Showing papers in "Journal of Engineering Design in 2018"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a conceptual framework for design for additive manufacturing (DfAM), which is based on a generic design process model and consists of five parts: Conceptual design, Embodiment design, Detail design and Process planning and process selection.
Abstract: Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) is a growing field of enquiry. Over the past few years, the scientific community has begun to explore this topic to provide a basis for supporting professional design practice. However, current knowledge is still largely fragmented, difficult to access and inconsistent in language and presentation. This paper seeks to collate and organise this dispersed but growing body of knowledge, using a single and coherent conceptual framework. The framework is based on a generic design process model and consists of five parts: Conceptual design, Embodiment design, Detail design and Process planning and Process selection. 81 articles on DfAM are mapped onto the framework to provide, for the first time, a clear summary of the state of the art across the whole design process. Nine directions for the future of DfAM research are then proposed.
73 citations
TL;DR: The extent to which practitioners are knowledgeable and experienced in designing components for series production using additive manufacturing (AM) remains poorly understood as discussed by the authors, with additional evidence provided by semi-structured interviews with 18 designers.
Abstract: Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies are widely adopted in design practice for prototyping. However, the extent to which practitioners are knowledgeable and experienced in designing components for series production using AM remains poorly understood. This study presents the results of an online survey aimed at uncovering this emerging design activity, with additional evidence provided by semi-structured interviews with 18 designers. One hundred ten practising designers responded. The majority of the respondents remain sceptical about the potential for AM as a process for series production, citing cost and technical capabilities as key barriers. Only 23 reported experience in designing components for series production using AM, with the majority of these designing parts to be produced from plastic. The survey revealed that these designers have developed their own ‘design rules’ based primarily on personal experience. These rules, however, tended to focus on ensuring ‘printability’ and did not provide s...
66 citations
TL;DR: A methodology for generating association rules for supporting affective design based on onlineCustomer reviews is proposed which mainly involves opinion mining of affective dimensions from online customer reviews and association rule mining based on multi-objective particle swarm optimisation (PSO).
Abstract: Affective design is an important aspect of new product development that can enhance customer satisfaction of new products. Previous studies generally conducted customer surveys based on que...
48 citations
TL;DR: The focus of the research has shifted over time, from computer-aided design and design methodology to design epistemology and design cognition, and the concept of the co-evolution of problem and solution is developed.
Abstract: This is an invited paper reviewing my personal design research history, covering 50 years of involvement since the mid-1960s. The focus of my research has shifted over time, from computer-aided design and design methodology to design epistemology and design cognition. In CAD I assessed its effectiveness and implications for design professions, and how AI research in design might inform understanding of design cognition. In design methodology, I developed a model that integrates procedural aspects of design process with structural aspects of design problems. In design epistemology, I developed concepts of designerly ways of knowing and design as a discipline. In design cognition, I conducted protocol studies of design activity and studied design expertise, and developed the concept of the co-evolution of problem and solution. A general progression in the work has been from aiding and supporting design practice towards more fundamental understanding of design as a discipline.
39 citations
TL;DR: A machine learning-based affective design dynamic mapping approach (MLADM) is proposed to overcome challenges of collecting consumers’ affective responses extensively, dynamically and automatically.
Abstract: Affective design has received more and more attention. Kansei engineering is widely used to transform consumers’ affective needs into product design. Yet many previous studies used question...
37 citations
TL;DR: This work aims at combining the potentialities of TRIZ with the benefits claimed for the PSN, by proposing a comprehensive integration procedure.
Abstract: Systematic design methods are widely diffused in academia, representing a standard in many engineering courses. Nevertheless, some flaws related to the conceptual design phase have been ascribed to these methods, especially concerning a non-comprehensive support to innovation. However, literature acknowledges several creativity-enhancing tools that can be conveniently combined with systematic design methods. In particular, many scholars refer to TRIZ, i.e. the well-known Russian problem-solving theory. Moreover, recent literature contributions propose some alternatives to the classical Functional Decomposition and Morphology (FDM), claiming to overcome some of the related flaws. One of them is the Problem Solution Network (PSN) approach, i.e. a systematic conceptual design method strongly based on a problem-solution co-evolutionary logic. In this context, our work aims at combining the potentialities of TRIZ with the benefits claimed for the PSN, by proposing a comprehensive integration procedure. Accordingly, this paper reports a detailed description of the proposal, where TRIZ tools are exploited to support problem solving within the PSN approach. Furthermore, an application is also reported where an industrial case study is presented to argue about possible potentialities and lacks of the proposed approach.
36 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a text mining method was proposed to extract affective intentions and affective responses from the online product description and consumer reviews, which can help manufacturers to improve their products and services.
Abstract: The current product design not only takes into account the function and reliability, but also concerns about the affective aspects in order to meet the consumers’ emotional needs. However, there is always a gap between affective intentions of manufacturers and affective responses of consumers. Traditional methods rely on manual surveys to understand the gap, which is costly, time-consuming and in a small scale. In this paper, we propose a text mining method to extract affective intentions and affective responses from the online product description and consumer reviews. We build an affective profile for each product to visualise the gap between affective responses and affective intentions of the product. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, a case study is conducted based on the public data from Amazon.com. We construct affective profiles for selected products and analyze affective gaps. We also evaluate the usefulness of the extracted affective information in product recommendations. The results showed that the gap between consumer's affective responses and manufacturer's affective intentions can be identified and visualised, which may help manufacturers to improve their products and services. Affective information is also useful for product recommendations.
