You know the drill—your part looks great in CAD, but then you send it out for quotes… and reality hits hard.
Why does it cost $300 to machine a bracket? Why can’t the shop make your internal corners sharp? What even is “draft,” and why is everyone so worked up about it?
That’s why we wrote this practical guide to DFM—Design for Manufacturing—so you can design smarter, cut costs, and finally make parts that get a nod of respect from the machinist (not a sigh).
Here’s the TLDR of what you’ll learn:
What DFM actually means—and why it’s one of the most impactful skills an engineer can develop
The core use cases, limitations, and gotchas of CNC, 3D printing, injection molding, sheet metal forming, and casting
How to choose the right process based on cost, volume, material, and complexity
The real-world design mistakes that drive up manufacturing costs (and how to avoid them)
30+ DFM rules to help you make parts that are cheaper, easier to produce, and machinist-approved
We are hiring!
Also—we’re hiring! We’re on the lookout for a Full Stack Engineer to join our small (but mighty) team. If you’re into hard problems, clean code, and nerding out over tolerances, we’d love to hear from you.
Happy engineering,
The Drafter Team