverage
firmware and the hardware side. more efficiently. These are features that can enhance
Security should therefore be treated as an important a Design for Security approach, but that are not
fundamental element of product development, and possible without one. The most responsive security
should be built into the product design process for updates are worthless against the competent hacker
all design disciplines – from hardware, to firmware, who has cracked the over-the-air (OTA) firmware
to software, including even mobile app as the case update system that delivers them.
may be – natively from the beginning. Where it is Deployed embedded devices face the perils of a harsh
most obvious that treating security as an incidental world, no less than human beings do. The dangers
add-on is infeasible may be those cases in which should not be taken lightly with one any more than
deploying security measures in firmware would not the other. We should Design for Security to keep our
be possible if the hardware did not already have devices safe, just as we educate our children to be
necessary components in place to support them street smart.

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DESIGN FOR COMPLIANCE

Identifying the regulatory standards that the product product development, the product design can
and its life cycle processes shall comply with, must undergo few iterations with repeated pre-certification
start early in the concept development phase. testing in between these iterations.
Designing a product to prototype level or even Developing and maintaining the design
beyond and then discovering that the compliance documentation required at the final certification
requirements have not been applied and reviewed stage is critically important.
will result in costly re-design and re-test iterations. Design for Compliance includes the inherent Design
Defining the compliance standards right at the product for Safety, Design for EMI/EMC for electrical -
definition stage provides critical input for technology electronic products.
and components selection, dictates the design Design for compliance may also require that
approach, design review and test requirements, and the product development house is capable and
influences the entire product development process formally certified to operate under specific industry
to be applied. standards, for example medical device design and
As mentioned in our previous blog on electronic manufacturing.

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 Developing and maintaining
the design documentation
required at the final
certification stage is critically
important.

DESIGN FOR SUPPLY CHAIN (DFSC)

Arguably one of the biggest challenges experienced iteration.

today, the objective of this method is to design a In the context of current worldwide components
product with high supply chain availability, efficiency, shortage, it is important to verify and book stock,
with lesser inventory cost, lesser lead time and ideally pre-order and place blanket orders, identify key
zero waste. distributors, discuss pre-production agreements
Many product innovators make the mistake of and finalize product cost, quotations, delivery times,
thinking about supply chain and logistics only after packaging and transportation, etc.
the product design is completed and is transferred to Besides individual components, the supply chain
manufacturing. includes identifying, qualifying, and engaging
The supply chain of a product needs to be established vendors that manufacture electrical, mechanical,
from the initial design phase. The selection of mechatronics, and other integrated subassemblies
components, OEM devices, materials should consider (e.g., cables, enclosures, panels, OEM devices, etc.)
life cycle maturity (active with at least 5 years longevity and those providing manufacturing and field services.
ahead), availability through major distributors, Design for Supply Chain is a synergy between design
specifications clarity, compliance assessment, and and systems engineering, regulatory, manufacturing
availability of equivalents or alternative (substitute) and procurement, and it can be accomplished by
components, choose common components wherever design houses with mature and comprehensive
possible, BOMs review at every design stage and multi-functional expertise.

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DESIGN FOR COST

Design for Cost is a product development principle processes, choosing among off-the-shelf, OEM, or
that aims to optimize the overall cost of product custom designs, etc.
and its life cycle processes, including material costs, An important point to note is the consideration of the
supply chain, manufacturing, field service, product hidden costs associated with a project, such as re-
sustaining and warranty, design and development design, re-build, re-test and management of obsolete
cost and time to market. A true designing for cost components.
approach is built in the organization structure Related to Design for Cost, but somewhat different,
and strategy, driving continuous advancement of is Target Costing, an approach where the business
technical capabilities and process optimization. calculates the maximum cost expected for a product
Design for Cost include techniques like developing with a specified set of features required by the market,
alternative designs and choosing the winner trough a cost that keeps the business profitable. The product
comparative methods, reduce the number of sub- development focuses on meeting the product cost
assemblies (simplification), modularization, re-using by various techniques involving engineering design,
designs, using generic and efficient manufacturing procurement, and manufacturing.

