Full Question
My clients and suppliers are using the term DFM, what does it mean?

Answer
Answer by Paul Hornix of VentureTech Engineering (www.VentureTech.info) - DFM means "Design For Manufacturing", It is important to stress that under DFM the manufacturing process dictates the design. In other words, the DFM process heavily depends on the project economics, volumes, budget, target costs and so forth to come up with a design that makes the most of manufacturing techniques available. These economics play out very differently in China than in the West obviously. For example, a product that was DFM-ed in USA for American production techniques may not be the best design for running the parts in China. You are wise to be thinking about DFM, but if you hire a third party to do your DFM and assuming you want to run the parts in China, then you should hire an engineering firm well versed in "China-DFM" rather than simply engage a DFM expert.