A Method for Architecting Product Platforms

Consider a group of products sharing common parts and assemblies. The products in question we call a product family, and the common elements, the platform. In this paper, we present a method for designing product platforms and the derived family that takes into consideration both the technical performance requirements as well as the cost of the product family. The design of a platform-based product family is formulated as a general optimization problem in which the advantages of designing a common platform must be balanced against the constraints of the individual product variants and constraints of the family as a whole. This optimization approach forms the basis for a practical implementation as an interactive, team-based negotiation model for designing a family of interplanetary spacecraft based on a common platform. The approach is used to consider and specify different subsystems that could be made common to all the missions. It is also used to evaluate the impact of those platform design decisions on the performance of the product family, and thus be able to select from among feasible platform designs.     

Platform Design for Customizable Products as a Problem of Access in a Geometric Space

A product platform is a set of common components, modules or parts from which a stream of derivative products can be created. Product platform design is typically performed as redesign and consolidation of existing products to create more competitive product families by reducing part variety and standardizing components. The main disadvantage of such an approach is that the benefits of product platform design are achieved only after a number of parts have been designed and manufactured, with all the associated expenditure. A number of approaches, referred to as “top-down approaches”, have been proposed recently to design the platforms since the original design of the product families. However, current top-own approaches have two major limitations: (1) they do not enable multiple levels of commonality for different components and features, and (2) they have been applied to products that are variegated in one specification, whereas products are typically variegated in multiple specifications. This paper describes a rigorous top-down approach for synthesizing product platforms that facilitates the realization of a stream of customized product variants, and which accommodates naturally multiple levels of commonality and multiple customizable specifications. The proposed approach is based on the formulation of the platform design as a problem of access in a geometric space. The proposed approach is illustrated with a case example, namely, the design of a product platform for a line of customizable pressure vessels.     

Product platform design through clustering analysis and information theoretical approach

An effectively designed product platform is vital to the final product family derived from it. A product platform design consists of platform configuration to decide which variables to make common across the product family and to determining the optimal values for platform and scaling variables for all product variants. Many existing product family design methods assume a given platform configuration, i.e. the platform variables are specified a priori by designers. However, selecting the right combination of common and scaling variables is not trivial. Most approaches are single-platform methods, in which design variables are either shared across all product variants or not at all. While in multiple-platform design, platform variables can have special value with regard to a subset of product variants within the product family, offering opportunities for superior overall design. This paper proposes a quantitative method for scale-based multiple-platform design using clustering analysis and Shannon's Entropy theory. Optimization methods are used to design the product family by holding the values of platform variables constant and to find the best values of the scaling variables. An information theoretical approach is used to help select platform variables based on the clustering analysis of individually designed products. Validity analysis is performed to determine the optimal settings for platform variables. Local clustering is further performed on each platform variable, to establish subsets of variants such that variants within a subset are more similar to each other than they are to variants in other subsets and a common value is used to represent the various values of variants in each subset. A case study is used to illustrate the process of the proposed method, and the design solutions are compared with that found by other methods given in previous literature. The comparison results verified that the multiple-platform design can lead to superior solutions of product family.     

Function-based design synthesis approach to design reuse

In this paper, a design reuse framework with a function-based design synthesis approach is proposed in the context of conceptual product development. Previous researches in design reuse have lacked a comprehensive functional base for knowledge representation and reasoning. The method presented in this paper uses a function-based product information model and a multiple objective optimization model to achieve design reuse. The information model is dependent on a functional core which is the key element vector. It is capable of modeling product information with sufficient abstraction, which in turn facilitates intelligent construction of product platforms. The multiple objective optimization method carries out automated design synthesis and evaluation subject to various design constraints. The approach has been applied in the design of the fan filter unit, a key clean room device. It has achieved intelligent design reuse in product conceptual design with significant rapidity and solution variety.     