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DESIGN FOR ASSEMBLY (DFA)

Although Design for Assembly (or “Assembleability”) assemblies, assembly operations and tools.
is typically considered a subset of Design for • Optimized assembly operations with minimized
Manufacturing, we can think of DFA as being a number and type of tools.
separate dimension, for two main reasons: to show • Logic, intuitive flow of assembly, easy to understand
distinctively what the techniques are, and to support instructions, no ambiguities.
the idea that DFA is also an integral part of Design • Reduced number of fastenings and fastening types,
for Service, and Design for Testability. Indeed, incorporate fasteners in the design.
assembly - and disassembly operations - happen in • Mistake proofing design (“Poka-Yoke”) - only one
manufacturing, test, and field service, and directly way to put the product together.
influence the efficiency of these life cycle processes. • Correct tolerance stack analysis; sufficient
Moreover, DFA impacts reliability, PFMEA often clearances between parts and subassemblies.
reveals assembly errors. • Minimized (ideally none) operator-dependent
The best DFA practices address the ability of a adjustments and calibrations.
designed product to be put together fast, correctly • Traceable assembly process, easy to inspect and
(with minimum risk of errors), ergonomically correct.
(ensuring safety), and, when needed, to be easy to The DFA objectives are followed by engineering
disassemble for rework or field service. disciplines and reviewed during the concept
DFA techniques are discipline specific guidelines, they development stage and subsequently for every
apply respectively for PCB design, mechanical design, design iteration. Updating the design to improve DFA
cables and interconnect designs, mechatronics, late in the product development cycle increases the
electro-mechanical design, system design, etc. development cost and the timeline.
Regardless of discipline specificity, the DFA techniques Not doing it at all, leaving everything to be addressed
focus on the following key objectives: post-design, typically compromises the product cost
• Modular, easy to understand design, robust by increasing the manufacturing and service cost
interfaces. and complexity, and degrading the reliability of the
• Standardization of parts, sub-assemblies, product.

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Developing test systems
for manufacturing should
start right after the first
design iteration is reviewed,
to optimize the product
introduction process.

DESIGN FOR TESTABILITY (DFT)

Test capabilities shall be included in each design communication systems, software products, etc. -
- either assembly, subsystem, or system, with the each has specific testability needs, guidelines, and
objective that each assembly and the final product approaches.
has maximum (ideally 100%) test coverage for all For electronic assemblies, at the schematic design
physical and functional characteristics. Care should stage, one should determine the signals that have to
be taken to make sure that each serviceable part or be probed and this can prove to be challenging. For
subassembly has full testability coverage. PCB design, decide the placement of the test points to
Design for Testability begins with devising a test minimize test jig complexity (have all the test points
strategy by design engineers in collaboration with on one size of the PCB and be aware of the proximity
manufacturing test representatives, no later than the of tall components to the test points).
first design iteration for prototype. For complex products, it is not unusual to build a full
Test coverage extends to design test and “hidden” data acquisition system inside the actual
manufacturing test, so both should be included product, relying on hardware, firmware, and software
in the design review. Manufacturing vendor’s test integrated capabilities, to ensure comprehensive test
capabilities, preferences and limitations should coverage.
be assessed at this stage. Developing test systems Software testability is a very generous topic, and
for manufacturing should start right after the first essentially requires that every software function or
design iteration is reviewed, to optimize the product characteristics shall be tested by a built-in software
introduction process. capability. This design for test strategy ensures
DFT is a broad discipline, applicable to all technologies: comprehensive regression testing at every iteration
electronic assemblies, electrical systems, mechatronic and release, driving inherent, verifiable, traceable
systems, analytical instruments, mechanical designs, product quality.

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DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING (DFM)

