Defining Product Architecture During Conceptual Design

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin R. Allen ◽  
Susan Carlson-Skalak
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Product Development ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Development Time ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Small Company ◽  
Product Lines ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Modular Products

Abstract Product architecture can have a significant impact on a product’s life-cycle and its development time. Modular product architecture allows for easy disassembly upon product retirement and allows for wide product variety. In a small company, the team structure of the company can correspond to the modules, and modules can be used across product lines. By using similar modules from one generation to the next, product development time can be reduced. The methodology described in this paper gives a small company the framework from which to develop modular products.

Development of Product Options for Modular Product Development

2011 ◽  
Vol 55-57 ◽  
pp. 2147-2152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Bin Kong ◽  
Xin Guo Ming ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Huai Liang Zuo
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Prototype System ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Modular Products ◽  
Manufacture Plant

Modular product development plays an important role in helping manufacturing companies provide product variety rapidly in achieving competitive advantages. The development of product options plays a significant role by providing a selecting list for customizing, and has a key impact on the development of modular products. A process for product options development has been developed to guide the activities of determining product options and their values. And mathematical models have been brought forward to support decision-makings within the proposed process. A prototype system based on this process and mathematical models has been developed and tested in a machine manufacture plant, with satisfactory results.

A Genetic Algorithm for Developing Modular Product Architectures

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian-Li Yu ◽  
Ali A. Yassine ◽  
David E. Goldberg
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Algorithm ◽  
Minimum Description Length ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Modular Products ◽  
Design Structure ◽  
Development Literature ◽  
Industrial Gas Turbine ◽  
Optimal Set

The architecture of a product is determined by both the elements that compose the product and the way in which they interact with each other. In this paper, we use the design structure matrix (DSM) as a tool to capture this architecture. Designing modular products can result in many benefits to both consumers and manufacturers. The development of modular products requires the identification of highly interactive groups of elements and arranging (i.e. clustering) them into modules. However, no rigorous DSM clustering technique can be found in product development literature. This paper presets a review of the basic DSM building blocks used in the identification of product modules. The DSM representation and building blocks are used to develop a new DSM clustering tool based on a genetic algorithm (GA) and the minimum description length (MDL) principle. The new tool is capable of partitioning the product architecture into an “optimal” set of modules or sub-systems. We demonstrate this new clustering method using an example of a complex product architecture for an industrial gas turbine.

Toward a Method for Improving Product Architecture Solutions by Integrating Designs for Assembly, Disassembly and Maintenance

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Dagman ◽  
Rikard Söderberg
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Product Development ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Maintenance And Repair

New customer demands and increased legislation drive business-oriented companies into new business models focusing on the entire life cycle of the product. This forces the manufacturing companies into service-oriented solutions as a compliment to the original business areas. Takata [1] postulates that “the goal is no longer to produce products in an efficient way, but rather to provide the functions needed by society while minimizing material and energy consumption”. This new situation affects the product requirements as well as product development process (PD). When focusing on the entire product life cycle, product aspects such as maintenance and repair will receive more attention since the companies will be responsible for them. In the product development process of today, especially in the automotive industry, maintenance and repair aspects (repair and maintenance methods and manuals, for example) are currently taken care of when the product is more or less fully developed. Maintenance and repair requirements are difficult to quantify in terms of core product properties (for vehicles, cost, CO2 emissions, weight, and so on). This leads to difficulties in equally considering maintenance and repair requirements while balancing vast amounts of product requirements. This paper focuses on a comparison and discussion of existing design guidelines affecting the structure and organization of parts in an assembled consumer product, such as Design for Assembly (DFA), Design for Maintenance (DFMa), Design for Service (DFS) and Design for Disassembly (DFD) methods. A tool for evaluation and analyzing product architecture as well as assemblability and maintainability is proposed.

ORGANISING FOR MODULARITY IN DYNAMIC MARKETS

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 1250010 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAXIMILIAN HANS PASCHE ◽  
MAGNUS PERSSON
Keyword(s):  
Product Variety ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Product Structure ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Strategic Flexibility ◽  
Organisational Structure ◽  
Dynamic Markets ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Organisational Factors ◽  
Over Time