A Variation-Based Method for Product Family Design

Product family design entails all of the challenges of product design while adding the complexity of coordinating the design of multiple products in an effort to maximize commonality across a set of products without compromising their individual performance. This paper presents the Variation-Based Platform Design Method (VBPDM) for product family design, which aims to satisfy a range of performance requirements using the smallest variation of the product designs in the family. In the first stage of the VBPDM, the product platform around which the product family is to be developed is identified. The product platform is common to all of the products in the family and represents the maximum standardization possible considering the variety of performance requirements that must be satisfied. To satisfy the range of performance requirements for the product family, a ranged set of solutions is found using variation-based modeling. A compromise Decision Support Problem (DSP) is formulated to solve the tradeoff between satisfying the variety requirement and maximizing platform commonality. Platform commonality is achieved by introducing a commonality goal that seeks to minimize the deviation of the input design variables while satisfying the range of performance requirements. Those design variables that show small deviations are held constant to form the product platform. In the second stage of the VBPDM, each individual product is designed around the common platform such that the functional requirements for each product in the family are best satisfied. As an example, the proposed method is used to develop a family of universal electric motors designed to meet a range of torque requirements. The results are compared against previous work on the same example.     

Flexible product platforms: framework and case study

Customization and market uncertainty require increased functional and physical bandwidth in product platforms. This paper presents a platform design process in response to such future uncertainty. The process consists of seven iterative steps and is applied to an automotive body-in-white where 10 out of 21 components are identified as potential candidates for embedding flexibility. The paper shows how to systematically pinpoint and value flexible elements in platforms. This allows increased product family profit despite uncertain variant demand, and specification changes. We show how embedding flexibility suppresses change propagation and lowers switching costs, despite an increase of 34% in initial investment for equipment and tooling. Monte Carlo simulation results of 12 future scenarios reveal the value of embedding flexibility.

The role of crowdsourcing in product design: The moderating effect of user expertise and network connectivity

To meet the challenges of customization and personalized design in the context of the digital economy, increasing numbers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are using crowdsourcing platforms to seek product design innovation. While crowdsourcing has significant potential for eliciting product ideas, it remains unclear whether it can generate high-quality designs for relatively more complex product design tasks. Based on a leading social new product development website Quirky.com, we explore the antecedents of a firm's adoption decision of crowdsourcing, the impact of crowdsourcing on product design quality, and the moderating effect of user expertise and network connectivity by utilizing treatment effect model. The results indicate that: (1) crowdsourcing has a significant positive impact on product design quality; (2) user expertise positively moderates the role of crowdsourcing in product design quality; (3) network connectivity has an inverted U-shaped moderating effect on crowdsourcing and product design quality relationship; (4) the probability of firm's crowdsourcing adoption is negatively correlated with the complexity and reliability of initial product idea but positively correlated with popularity, novelty, and numbers of images. This study not only enriches the crowdsourcing and social network theory; but also provides guidance for crowdsourcing platform firms to better manage the crowdsourcing process and user crowdsourcing communities.     

Representing function-technology platform based on the unified modelling language

Product platforms are used in many industries to allow a variety of products to be offered to the market while levering commonality in components. The reported approaches to designing product platforms assume mature and stable design and manufacturing technologies. Consequently, product platforms are not applicable in the semiconductor equipment manufacturing industries, where the technologies keep evolving and cannot be frozen in the product development process. In response to the application limitations of traditional platforms, a concept of function-technology (FT) platform is put forward to assist semiconductor equipment manufacturers to efficiently design product families by reusing, in a structured way, functions and technologies. To shed light on the diverse constituent elements and the complex relationships inherent in an FT platform, this study focuses on its structural representation. A formalism of FT platform representation is developed based on the unified modelling language (UML). It consists of a generic functional structure, a generic technology structure and the mapping relationships in-between. An application case in a well-known semiconductor equipment manufacturer is also reported to present the structure of an FT platform and its representation based on the UML.     

A cost-based methodology for evaluating product platform commonality sourcing decisions with two examples

As more US companies source tooling development and manufacturing overseas in countries like China and Taiwan, are the need and primary drivers for product platforms diminishing? As tooling cost is reduced to a very small percentage of the total project cost, combined with availability of inexpensive purchased components and low labour rates, the need to develop product platforms can decrease substantially. Low cost outsourcing has given firms the ability to develop and manufacture products cheaply without having to spend the additional time and effort to develop product platforms and families. In this paper, two examples involving two consumer product companies and their product lines are presented. Product family components and estimated tooling costs are analyzed, as well as development timing and profit margins to demonstrate why companies are moving away from product platforms in certain types of consumer products. A novel methodology using component commonality decisions relating to major cost drivers is introduced and applied to both examples. Based on the evidence from the examples presented in this paper, there appears to be little financial or functional benefit to develop product platforms that share common components or subsystems when these products are being manufactured offshore; however, even when considering outsourcing, platform-based product development principles can still yield tangible improvements in production costs over the life of the product.     

