Concurrent multifunction deployment (CMFD)

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a powerful tool for quality planning in product design. In the course of time, the QFD method has passed over several improvements and adaptations to meet specific requests of particular working environments. The current needs and challenges in developing radical innovative and life-cycle optimised products require a concurrent approach of product planning against a complex set of objective functions (e.g. quality, cost, assembly, manufacturing, environment, technology, service, disposal, etc.). An advanced form of QFD that integrates concepts of concurrent engineering for planning product development with respect to multi-objective functions is presented in this paper. This framework is called Concurrent Multifunction Deployment (CMFD). TRIZ method was initially exploited to determine the appropriate vectors of intervention in formulating the CMFD methodology. A systematic algorithm supports the CMFD deployment process. It takes into account results from the analysis, innovation and evaluation phases over the product design process, too, ensuring a superior integration of the planning activities within the product development process.     

State-of-the-art technologies and methodologies for collaborative product development systems

In order to facilitate product realisation processes, presently, research is actively being carried out to develop methodologies and technologies to support geographically dispersed teams to organise collaborative design based on the quickly evolving information technologies. A number of research works and commercial systems have appeared to provide solutions for collaborative and distributed product development, and the practical applications are getting more pervasive and mature. In this paper, the recently related works are summarised from three aspects—visualisation-based collaborative systems, co-design collaborative systems and CE (concurrent engineering)-based collaborative systems. Around these aspects, about 100 papers and 30 commercial systems/international standards published or launched recently are discussed. The current research and development statuses and issues, underlying algorithms, mechanisms and system architectures, and the future trends and challenges are explained and compared in detail.     

Manufacturing responsiveness through integrated process planning and scheduling

This paper describes a novel approach to improve manufacturing responsiveness, defined as the ability of a manufacturing system to make a rapid and balanced response to the predictable and unpredictable changes characterizing today's manufacturing environments. The approach aims at creating a dynamic environment that is capable of reacting to factory conditions and which has a significant impact on the reduction of cost, lead time and inventory. The concurrent engineering concept of information sharing to support all the product development phases is employed here. Techniques such as design for manufacture have been applied to the design-process planning interface. Efforts have been made towards eliminating the divisions between process and scheduling activities using the concept of resource elements, which are the exclusive and shared capability boundaries between processing elements in the manufacturing facility. A prototype integration system has been implemented consisting of a knowledge base with facility modelling functions, an intelligent feature-based design system, a featurebased process planning system and a simulation-based scheduling module.     

Topological properties that model feature-based representation conversions within concurrent engineering

One of the fundamental axioms of concurrent engineering is that undertaking functional design without foreseeing the manufacturing process leads to production delays and increased costs. This widely accepted concurrent engineering principle is given a formal basis by development of a mathematical model for the conversion of a feature-based design representation to a manufacturing representation. Within the domain of thin-walled components, it is shown that the conversion to tooling cost representations can result in a discontinuous function when the sets of design and manufacturing representations have been formulated as topological spaces. This discontinuity formally reflects the folklore that a small design change can significantly increase product cost. The mathematical sophistication required within this model is suggestive of why manufacturability evaluations can be quite difficult.     

并行工程环境下成形铸件制造工艺CAD／CAE系统

并行工程在发展中提出了合理产品设计／工艺设计新概念，在此基础上我们研究开发了一个以传热，热流及应力模拟为核心的铸件制造工艺ＣＡＤ／ＣＡＥ集成系统，系统既可独立运行，又可与并行环境下的产品集成起来，达到同时优化产品设计及工艺设计的目的。目前该系统在多家工厂得到应用，并逐步商品化。     