Facing constantly increasing product variety and changing customer demands, many companies have adopted a product modularisation strategy to increase strategic flexibility. Despite the dominant view that product modularisation directly increases strategic flexibility, it is argued here that the causal link between product modularisation and strategic flexibility is mediated by specific complementary organisational factors which enable firms with a modular product structure to develop strategic flexibility. Moreover, the interrelationship between product architecture and organisational structure is regarded as reciprocal. That is, product architecture and organisational structure are considered to co-evolve and mutually influence each other. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate how firms applying a modularisation strategy organise in order to increase the strategic flexibility, and how the organisational structure is interrelated with the product architecture, especially the ability to maintain a modular product architecture over time. Two International automotive companies, both of them implemented a modularisation strategy in the mid-1990s, have been studied. From the cases it can be concluded that the alignment of product and organisational architecture, decision-making structures, and the management of knowledge affect a firm's ability to evolve its products and maintain a modular product structure over time.

scholarly journals Leveraging Innovation Resources for Modular Products under Open Innovation Scenarios Using Fuzzy Distance Method

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hai-jun Wang ◽  
Chao-hui Shu
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Distance Method ◽  
Manufacturing Enterprises ◽  
Fuzzy Distance ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Modular Products ◽  
Product Modularity ◽  
Cooperative Relationship

In an open innovation environment, it is meaningful for manufacturing enterprises targeting global markets to integrate qualified innovation resources. In this paper, the linkage between product modularity and open innovation is first discussed, revealing a role that modular product architecture plays in linking enterprises’ innovation requirements and innovation resources as external innovation inputs. Next, indices for evaluating external innovation resources are developed. An evaluation method based on fuzzy distance is then proposed, which is intended to select optimal resources for the core modules of modular product architecture. A modular product of Haier Group is used as a typical case to verify the proposed method. Consistent evaluation results of innovation resources are achieved for different decision-making attitudes. Another finding regarding the case enterprise is that the resource management mechanisms it employs lead to a win-win cooperative relationship with its partners.

Scenario-Based Determination of Alternative Product Architecture Designs

2014 ◽  
Vol 1018 ◽  
pp. 555-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Günther Schuh ◽  
Michael Schiffer ◽  
Casimir Ortlieb
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Product Differentiation ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Alternative Scenario ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Alternative Product ◽  
Reducing Costs ◽  
High Degree

Today many producing companies face two major challenges: they have to maintain a high degree of product differentiation whilst reducing costs through economies of scale. One way to face these challenges is the development of modular product architectures that allow to produce a number of product variants and product generations using one single architecture. The complexity for the product development has thereby increased since expected future changes in products have to be anticipated in the designing process to minimize modification costs. The more robust a product architecture is regarding future changes, the longer an architecture can be used which directly translates into economic advantages for the company. Most companies though struggle to apply the required processes and tools to develop scenario-robust product architectures for their portfolio. This paper aims at the presentation of a methodology to develop alternative, scenario-robust product architecture designs.

The impact of product architecture on global operations network design

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Pashaei ◽  
Jan Olhager
Keyword(s):  
Product Architecture ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Modular Products ◽  
Key Technologies ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Global Operations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Assembly Plants

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how integral and modular product architectures influence the design properties of the global operations network. Design/methodology/approach The authors perform a multiple-case study of three global manufacturing companies, using interviews, seminars and structured questionnaires to identify ideal design properties. Findings The authors find that the choice of integral vs modular product architecture lead to significant differences in the preferred design properties of global operations networks concerning number of key technologies in-house, number of capable plants, focus at assembly plants, distance between assembly plant and market, and number of key supplier sites. Two of these were identified through this research, i.e. the number of capable plants and number of key supplier sites. The authors make a distinction between component and assembly plants, which adds detail to the understanding of the impact of product architecture on global operations. In addition, they develop five propositions that can be tested in further survey research. Research limitations/implications This study is restricted to three large manufacturing companies with global operations. However, the authors investigated both integral and modular products at these three companies and their associated global operations network. Still, further case or survey research involving a broader set of companies is warranted. Practical implications The key aspects for integral products are to have many key technologies in-house, concentration of production at a few capable plants, and economies-of-scale at assembly plants, while long distances between assembly plants and markets as well as few key supplier sites are acceptable. For modular products, the key aspects are many capable plants, economies-of-scope at assembly plants, short distance between assembly plants and markets, and many key supplier sites, while key technologies do not necessarily have to reside in-house – these can be accessed via key suppliers. Originality/value This paper is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first study on the explicit impact of product architecture on global operations networks, especially considering the internal manufacturing network.

scholarly journals Modular product architecture to manage product development complexity

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Mohammed Alkahtani ◽  
Petri Helo ◽  
Sujan Piya ◽  
Ahm Shamsuzzoha
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Modular Product

scholarly journals Modular product architecture to manage product development complexity

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 225
Author(s):  
Ahm Shamsuzzoha ◽  
Petri Helo ◽  
Sujan Piya ◽  
Mohammed Alkahtani
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Modular Product
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