A methodology for developing product platforms in the specific setting of the housebuilding industry

Platform based strategies have proved to be a successful approach for achieving optimum balances between standardization and variation in many industries. However, application of this concept in the housebuilding industry is relatively new. This article describes a new methodology for developing product platform architectures in the specific setting of the housebuilding industry. This methodology comprises a reference framework describing the basic elements that constitutes a product platform, supported by a protocol for developing product platforms. The applicability of the proposed methodology has been tested at a Dutch housebuilding company. In this study, the methodology demonstrated its added value in determining which modules to standardize and defining a product platform. This article also describes a distinctive method of housing classification that is based on the spatial use of houses. Compared to the traditional classification system based on technical construction elements, the proposed new classification system facilitates a better translation of functional requirements into technical specifications.     

QFD在药品泡罩包装机开发中的应用研究

从保证质量的角度出发,对泡罩药品包装机进行分析研究,把QFD技术引入泡罩药品包装机的开发中,以用户需求为基础进行质量功能展开,建立了产品规划阶段的质量屋,为企业应用QFD技术开发产品提供概念设计方案。     

基于商空间粒度计算的产品功能模型

功能建模的任务是从不同层次对产品进行功能设计,是产品概念设计中十分重要的内容.针对目前功能建模多层次分析能力不足且缺乏模糊推理手段,将商空间粒度计算引入产品功能建模,提出了产品功能粒度模型,包括功能粒度表示、功能粒度运算规则以及基于相似计算的功能建模方法.实例验证了该建模方法的有效性以及商空间粒度计算在功能建模中的应用潜力.     

Effective Product Family Design Using Physical Programming

In response to today's highly competitive global marketplace, many companies are utilizing product families - groups of related products derived from a product platform - to maintain economies of scale while satisfying a variety of customer requirements. This paper focuses on scale-based product families and presents a new single-stage approach for simultaneously optimizing a product platform and the resulting family of products based on one or more scaling variables - variables that are used to instantiate the product platform by "stretching" or "shrinking" it in one or more dimensions to satisfy a variety of customer requirements. The proposed approach is also unique in that it employs the Physical Programming method, enabling designers to formulate the product family optimization problem in terms of physically meaningful terms and parameters. The design of a family of ten universal electric motors is used as an example to benchmark the effectiveness of the proposed approach against previous results. While the emphasis in this paper is on the design method rather than the results per se , performance gains are achieved in the motor family by using the proposed single-stage approach and Physical Programming.     

Developing assembly line layout for delayed product differentiation using phylogenetic networks

Effective formation of product platforms helps adapt to product demand changes and decrease time-to-market and lead time. The product platform groups the core elements of product family members into a common module used to derive different product variants by combining it with different components. A new delayed product differentiation (DPD) platform network model, which applies median-joining phylogenetic networks (MJPN), is proposed. It is used for forming product platforms and determining the assembly line layout of modular product families. The MJPN is traditionally used for DNA sequences’ mapping, analysis, clustering and tracing evolutionary trends. The concept of assembly/disassembly modular platforms, whereby both assembly and disassembly of components are used to derive the final product variants from the platform, is utilised. The proposed model determines the required number and composition of a product platform and defines the DPD points. The developed dynamic assembly/disassembly platforms enhance routing and product mix flexibility due to having different platforms that can be used to produce the same product variant. A family of household kettles is used to demonstrate the application of the proposed model. A metric is presented for determining the effectiveness of a given platform in delaying the product differentiation, hence increasing the efficiency of mass customisation. The proposed metric, applied to the case study, demonstrated that the proposed platform formation model using MJPN is more capable of postponing the product differentiation point.     

Modularity analysis and commonality design: a framework for the top-down platform and product family design

With a highly fragmented market and increased competition, platform-based product family design is recognised as an effective method for constructing a product line that satisfies diverse customer demand while keeping design and production cost- and time-effective. Recognising the need for modularity and commonality in platform development, this paper presents a systematic framework to assist in implementing top-down platform and product family design, which aims to achieve system-level modularity for variety generation, and rationalise the commonality configuration for module instantiation. In the first phase of platform development, a robust and flexible product family architecture is constructed to accommodate variations by analysing the external varieties of the generic product architecture, and provide a modularity design space, wherein the design tasks are further decomposed into module instantiation. The second phase of detailed platform development aims to enhance commonality in terms of engineering efficiency by coordinating with the back-end product realisation stage. A tractable optimisation method is used to capture and resolve the trade-off between commonality configuration and individual product performance. A family of power tool designs is used to demonstrate the potential and feasibility of the proposed framework at the system level and detailed design stages.     