Design for global manufacturing and assembly

In this paper the author presents and tests new concurrent engineering strategies that focus on manufacturing and assembly operations with a global perspective. Specifically, the focus is upon new design for manufacturability and assembly (DFMA) strategies to support multi-facility, global operations. These DFMA strategies are more holistic than most published techniques in that they focus on total system approaches that explicitly consider product mix, process configuration, and capital procurement strategies, as well as tooling, design, and set-up costs associated with manufacture and assembly. Furthermore, the DFMA strategies presented here consider the cost of transportation logistics in multi-facility, global manufacturing, assembly, and distribution networks., A general mathematical formulation is presented and tested under realistic conditions. It is demonstrated that this model can be used for capacity planning and product sourcing for multiple part types in many facilities. Similarly, it can be used to examine the sensitivity of solutions to changes in various costs, productivity levels, or product configuration and mix assumptions at each facility. Test results demonstrate the efficacy of use of the formulation in general terms. Finally, a research agenda is posited for the future development of the strategies.     

Automated manufacturability evaluation system for sheet metal components in mass production

Automated manufacturability evaluation of a given design is a key requirement in realizing complete integration of design and process planning. It would still be better to control the designing process itself with manufacturability information. The purpose of such an evaluation is to assist designers in their effort to come up with manufacturable parts economizing in terms of cost and time, without compromising on quality and functional requirements. The present work deals with one such system developed for manufacturability evaluation of sheet metal components. Unlike most of the work done in the sheet metal area in the past, which concentrates on specific domain or phase of manufacturability evaluation, the present work is more comprehensive combining characteristics of all the existing methods and phases of manufacturability evaluation. The prime components of the present system are design evaluation and process plan generation. Design evaluator and process planner use different types of data and knowledge to identify design and process planning violations which are overcome by suggesting design changes. A process planner also uses manufacturing resource and process information to arrive at manufacturable parts by generating feasible process plans. Results of manufacturability evaluation are presented for typical sheet metal parts to be produced by bending and shearing (blanking and piercing) processes.     

复杂系统（产品）集成制造工程的技术研究与应用

基于现代集成制造的理念、方法、技术、工具,结合实践,提出并研究了一种能改善复杂产品研发时间（T）、质量（Q）、成本（C）、服务（S）的系统工程——称为“复杂系统（产品）集成制造工程”（简称COSIME）。阐述了它的内涵、系统框架和技术体系,并给出了其中具有特点的6类关键技术的阶段研究成果,包括基于人制管理及有关先进制造模式的复杂产品集成制造系统的经营管理模式;基于项目管理理念的异地企业间并行工程方法与技术;复杂产品虚拟样机工程方法与技术;基于分布仿真技术的复杂产品概念设计与性能评估系统;复杂产品质量控制与     

ExPlanTech: Applying multi-agent systems in production planning

This paper presents work carried out within the 'ExPlanTech' project (IST-1999-20171) funded in part by the European Commission's Information Technologies Programme. The mission of the ExPlanTech technology transfer project is to introduce, customize and exploit the multi-agent production planning technology (ProPlanT multi-agent system research prototype) in two specific industrial enterprises. An agent-driven service negotiations and decision process, based on usagecentred knowledge about task requirements, substitutes the traditional production planning activity. We introduce a methodology for integration of the projectdriven production planning based on agent-based engineering within the existing enterprise resource planning system. This novel production planning technology will facilitate optimization of resource utilization and supplier chain while meeting the customer demands. This paper describes a FIPA-compliant implementation of the ExPlanTech technology at the LIAZ Pattern Shop manufacturing company. We describe the structure of the agent community, types of agents, implementation of the planning strategy and its incorporation within the real production environment.     

Integrative process plan model and representation for intelligent distributed manufacturing planning

Process planning is one of the key functions for product design and manufacturing. Process plans have very great impact on all phases of product design and manufacture. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a high level of interaction between different product design activities and their tight integration into a coherent system. In this paper we describe a process plan model that allows for such integration. The framework for integration is briefly described and the process plan model that considers three dimensions of planning is explained. The manufacturing process plan model is defined as a three-dimensional model with the following dimensions: time/order, variability/alternatives, and aggregation. All three dimensions are defined and explained as they relate to overall manufacturing planning. The nature of these dimensions is illustrated with several examples. The implementation of the framework and the model within the distributed system IMPlanner is presented. The prototype has been implemented in the Java language and the model for data storage has been implemented in XML. The benefits of integrated consideration are described for several currently implemented applications such as feature modelling, process visualization, process network generation, cell formation, and scheduling.     

