Eric Lutters

Bio: Eric Lutters is an academic researcher from University of Twente. The author has contributed to research in topics: New product development & Product design. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 28 publications receiving 230 citations.

Tools and techniques for product design

Abstract: For product designers, tools and techniques are essential in driving the design cycle. Nevertheless, their employment usually is implicit, while passing over e.g. the design and project environments empowering their adequate use. This publication presents an overview of approaches in structuring and using tools/techniques, based on the effectuation of creativity and decision-making in the design environment. In elaborating on characteristics of tools/techniques and ensuing ways of selecting them, the designer's portfolio of tools/techniques is characterised. Representative problems of tool/technique usage are depicted and contextualised by illustrating their industrial application. Prospects for future developments are also reviewed

Pilot production environments driven by digital twins

Abstract: Establishing production environments requires joint decision-making by stakeholders from many disciplines at different levels of aggregation, because of the significant, unpredictable, and risky investments involved. Pilot plants offer a platform to develop, test, improve, and upscale (parts of) a production environment. They consist of physical and virtual components that are integrated, based on the digital twin concept. This concept synthesises sensoring/measurement ( in situ and ex situ ) with the modelling and simulation of existing and evolving resources/processes at operational, tactical, and strategic levels. Virtual dashboards supplement the pilot plant to provide an insightful basis for decision-making for all the perspectives and stakeholders involved.

Model Driven Engineering

Abstract: The Object Management Group's (OMG) Model Driven Architecture (MDA) strategy envisages a world where models play a more direct role in software production, being amenable to manipulation and transformation by machine. Model Driven Engineering (MDE) is wider in scope than MDA. MDE combines process and analysis with architecture. This article sets out a framework for model driven engineering, which can be used as a point of reference for activity in this area. It proposes an organisation of the modelling 'space' and how to locate models in that space. It discusses different kinds of mappings between models. It explains why process and architecture are tightly connected. It discusses the importance and nature of tools. It identifies the need for defining families of languages and transformations, and for developing techniques for generating/configuring tools from such definitions. It concludes with a call to align metamodelling with formal language engineering techniques.

Design for additive manufacturing: trends, opportunities, considerations, and constraints

Abstract: The past few decades have seen substantial growth in Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies. However, this growth has mainly been process-driven. The evolution of engineering design to take advantage of the possibilities afforded by AM and to manage the constraints associated with the technology has lagged behind. This paper presents the major opportunities, constraints, and economic considerations for Design for Additive Manufacturing. It explores issues related to design and redesign for direct and indirect AM production. It also highlights key industrial applications, outlines future challenges, and identifies promising directions for research and the exploitation of AM's full potential in industry.

Design for Additive Manufacturing

Abstract: Design for manufacture and assembly (DFM) has typically meant that designers should tailor their designs to eliminate manufacturing difficulties and minimize manufacturing, assembly, and logistics costs. However, the capabilities of additive manufacturing technologies provide an opportunity to rethink DFM to take advantage of the unique capabilities of these technologies. As mentioned in Chap. 16, several companies are now using AM technologies for production manufacturing. For example, Siemens, Phonak, Widex, and the other hearing aid manufacturers use selective laser sintering and stereolithography machines to produce hearing aid shells; Align Technology uses stereolithography to fabricate molds for producing clear dental braces (“aligners”); and Boeing and its suppliers use polymer powder bed fusion (PBF) to produce ducts and similar parts for F-17 fighter jets. For hearing aids and dental aligners, AM machines enable manufacturing of tens to hundreds of thousands of parts, where each part is uniquely customized based upon person-specific geometric data. In the case of aircraft components, AM technology enables low-volume manufacturing, easy integration of design changes and, at least as importantly, piece part reductions to greatly simplify product assembly.

Exploring product design quality control and assurance under both traditional and crowdsourcing-based design environments

Abstract: Small and medium-sized enterprises face the challenges that they do not have enough employees and related resources to produce high-quality products with limited budget and time. The emergence of c...