The Original Flip Flap: Design for Manufacturability

The whole project turned on one material question. The strap had to stretch over any shoe size and snap back, survive sand, salt water and sun, and still feel soft against bare skin. No off-the-shelf silicone rubber we tested hit all three at once: the elastic grades tore, the tough grades felt stiff, and the soft grades took a permanent set after a few wears.

That creative approach plus hands-on product development took the Flip Flap from a home-made prototype to a market-ready product. We sourced the materials and components, built a production-quality silicone rubber prototype and used it to open small batch production.

It was possible thanks to our wide network of partners in manufacturing and material supply in the US and overseas. Provided with a trusted manufacturer and all necessary services under one roof, our client was able to get a final product the way he envisioned it and with minimal upfront investment and manufacturing cost. The Flip Flap is now available for purchase at Read more on Theoriginalflipflap.
When you need help with creating a DFM design for manufacturability or developing your invention from A to Z, contact our experts to discuss your project.

Design for manufacturability at a glance

Scope	DFM review, part redesign, silicone rubber prototyping, tooling prep
Process targeted	Compression/injection moulded silicone rubber
Focus	Wall thickness, draft, parting line, shrink, cycle time, part cost
Deliverables	Revised CAD, DFM report, moulded prototypes, tooling-ready files

What DFM actually changes

Design for manufacturability is where product cost is decided. A part that works perfectly as a 3D print can be impossible to mould, or mouldable but twice as expensive as it needs to be. Uniform walls, correct draft, a sensible parting line and the right number of features per part routinely take double-digit percentages out of unit cost.

What we did on the Flip Flap

We reviewed the geometry against the silicone rubber process, revised features that would trap air, sink or flash, and produced moulded prototypes so the material behaviour could be confirmed before tooling money was committed.

DFM checklist we run on every part

• Uniform wall thickness and no thick sections that sink
• Draft on every vertical face relative to the pull direction
• Parting line placed where it is cosmetically acceptable
• Undercuts removed, or side actions justified against their tooling cost
• Material shrink accounted for in critical dimensions
• Part count consolidated wherever assembly labour exceeds tooling savings

Frequently asked questions

When should DFM happen?

Before tooling is quoted and ideally during detailed design - retrofitting DFM after a mould is cut means paying for steel changes.

How much does a DFM review cost?

A focused review of a single moulded part typically runs $1,500-$5,000, and usually pays for itself on the first production order.

Do you work with our existing manufacturer?

Yes. We regularly translate a moulder''s feedback into the CAD changes that satisfy it.