An integrated approach to product family redesign using commonality and variety metrics

Redesigning a product family entails carefully balancing the trade-offs between commonality and differentiation that are governed by the underlying platform architecture. Numerous metrics for commonality and variety exist to support product family and product platform design; however, rarely are they used in concert to help redesign platforms and families of products effectively. In this paper, we introduce an integrated approach that uses multiple product family metrics to establish an effective platform redesign strategy. Specifically, we present a detailed procedure to integrate the generational variety index, product line commonality index, and design structure matrix to prioritize components for redesign based on variety and commonality needs in a family of products. While all three of these tools exist in the literature and have been used extensively to support product family design, the novelty in our work lies in their integration to establish a redesign strategy for platform architectures that achieves a better balance between the commonality and variety within a product family. To demonstrate the proposed approach, case studies involving two generations of wireless computer mice and two families of dishwashers are presented. Ongoing and future work is also discussed.     

面向可适应性的产品平台设计参数规划方法

 在分析已有产品平台特点的基础上,将模块化和参数化产品平台统一表示为基于“设计参数”的产品平台,提出了面向可适应性的产品平台设计参数规划方法．引入可适应设计理念,分析了产品平台结构及变型方式;以公理设计理论为指导,进行产品功能要求 设计参数的映射,建立公理设计矩阵;分析各设计参数之间及其与功能要求之间的敏感性,构建设计关联矩阵并对其进行关联度分析;然后通过变型产品关于设计参数的差异度计算,合理识别平台参数和变型参数,确定设计参数在产品平台中的共享策略．通过桥式起重机产品族的柔性配置实例,证明了该方法的可行性和实用性．     

Representation of function-form relationship for the conceptual design of stamped metal parts

Design representation of parts during conceptual design stage has been a challenging task because of the incompleteness of the information available. Traditional geometric design requires too much information on the geometric attributes, and does not consider the functionality of the part any more than that provided by individual features. Functional design in the form of verb, noun representation does not have adequate correlation with the geometric design. In this article, we propose a new form of the design representation of parts during conceptual design. The representation is calledsketching abstraction. In this representation, the discretionary geometry of the part that has functional relevance is captured using functional features, while the non-discretionary geometry is represented using a linkage mechanism. The functional features are related to the part function using data structures calledfunction-form matrices. The sketching abstraction is annotated with a set of primitives, and a grammar has been developed that parses the sketch to extract a set of canonical relationships between the functional features. These relationships can be used to extract part designs that are functionally similar but geometrically dissimilar. The sketching abstraction has a relationship with the solid model of the part as well. Thus we attempt to bridge the gap between function and form representations and provide the designer with a tool that can be used for generating design alternatives. We illustrate the theory developed in the domain of stamped metal parts.     

东南亚地区房间空调器能效标准解析

通过对东南亚地区房间空调器能效标准及其发展趋势的分析,发现东南亚地区房间空调器的测试标准和能效标准正处于升级阶段。各国能效测试标准主要参考国际标准ISO 16358-1:2013,并且根据各自地域气候条件相应调整与修订能效标准。研究结果有利于我国房间空调器出口产品平台的开发和模块化设计,提高产品开发效率。     

Design for variety: developing standardized and modularized product platform architectures

Developing a robust, product platform architecture brings an important competitive advantage to a company. The major benefits are reduced design effort and time-to-market for future generations of the product. This paper describes a step-by-step method that aids companies in developing such product platform architectures. Using the concept of specification "flows" within a product development project, the design for variety (DFV) method develops two indices to measure a product's architecture. The first index is the generational variety index (GVI), a measure for the amount of redesign effort required for future designs of the product. The second index is the coupling index (CI), a measure of the coupling among the product components. The design team uses these two indices to develop a decoupled architecture that requires less design effort for follow-on products. This paper describes the DFV method and uses a water cooler example to illustrate the method. Electronic Publication