Design for Manufacturing (DFM or “Manufacturability”) assemblies, and parts, easily to describe and specify
is a combination of product development to manufacturing vendors.
methodologies, engineering practices, and life cycle • Ease of fabrication: select parts, materials and
processes that optimizes product manufacturing by processes that are readily available and can be met
increasing efficiency, minimizing the cost, ensuring by many manufacturing suppliers.
required quality, while complying with regulatory • Stay generic as much as possible: avoid exotic parts,
specifications, safety, and ergonomics. materials, or processes.
DFM can be thought as complementary to DFA, and • Ergonomics: eliminate sharp edges; avoid heavy,
for this reason the term Design for Manufacturing oversized, awkward parts or sub-assemblies; provide
and Assembly (DFMA) has been frequently used handling capability for parts, subassemblies, and
to describe the tandem. However, a broader final product.
understanding of the manufacturing process reveals • Fluency: Integrate manufacturing in a logical
that DFM has many DFX dimensions: DFSC, DFR, flow, in one pass, eliminating redundant phases
DFA, DFT. Manufacturability means that all parts, and minimizing the need to repeat operations or
subassemblies, subsystems, and complete systems processes (sometimes this is inevitable).
must be feasible and efficient to procure, fabricate,
build, assemble, test, and controlled for required
quality and compliance.
Manufacturing can be done either by the company
that owns the product, or by contract manufacturing
parties. In any case, manufacturing is integrated with
the vendor management process that handles the
interface with all suppliers of parts, subassemblies,
and services.
Beside the DFX dimensions already mentioned, DFM
has specific, general objectives, considered from the
start of the development phase, when technologies
and architectural alternatives are explored:
• System approach: clear definition of technologies
and breakdown of system in subsystems,

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• Design for automation: consider automating sub- the development phases, with manufacturing
processes for efficiency, robustness, consistency, vendors technical representatives, asking for input
and cost. and confirmation.
A key aspect of DFM is the collaborative relation • Develop the DFA, DFT, DFR strategies in collaboration
between design teams and the manufacturing with vendors, and validate all manufacturing fixtures,
vendors that includes the following steps: tools, procedures by end of pilot phase.
• Identify potential manufacturing vendors for the • Plan and implement the monitoring process of
assemblies or subsystems of interest, and assess the manufacturing, to ensure compliance with
their capabilities, capacity, processes, and operational specifications, track and improve product and
risks. manufacturing efficiency and reliability.
• Establish direct communication with selected DFM should be factored early in the design process
vendors and ask them to provide their internal DFM and should include all stakeholders - product
guidelines and constraints; the design team should owner, system architects, engineers, designers,
adapt the design to comply as much as possible quality assurance, regulatory houses, component
to these vendor specific DFMs rules, the generic manufacturers, testing partners, suppliers, contract
practices are not always sufficient. manufacturers, through a holistic view of the product
• Review the design manufacturability throughout development.

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DESIGN FOR SERVICEABILITY (DFS)

Serviceability measures the efficiency of maintaining modular architecture, mistake-proofing design (parts
the full functionality and integrity of a product in the cannot be assembled erratically), ergonomic sizing
field, considering the following capabilities: of parts, use of minimal number of tools, use of
• Ability to diagnose and clarify the reason for a service standardized tools, etc. (In one word: DFA).
call. Remote diagnosis can be effective in identifying • Minimal effort for calibration, setup, and re-
the cause and sometime resolving the field issue validation, after servicing the product.
without the need for a site visit. On-site diagnosis • Effective integration with supply chain (DFSC) such
supported by effective diagnostic capabilities that the serviced parts are available timely.
built-in the product or service information tools Design for Serviceability requires participation of
ensuring simple, intuitive, controlled troubleshooting field service representatives early in the product
workflow. development process, preferably in the concept
• Ease of disassembly and correct assembly, by development stage.

DESIGN FOR INNOVATION

Innovation may not be a formal DFX dimension, but difficult to define in terms of methodologies or
innovative design is certainly reflected inherently in guidelines; few possible directions in product
any successful product. New ideas driving solutions development would be:
that add product value, or enhance business
capabilities as knowledge, technology, and process • Start with multiple options when exploring
competencies, are fundamental differentiators in technologies and explore alternative ways to architect
product market and business landscape today. the product, although there might be an obvious
Design for Innovation is a generous topic, rather solution available.

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• Compare and contrast legacy solutions with new, • Innovation opportunities are everywhere,
never explored approaches. technology and processes: look for alternatives to
• Brainstorm in multi-disciplinary teams, especially assembly, test, fabricate, service the product.
at early stages of development, and when difficult It is worth remarking that contract design and
problems occur, and no easy solution is foreseeable. manufacturing houses are valuable contributors to
• If a chosen solution or feature implementation innovation due to their diverse knowledge gained by
seems clumsy, or too common, or has low value developing products in multiple market segments,
(low ratio between functionality versus cost and with ability to use and infer novel techniques and
complexity), consider the opportunity to innovate. ideas, as they need to stay on the rising edge of the
• Competitive research - understand how similar technology evolution by continuous learning.
products are defined, designed, manufactured.

