scholarly journals On the integration of product and process models in engineering design

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia M. Eckert ◽  
David C. Wynn ◽  
Jakob F. Maier ◽  
Albert Albers ◽  
Nikola Bursac ◽  
...  

Models of products and design processes are key to interacting with engineering designs and managing the processes by which they are developed. In practice, companies maintain networks of many interrelated models which need to be synthesised in the minds of their users when considering issues that cut across them. This article considers how information from product and design process models can be integrated with a view to help manage these complex interrelationships. A framework highlighting key issues surrounding model integration is introduced and terminology for describing these issues is developed. To illustrate the framework and terminology, selected modelling approaches that integrate product and process information are discussed and organised according to their levels and forms of integration. Opportunities for further work to advance integrated modelling in engineering design research and practice are discussed.

Author(s):  
LeRoy E. Taylor ◽  
Mark R. Henderson

Abstract This paper describes the roles of features and abstraction mechanisms in the mechanical design process, mechanical designs, and product models of mechanical designs. It also describes the relationship between functions and features in mechanical design. It is our experience that many research efforts exist in the areas of design and product modeling and, further, that these efforts must be cataloged and compared. To this end, this paper culminates with the presentation of a multi-dimensional abstraction space which provides a unique framework for (a) comparing mechanical engineering design research efforts, (b) relating conceptual objects used in the life cycle of mechanical products, and (c) defining a product modeling space.


2012 ◽  
pp. 1613-1637
Author(s):  
William Stuart Miller ◽  
Joshua D. Summers

A new design process modeling approach focused on the information flow through design tools is discussed in this chapter. This approach is applied to three long term mechanical engineering design projects spanning 24 months, 12 months, and 4 months. These projects are used to explore the development of the new modeling approach. This is a first step in a broader effort in 1) modeling of design processes, 2) establishing case study research as a formal approach to design research, and 3) developing new design process tools. The ability of engineers to understand the dynamic nature of information throughout the design processes is critical to their ability to complete these tasks. Such understanding promotes learning and further exploration of the design process allowing the improvement of process models, the establishment of new research approaches, and the development of new tools. Thus, enhancing this understanding is the goal of this research effort.


Author(s):  
Alexander N. Brezing ◽  
Manuel Lo¨wer

It is generally accepted that superior products result from a balanced consideration of both “technology” and “aesthetic design”. Nonetheless, the gap between the two professions of the “design engineer” and the “industrial designer” has not been bridged since their origination in the course of industrialization [7]. One possible approach to enhance the collaboration of both disciplines is to teach the basics of the respective other’s. In Germany, the main work following this approach of trying to prepare engineers for design collaborations is the VDI guideline 2424 (“The Industrial Design Process”) [21], which was worked out and released in three parts from 1984 to 1988 by a group of engineering design researchers and industrial designers. As no accepted industrial design theory could be identified at that time, the authors of the guideline tried to apply some of engineering design methodology’s proven methods taken from the VDI guideline 2221 [19] that seemed to fit to industrial design. That approach ultimately failed, as the authors of the guideline had to conclude themselves in the opening remarks of its last part [21]. Even if the guideline is still officially in use for the lack of a replacement, it is hardly used in engineering education. Since then however, accepted theoretical approaches have been produced by industrial design research that allow for the definition of an interdisciplinary theory on product development. This paper introduces these approaches and arranges them together with models of engineering design methodology to serve as a basis for a design theory that explains both domains’ competences and responsibilities. A function-oriented product model is set up that illustrates existing interdependencies by classifying a technical product/project according to the relative importance of its technical function (engineering’s competence) on the one hand and its semiotic functions (industrial design’s competence) on the other. The realization of industrial design’s competence as signification and the organization of its devices according to the model of semiotic functions explain existing organizational problems of interdisciplinary design practice. It is demonstrated why industrial design cannot proceed according a purely technical design process such as the one defined in the VDI guideline 2221 and what implications that has on interdisciplinary design projects.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-98
Author(s):  
Jerzy Pokojski ◽  
Łukasz Woźnicki

AbstractIn the paper product and design process modeling on the basis of speed reducer is presented. The paper proposes to build the product and process models and parallel to that carry out the project activities as these models reflect the detailed structure of the projects.The most important feature of the proposed approach is its possibility to model only important parts of the models and to keep track of the development of their chronological paths. The approach may be treated as a partial CPM/MOKA model or as network-integrated CPM/MOKA models.


Author(s):  
Li Zhao ◽  
Yan Jin

Abstract Collaborative engineering involves multiple engineers and managers working together to develop engineering products. As the engineering problems become more and more complicated, new technologies are required to achieve better effectiveness and efficiency. While process models management and technologies have been developed to support engineering design, most of them apply only to routine design tasks and do not explicitly deal with the change of processes during execution. Our research proposes a process-driven framework to support collaborative engineering. The framework is composed of a process model that captures both high level and low level activity dependencies, an agent network that monitors process execution and facilitates coordination among engineers, and a Petri-net based modeling tool to represent and analyze process features and predict the performance of engineering processes. In this paper, we first describe a simple collaborative design problem and our proposed ActivePROCESS collaborative engineering framework. After that we present our Petri-net based analytical model of collaborative design process and discuss the model along with a case example.


