DFM Checklist for Injection Molding: What to Check Before You Send the CAD

Why DFM reviews fail on the drawing board

Manufacturability issues are usually caught at tooling, where fixes cost 10x more. A systematic DFM checklist applied at CAD stage catches the same issues in minutes.

The core DFM checklist

1. Wall thickness: keep uniform; avoid thick sections that cause sink marks. 2. Draft: 1-1.5° for most surfaces, more for textured. 3. Ribs: 50-60% of wall thickness to avoid sink. 4. Radii: generous corner radii to reduce stress. 5. Gate location: flow-balanced, away from high-stress regions. 6. Tolerance: hold ±0.1mm where needed, relax elsewhere to cut cost.

How AI speeds up the review

Upload a STEP file and an AI DFM tool flags under-thickness regions, sharp corners, and draft issues automatically — in the context of the material and process you selected. What took a tooling engineer an hour now takes minutes.

From checklist to tool call

A typical AI session: select material (e.g. ABS), upload part, run dfm.check.v1 for injection molding, and get a prioritized issue list with severity. Then iterate the CAD and re-check. The loop is tight enough to run multiple times per day.

DFM is a habit, not a project

The teams that win embed DFM into daily workflow. Keep the checklist versioned, automate what you can, and save the AI review log as part of your design record.