DESIGN FOR ENVIRONMENT

Design for Environment (DfE) is a larger umbrella that Ensure minimal carbon footprint during
covers the entire lifecycle of a product and focuses transportation of parts, components, supplies and
on sustainable development with minimal impact sub-assemblies.
on the environment. The DfE approach covers five 3. Production
aspects through the products lifecycle: Identify the length, complexity, and energy
1. Materials and extraction of primary materials intensiveness of manufacturing process. Ensure
Vet suppliers based on their harvesting process and efficient manufacturing process with a capability to
environmental policies to ensure recyclability. measure waste produced and comprehensive waste
2. Transportation of raw materials disposal plans.

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4. Transport, Distribution and Packaging 5. Usage

Aim to minimize offshore activities that will contribute 6. End of Life (Design for Recyclability)
to increased carbon footprint of transportation from Aim to design a recyclable product (either whole or
manufacturer to retail stores. Identify storage and parts). Identify and be aware of how long unusable
distribution plans for logistics. parts would take to breakdown in environment.

Cradle to Cradle Design

Design firms must employ DfE practices to improve and implementing green supply chain management
the environmental performance of products by practices. Considering DfE early in the product
using environmentally friendly materials, using development process can lock in benefits from the
fewer materials and less packaging, reducing energy beginning instead of costly accommodation efforts in
consumption, implementing low power designs, the later stages.

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DESIGN FOR RECYCLABILITY

Design for Recyclability is a subset of Design for principles. Design companies need to go beyond
Environment (DfE). We believe it is deserving of a satisfying or fulfilling product requirements to also
separate section on its own as it was the first initiative thinking about designing for recyclability that will
that gained prominence. contribute to success in recycling.
This is a circular design thinking strategy that aims It cannot be just an afterthought, as when the product
to design products that have minimum impact to is manufactured, there is not much that can be done
the environment. Most products that are available to change its destiny.
in the market today are not designed with the end- Come to think of it, designers can only do so much, it
of-life recyclability in mind. In fact, today, electronic also takes a strong culture of recycling at a national
products typically have a lifespan of 1.5 to 13 years, and community level to adopt, implement and
with an average of 4.5 years. maintain a strong recycling program.
To ensure a safer, green world, it is important
to conceptualize designs while considering
environmental impacts. Considerations must be made
for the design, manufacturing and recycling stages.
There are various strategies that can be adopted
including choice of components and materials,
quantity of materials, improved techniques, choosing
local suppliers/manufacturers among others.
A framework for realizing Design for Recyclability is
the cradle-to-cradle approach. A properly functioning
cradle-to-cradle approach eliminates waste by
creating products with materials that are safe and
recyclable.
In contrast to the cradle to grave approach, which
conveys a message of ‘use it, lose it and bury it’, the
cradle-to-cradle approach is more long-term and is
more infinite in nature.
EPEA Switzerland has created the Cradle-to-Cradle
Innovation Reference Model, to make it easier to
create products which can meet cradle-to-cradle

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DESIGN FOR DISASSEMBLY AND SERVICEABILITY

Complementing both Design for Recyclability and for products to be upgraded, recycled, and repaired,
Design for Environment is the design principle of thereby prolonging its life. Some of the strategies
Design for Disassembly. It involves planning for for designing with disassembly includes using fewer
product, component, and material deconstruction, parts and fewer simple fasteners. To implement
recovering materials and retaining value at the these strategies, designers need to discover waste,
product end-of-life. set goals, create solutions, and monitor results
Designing with this principle in mind makes it easier through production, release, use and end-of-life.

DESIGN FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Energy efficiency involves the level/amount of energy a function of components that are used (especially
used by a product/device/ appliance to execute in HW design) and the design techniques being
its function. Electronic products in some countries employed (HW, SW, FW)
sport energy labels or energy symbols that reflect
energy efficiency (Energy Star, Class A – G scale),
thereby promoting the adoption of energy-efficient
appliances. It is important to design for energy
efficiency right from the concept design and to
consider energy saving methodologies through the
product development lifecycle. In this case, designing
for energy efficiency directly affects the end user as
they pay for the energy consumed by the device for
its entire life. A good example of energy efficiency
design and use is incandescent bulbs vs LED bulbs.
In terms of design, designing for energy efficiency is

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 Developing test systems
for manufacturing should
start right after the first
design iteration is reviewed,
to optimize the product
introduction process.

