DFM begins when geometry starts locking process choices.

This Insights guide explains When DFM Begins for founders and engineering teams building hardware that must be manufactured, tested, and handed off. Most teams start too late. They treat DFM as a gate in front of steel, then discover that the enclosure split, the boss pattern and the cosmetic faces are already promises to industrial design or to a customer. It also covers what belongs at architecture; what belongs at detail, and what belongs with the supplier; starting too early is also a mistake.