Author(s):  
Derrick Tate ◽  
John Chandler ◽  
A. Dean Fontenot ◽  
Susan Talkmitt

AbstractPublic perception of engineering recognizes its importance to national and international competitiveness, economy, quality of life, security, and other fundamental areas of impact; but uncertainty about engineering among the general public remains. Federal funding trends for education underscore many of the concerns regarding teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects in primary through grade 12 (P-12) education. Conflicting perspectives on the essential attributes that comprise the engineering design process results in a lack of coherent criteria against which teachers and administrators can measure the validity of a resource, or assess its strengths and weaknesses, or grasp incongruities among competing process models. The literature suggests two basic approaches for representing engineering design: a phase-based, life cycle-oriented approach; and an activity-based, cognitive approach. Although these approaches serve various teaching and functional goals in undergraduate and graduate engineering education, as well as in practice, they tend to exacerbate the gaps in P-12 engineering efforts, where appropriate learning objectives that connect meaningfully to engineering are poorly articulated or understood. In this article, we examine some fundamental problems that must be resolved if preengineering is to enter the P-12 curriculum with meaningful standards and is to be connected through learning outcomes, shared understanding of engineering design, and other vestiges to vertically link P-12 engineering with higher education and the practice of engineering. We also examine historical aspects, various pedagogies, and current issues pertaining to undergraduate and graduate engineering programs. As a case study, we hope to shed light on various kinds of interventions and outreach efforts to inform these efforts or at least provide some insight into major factors that shape and define the environment and cultures of the two institutions (including epistemic perspectives, institutional objectives, and political constraints) that are very different and can compromise collaborative efforts between the institutions of P-12 and higher education.


Author(s):  
Zhi-Nan Zhang ◽  
Ze-Lin Liu ◽  
Yong Chen ◽  
You-Bai Xie

Engineering design is a structured and systematic process of finding solutions to meet certain requirements. Research in this field has focused heavily on developing more effective and efficient product realization process models. Today’s engineering design has become a knowledge intensive and collaborative process, requiring multidisciplinary design knowledge. Therefore, the modeling of knowledge flow plays a key role in determining a successful design alternative, which provides valuable insights into design problems for designers. This article proposes an ontological framework, purpose-function-working space-structure-behavior (PFWSB) for knowledge representation and knowledge flow based design process modeling. An illustrative case is also presented to demonstrate how to use the proposed framework to represent engineering design knowledge and describe the knowledge flow between decision makers during a design process. The results show that this framework can help designers capture the flow of knowledge in engineering design process more effectively.


Author(s):  
Jacquelyn K. S. Nagel ◽  
Robert B. Stone ◽  
Daniel A. McAdams

Engineering design is considered a creative field that involves many activities with the end goal of a new product that fulfills a purpose. Utilization of systematic methods or tools that aid in the design process is recognized as standard practice in industry and academia. The tools are used for a number of design activities (i.e., idea generation, concept generation, inspiration searches, functional modeling) and can span across engineering disciplines, the sciences (i.e., biology, chemistry) or a non-engineering domain (i.e., medicine), with an overall focus of encouraging creative engineering designs. Engineers, however, have struggled with utilizing the vast amount of biological information available from the natural world around them. Often it is because there is a knowledge gap or terminology is difficult, and the time needed to learn and understand the biology is not feasible. This paper presents an engineering-to-biology thesaurus, which we propose affords engineers, with limited biological background, a tool for leveraging nature’s ingenuity during many steps of the design process. Additionally, the tool could also increase the probability of designing biologically-inspired engineering solutions. Biological terms in the thesaurus are correlated to the engineering domain through pairing with a synonymous function or flow term of the Functional Basis lexicon, which supports functional modeling and abstract representation of any functioning system. The second version of the thesaurus presented in this paper represents an integration of three independent research efforts, which include research from Oregon State University, the University of Toronto, and the Indian Institute of Science, and their industrial partners. The overall approach for term integration and the final results are presented. Applications to the areas of design inspiration, comprehension of biological information, functional modeling, creative design and concept generation are discussed. An example of comprehension and functional modeling are presented.


Author(s):  
Maiara Rosa ◽  
Henrique Rozenfeld

AbstractThis paper is contextualized in a research project that aims to create a new paradigm to support the design process, substituting the sequential nature of design process models by a flexible structure. To implement this paradigm, we must identify the final and intermediate results of the design process, such as documents, models, artefacts, among others. However, design research is wide and multidisciplinary, resulting in non-uniformity of the terminology across research communities, what hinders the results identification by means of a literature review. This paper aims to identify the terms employed by different research communities to refer to the intermediate and final results of the design process, structuring synonym terms across research communities and establishing how those terms interrelate in the design ontology. Using literature review, the following terms were analysed: design objects, elements, deliverables, entities, information, components, data, and artefacts. The results provide a holistic view of how the terms are employed throughout research communities, supporting the creation of search strings and pointing out opportunities for improving the design ontology.


Author(s):  
Alyona Sharunova ◽  
Mehwish Butt ◽  
Suzanne Kresta ◽  
Jason Carey ◽  
Loren Wyard-Scott ◽  
...  

 Abstract - Contemporary engineering product design and development no longer adheres to the boundaries of a single discipline and has become tightly integrated, often relying on interaction of multiple disciplines for completion of integrated product design projects. In order to design these products, design and development practice has transcended the discipline boundaries to become a transdisciplinary engineering design process. A collaboration of specialists from different engineering disciplines is required to develop efficient solutions to interdisciplinary problems of product design. Despite this shift from mono-disciplinary to transdisciplinary, the engineering design curriculum remains focused on teaching discipline specific design practice through skill based subject specific pedagogy with a limited emphasis on the importance of design process and transdisciplinarity in the design process. As a result, new graduates starting in design and development organizations face a difficulty finding a common basis of understanding of disciplines’ interactions and must go through a process of often implicit ‘onboarding’ to understand the transdisciplinary engineering design process. This can be avoided by developing and adapting undergraduate design process education in line with industrial demands. This paper proposes a theoretical framework based on empirical engineering design research in industry, educational psychology and teaching approaches such as Bloom’s Taxonomy and Kolb’s Model of Experiential Learning for developing the core elements of a transdisciplinary engineering design process curriculum.


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