Design impact for rapid change (DFC) on modern manufacturing

The progress of technologies in the manufacturing industry and the need for faster and more efficient processes that provide better quality performance, better response times, flexibility and cost-effectiveness is an important issue in world-class manufacturing. These indicators are key issues for a company to remain competitive in the markets, which requires a high diversity in products and production volumes. In this sense, one of the key factors that contribute to a faster and more efficient process, are the times of preparation or change that occur between one product and another in the manufacturing process. Although there are Lean Manufacturing tools aimed at shortening these times, it has been demonstrated that, with the use of the "Design for Changeover" (DFC) methodology, which considers these changes from the design of the equipment, times of change can be reduced and increase positively impact the flexibility and manufacturing of small lots. In this paper, we analyze the existing literature of the DFC and show the impact that has had, as well as the factors that have intervened, in order to provide a frame of reference to the industries interested in shortening their times of change in their production processes.