Week 5

Design for Materials (DFM)

Design for materials is the opposite of MFD. Instead of choosing the best material for the product, DFM is changing a design so that a particular material can be used. DFM can be used when the material used is expensive and we want to make sure we do not waste it. We can then use DFM to create a design which can make full use of the material, so that we will not waste any of it. Another example when DFM is used is when the material is not commonly used. We can then used DFM to make a product using the material. We can then cut down the used of commonly use materials with another material which is not commonly used.

For our assignment, we had come up with a material and use it to enhance the functionality of an existing product through some changed in the design. We had chose the material "Alcantara" which is mostly used for making car seats' cover. We had thought to use Alcantara to make phone covers, or any product which requires a good grip. This way, instead of using rubbers which are commonly used, we can cut down on the use of these rubbers and use Alcantara which is not commonly used.

Moreover, in the assignment, we also had the chance to practice our MFD. Firstly, we had to come up with the material, which we had chose Alcantara. We then list down the general properties of Alcantara and thought of a material which can be replaced by Alcantara. We had thought of leathers and Alcantara and leather has similar general properties, looks and feel the same as leather and even has some more benefits as compared to leather. Finally, we thought of using Alcantara to make Alcantara jackets instead of leather jackets.