WHY DFX?

Should DFX be listed as a formal product requirement, relationship, that should be applied holistically,
although it is so complex and extensive? Well, very through inter-disciplinary, diligent trade-off analysis.
few of its components usually appear as formal The DFX capability of a product development team
requirements, typically compliance standards, cost is built through years of design and engineering
target, maybe the MTBF, but rarely more than these. experience, and by interdisciplinary expertise;
DFX equates product value, through its entire life nowadays DFX is perhaps the main differentiator when
cycle. DFX cannot be precisely measured: as we could it comes to design quality and value. It is not enough
see through this paper it is a complex set of methods, just to design a product from a set of requirements, it
rules, approaches, many in relative conflicting must be designed for, and with, eXcellence.

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we mission statement is “To create great products that
borrow it from our children” is an old proverb that are human centric, functional, reliable, sustainable,
summarizes the need to adopt DFX principles that energy efficient, and recyclable, while using minimal
will result in green, clean, sustainable designs. At carbon footprint to produce and distribute.” We
NeuronicWorks, our vision statement is “To design believe the future is in our hands and we have the
a sustainable, clean, and safe future!” and our power to design to make a positive impact.

www.neuronicworks.com 23
Our Design,Your Success!

References:

1. Design for Excellence (DFx) to Improve 16-20 August 2021.

Product Cost, Quality, and Time to Market, by Nigel 8. What is Design to Cost? An Overview with
Palmer, Link Examples, by Dave McDermaid, December 4, 2019.
2. Introduction to Design for Manufacturing / 9. Design for Manufacturing: How to Get Started,
Assembly (DFM/DFA), Link by By Feroz Balsara & Jason LeBlanc, NeuronicWorks
3. Design for Reliability: Overview of the Process Inc., 2021. Link
and Applicable Techniques, Link 10. Design for Manufacturing: PCB, By Michael
4. Design for Six Sigma in Technology and Sugarman, NeuronicWorks Inc., 2021 Link
Product Development, by Clyde M. Creveling, Jeff 11. A Collaborative Scheme for DFX Techniques in
Slutsky, Dave Antis; Prentice Hall 2003. Concurrent Engineering Mitigated with Total Design
5. Improved product reliability quantification Activity Model, by Anas Itani, Rafiq Ahmad, Mohamed
methodology making use of physics of failure based Al-Hussein, MOC Summit, Banf, Canada, 2019.
prognostics, by Abdellatif Bey-Temsamani1, Stijn 12. Fujitsu’s DFX Application, by Y. Sekiya and H.
Helsen2, Steven Kauffmann3, Anke Van Campen4, Takahashi, Fujitsu Sci. Tech. J, Jan. 2007.
European Conference of the Prognostics and Health 13. Prioritizing ‘Design for Recyclability’
Management Society, 2016. Guidelines, Bridging the Gap between Recyclers and
6. Understanding Functional Safety FIT Base Product Developers by Harm A.R.Peters, Toxopeus,
Failure, Rate Estimates per IEC 62380 and SN 29500, Juan M, Mark-Olof, January 2012
Texas Instruments, SLOA294, 2020. 14. Guidelines, Design for Environment by
7. Design for Longevity - A Framework to DesGlobal Development Research Centre
Support the Designing of a Product’s Optimal Lifetime, 15. International Journal of Scientific &
by Carlsson, S., Mallalieu, A., Almefelt, L., Malmqvist, Engineering Research, Volume 3, Issue 6, June-2012
J., Proceedings of the International Conference on 16. Why are the European energy labels changing
Engineering Design (ICED21), Gothenburg, Sweden, (again)? Link

24 www.neuronicworks.com
 Our Design,Your Success!

NeuronicWorks prides on imbibing Designing for

eXcellence as a part of our process. If you are looking
at having your project designed for success, reach
out to us to see how we can help.

Get in Touch with us today to know

how we can help.

Send us an email at [email protected] and

someone from our team will reach out as soon as
possible.

www.neuronicworks.com 25
 Our Design,Your Success!

NeuronicWorks Inc.
210 Lesmill Road
North York, ON, Canada
M3B 2T5

www.neuronicworks.com

[email protected]

August 2022, 050-000002-01 ©2022 NeuronicWorks

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