基于分布式产品模型并行设计过程评估方法

基于分布式设计问题概率模型、并行工程和计算机辅助设计软件工程的思想,研究了一种基于分布式设计环境下的服务于产品整个生命周期的集成化、智能化产品设计过程协同评估方法;目的是快速构造集成化产品设计过程评估模型,促进并入并行工程理念的协同设计活动顺利进行、提高产品设计质量和缩短产品研制周期的能力。给出了产品设计过程问题评估模型和分布式产品设计过程协同评估平台框架,并给出了应用实例。     

Project Management and Coordination of Distributed Cooperative Product Design in a Virtual Enterprise

The architecture of project management of distributed concurrent product design in a virtual enterprise is put forward. The process of project management and its functions are presented. Product design process coordination is also discussed. First, based on the analysis of traditional project management, project management and coordination of distributed cooperative product design in the virtual enterprise is put forward. Then, aiming at the characteristics of a distributed concurrent product design process, the inherent rules and complex interrelations in product development are studied. Accordingly, the architecture of project management of distributed cooperative product design in a virtual enterprise is presented to adapt to distributed concurrent development of complex products. The main advantages of the architecture are also discussed. Finally, the emphasis is placed on the project management process. Its main functions are set forth, such as projectdefinition, task decomposition and distribution, resource cortstraints and dynamic resource scheduling, process fusion, task scheduling and monitoring, project plan, cost and quality evaluation, etc.     

Agile manufacturing: Enablers and an implementation framework

Tougher competitive situations have led to increasing attention being paid to customer satisfaction, of which timely and customized services are the key concepts. As the product life cycle becomes shortened, high product quality becomes necessary for survival. Markets become highly diversified and global, and continuous and unexpected change become the key factors for success. The need for a method of rapidly and cost-effectively developing products, production facilities and supporting software, including design, process planning and shop floor control system has led to the concept of agile manufacturing. Agile manufacturing can be defined as the capability to survive and prosper in a competitive environment of continuous and unpredictable change by reacting quickly and effectively to changing markets, driven by customer-designed products and services. This article details the key concepts and enablers of agile manufacturing. The key enablers of agile manufacturing include: (i) virtual enterprise formation tools/metrics; (ii) physically distributed manufacturing architecture and teams; (iii) rapid partnership formation tools/metrics; (iv) concurrent engineering; (v) integrated product/production/business information system; (vi) rapid prototyping tools; and (vii) electronic commerce. A conceptual framework for the development of an agile manufacturing system and future research directions are presented in this paper. This framework takes into account the customization and system integration with the help of business process redesign, legal issues, concurrent engineering, computer-integrated manufacturing, cost management, total quality management and information technology.     

产品需求模型与并行设计的关系

通过对并行设计特点的分析，阐述了产品需求模型与并行设计过程的关系，提出了一种产品需求模型与并行设计的信息耦合模型，使并行设计阶段能够充分考虑顾客和产品生命周期各个环节的需求，达到缩短产品开发周期，降低成本，加快产品上市，提高竞争力的目的。     

