Timothy Bradbury Monzello, a manufacturing professional, former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Manufacturing Engineering Lead, and longtime educator, is raising awareness about the importance of design for manufacturability (DFM) in engineering and production environments.

Drawing on decades of experience across machine shops, production leadership, and advanced engineering systems, Monzello is advocating for a more practical, build-focused approach to engineering design.

“Too many designs look good on paper but fall apart when they reach the shop floor,” he says. “If a part takes twice as long to make because of one small design choice, that’s a problem that could have been avoided.”

Industry data supports this concern. Studies show that up to 70% of a product’s manufacturing cost is determined during the design phase, while design-related issues account for nearly 80% of production delays and quality problems. Despite this, many engineering workflows still separate design and manufacturing teams until late in the process.

Monzello believes this gap is one of the biggest challenges facing modern manufacturing.

“I’ve worked in shops where we had to redesign parts after production started,” he explains. “That slows everything down. It affects cost, timing, and team morale.”

Over his 19-year career at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Monzello worked on complex systems where precision and planning were critical. In those environments, early collaboration between design and manufacturing teams was not optional.

“At JPL, we didn’t wait until something failed to fix it,” he says. “We brought manufacturing into the conversation early. That made a big difference.”

He also points to common design issues that continue to impact production today. These include overly tight tolerances, complex geometries, and a lack of understanding of how materials behave during machining or assembly.

“Not every surface needs to be perfect,” he says. “I’ve seen parts where tight tolerances were applied across the board, even when only one area mattered. That adds time and cost for no real benefit.”

According to industry research, companies that apply DFM principles early can reduce manufacturing costs by 15% to 30% and improve production efficiency by up to 25%. These gains come from simpler designs, better communication, and fewer revisions during production.

Monzello’s advocacy is also shaped by his work as an Adjunct Professor, where he has taught manufacturing and machine tool technology for over a decade.

“I try to show students how things are actually made,” he says. “You can’t just design in isolation. You have to think about the process from the start.”

He emphasizes that DFM is not just for large organizations or advanced projects. It applies to any level of engineering or production.

“Whether you’re making one part or a thousand, the same idea applies,” he says. “Think about how it’s going to be built before you finalize the design.”

What Engineers and Teams Can Do Today

Monzello encourages engineers, students, and production teams to take simple, practical steps to improve their approach to design:

• Start conversations early — Involve manufacturing teams during the design phase, not after.

• Simplify designs where possible — Fewer parts and simpler shapes reduce risk and cost.

• Use tolerances with purpose — Apply precision only where it truly matters.

• Understand materials and processes — Design with real production conditions in mind.

• Test early — Build prototypes and learn from them before scaling production.

“You don’t need a big system to start doing this better,” he says. “You just need to ask the right questions earlier.”

By focusing on manufacturability from the beginning, Monzello believes engineers can improve outcomes across the board.

“It’s not about making things more complicated,” he adds. “It’s about making them work better in the real world.”

About Timothy Bradbury Monzello

Timothy Bradbury Monzello is a manufacturing professional, educator, and former Group Lead in the Manufacturing Engineering Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. With a career spanning hands-on machining, production leadership, and advanced engineering systems, he brings practical insight into design for manufacturability, GD&T, and business operations management. He currently teaches manufacturing and machine tool technology as an Adjunct Professor and is based in Saratoga Springs, Utah.

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