A DFMEA is a risk review of a product design before it is released. The design team looks at each function of the part or system, asks how the design itself could fail to deliver it, and traces each failure to its effect on the user and to a design cause, such as a wrong material, a tight clearance or a missed load case. Risks are ranked and the high ones get design changes, analysis or testing. It assumes parts are made to print; how they are made is the PFMEA's job.
Example: For a plastic snap-fit cover, the team lists "latch cracks during assembly" as a failure mode. The cause is a sharp inside corner that concentrates stress. The action is to add a radius and run a strain test on prototypes.
Design weaknesses that slip through land on the shop floor as parts that meet the drawing and still fail. A good DFMEA also flags the special characteristics that matter most, so the plant knows which dimensions deserve tighter control and more frequent checks.
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