面向分布式经济的产品服务系统设计研究及实践

目的在绿色发展和生态文明建设的背景下,探索近年来产品服务系统设计在促进经济、社会、环境可持续发展等领域的相关理论研究成果和实践应用。方法在分析分布式经济作为新兴经济体的五大基本模式(分布式可再生能源、分布式制造、分布式信息、分布式设计、分布式人力)及相对应的国内外典型实践案例,以及可持续产品服务系统(S.PSS)相关理论的基础上,归纳并概括出产品服务系统应用于分布式经济的的组织模式、层次结构及设计方法。最终结合欧盟LeNSin课题进行实践检验。结论以分布式经济为创新型经济模式,产品服务系统为组织形式的去中心化的生产与服务模式,能以更快的响应效率满足消费者多元化需求,充分利用本地化资源,减少能源物质的不必要损耗,从而实现可持续发展的目标。     

Incorporating manufacturability considerations during design of injection molded multi-material objects

The presence of an already molded component during the second and subsequent molding stages makes multi-material injection molding different from traditional injection molding process. Therefore, designing multi-material molded objects requires addressing many additional manufacturability considerations. In this paper, we first present an approach to systematically identifying potential manufacturability problems that are unique to the multi-material molding processes and design rules to avoid these problems. Then we present a comprehensive manufacturability analysis approach that incorporates both the traditional single material molding rules as well as the specific rules that have been identified for multi-material molding. Our analysis shows that sometimes the traditional rules need to be suppressed or modified. Lastly, for each of the new manufacturability problem, this paper describes algorithms for automatically detecting potential occurrences and generating redesign suggestions. These algorithms have been implemented in a computer-aided manufacturability analysis system. The approach presented in this paper is applicable to multi-shot and over molding processes. We expect that the manufacturability analysis techniques presented in this paper will help in decreasing the product development time for the injection molded multi-material objects.     

CONDENSE: A concurrent design evaluation system for product design

In dealing with the issue of integrating design and manufacturing, concurrent design evaluation plays an important role. This paper presents a concurrent design evaluation system (CONDENSE) developed to help product designers in evaluating possible design solutions and design alternatives during the early stage of design. It consists of two important functions: a qualitative aspect evaluation applied during the stage of searching for combinations of solution principles to help determine the design specifications, and a quantitative aspect evaluation applied to provide information on performance, assemblability, manufacturability and costs to facilitate design selection. The framework of CONDENSE is based on a blackboard architecture that requires the classification of knowledge into appropriate knowledge sources. As design data are interrelated and may have uncertainty, a graph decomposition algorithm is used in constructing the knowledge sources, and a linguistic evaluation module is integrated with the qualitative aspect evaluation subsystem to deal with data uncertainty. The proposed system has been validated with respect to the design of golf club heads. The results, which have been validated by experienced designers, are promising and can contribute to the speed-up of design and development, improvement of design quality and facilitation of design selection.     

支持概念设计的电子白板系统研究

建立了一个支持概念设计的电子白板系统．该系统结合集中式和分布式的特点，采用B／S框架结构．为不同地理位置、不同学科的设计人员提供一个实时协同的工作环境，以便共同完成概念设计阶段的活动和任务，能获取、共享及重用概念设计数据，有助于设计人员在设计早期进行创新思维。     

基于并行工程的产品CAD系统研究

在产品ＣＡＤ过程中，使用并行工程是提高设计质量、缩短设计制造周期、减低生产成本的有效途径之一，本文在分析研究的基础上，提出了基于并行工程的产品ＣＡＤ系统的结构、特点及其实现方法。     

Requirements management: an enabler for concurrent engineering in the automotive industry

Defining and agreeing the product requirements is especially important when the design and manufacture of a system is part of an Extended Enterprise. To realize an all-inclusive concurrent engineering process, tools for the upstream design activities are needed. In practice, it is often difficult for the companies to have a shared understanding of what needs to be developed, and so specifications contain ambiguities in describing the product requirements. This paper clarifies the problem domain in the context of a complex product, designed and manufactured in a pan-national Extended Enterprise and serving a highly competitive market. The authors show how the challenge can be addressed through the application of ontology. A model of a requirements-management tool is proposed that will allow the various systems and associated levels of a product to be described and then shared through the supply chain. A prototype system is presented and illustrated through a case study from the automotive industry.