30 citations
TL;DR: A means to foster the transition of academic methods to industrial practice through a comprehensible and comprehensive design automation task categorisation that allows practitioners to grasp the opportunities state-of-the-art design automation offers.
Abstract: Engineering design automation has been an active field of research and application for more than five decades. Despite a multitude of available methods stemming from research fields such as Knowled...
24 citations
TL;DR: A model-based framework is presented, which supports the interdisciplinary development process and enables the integration of standardised properties through model libraries and can be used to analyse possible interdisciplinary impacts in the case of required changes.
Abstract: Over the past years, the design of production systems has changed rapidly towards complex mechatronic systems, tightly integrating mechanics, electronics and software The development of such integ
22 citations
TL;DR: Affective product design, which aims to satisfy customer feelings as an aspect of product quality, has attracted more and more research attention, and with the help of domain ontology to connect design properties and corresponding affections, product affective properties can be identified and prioritised.
Abstract: Affective product design, which aims to satisfy customer feelings as an aspect of product quality, has attracted more and more research attention. However, conventional product design relies on sur...
21 citations
TL;DR: The study entrusts figures about the foreseeable growth of the intensity of research displayed by classes of methods supporting different functions in Product Planning with a frame of reference that classifies Product Planning methods beyond the classical distinction between responsive and proactive approaches.
Abstract: Many scholars argue that very early design phases are not supported adequately in many respects, although they are at the cornerstone of successful new product development. Difficulties in developing appropriate methods emerge because of the need to account for uncertainties and ambiguities that feature the Fuzzy Front End. This is likely the reason behind the limited industrial adoption of existing design methods, especially those that are oriented to support Product Planning. In this context, the thrust of the paper is the attempt to identify key activities and functions featuring Product Planning. The study entrusts figures about the foreseeable growth of the intensity of research displayed by classes of methods supporting different functions in Product Planning. As the data, emerging from the application of S-curves, indicate no preferential direction in the medium term, other phenomena are monitored that might overturn the conventional systematic course of action to design in the early stages. The ‘trial-and-error’ learning approach characterising agile strategies can be seen as a partial answer to the expected demise of research about Product Planning. Beyond these conclusions, the paper includes a frame of reference that classifies Product Planning methods (adequately reviewed) beyond the classical distinction between responsive and proactive approaches.
TL;DR: An alternative approach that utilises crowdsourcing to first summarise patents and then applies text analysis tools to assess the summarising text in relation to three affective parameters: appearance, ease of use, and semantics is set out.
Abstract: This research sets out a new interpretation of the patent database using affective design parameters. While this resource contains a vast quantity of technical information, its extraction and use in practical design settings is extremely challenging. Until now, all filing and subsequent landscaping or profiling of patents has been based on their technical characteristics. We set out an alternative approach that utilises crowdsourcing to first summarise patents and then applies text analysis tools to assess the summarising text in relation to three affective parameters: appearance, ease of use, and semantics. The results been used to create novel patent clusters that provide an alternative perspective on relevant technical data, and support user-centric engineering design. The workflow and tasks to effectively interface with the crowd are outlined, and the process for harvesting and processing responses using a combination of manual and computational analysis is reviewed. The process creates sets of descriptive words for each patent which differ significantly from those created using only functional requirements, and support a new paradigm for the use of big data in engineering design – one that utilises desirable affective qualities as the basis for scouring and presenting relevant functional patent information for concept generation and development.
TL;DR: It is argued that capacity building for a systems design approach to complex societal problems, such as those faced in low-income energy markets, can support future generations of design engineers to take an active role in the development and widespread implementation of sustainable energy systems.
Abstract: Design education has devoted little attention to the topic of societal systems transformation in the context of sustainable development. This paper reports on a master‘s-level course that aims to build the capacity for design engineering students to adopt a Systems Design Approach comprised of the integration of Product-Service System (PSS) and Systems Thinking, in order to develop sustainable energy systems concepts. We identify key factors for skilful performance when designing solutions for complex societal problems. The findings suggest that design approaches grounded in systems thinking are promising for dealing with the increasing complexity of the societal problems which future generations of design professionals are expected to solve. An Open Learning E-Package (OLEP) was offered to support Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to introduce Product-Services Systems and Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) models into their design curricula. We argue that capacity building for a systems design approach to complex societal problems, such as those faced in low-income energy markets, can support future generations of design engineers to take an active role in the development and widespread implementation of sustainable energy systems.
TL;DR: A novel framework is proposed to help practitioners achieve the following goals: to construct a product platform for developing innovative tablets and efficient to derive insightful decision rules for targeting the ad-hoc user groups.
Abstract: To survive in a fiercely competitive market, global companies must effectively capture user requirements, perceptions, and preferences and efficiently convert them into attractive product design an...
TL;DR: In this paper, the automotive industry has changed fundamentally in recent decades owing to trends such as less vertical integration, global sourcing, simultaneous engineering, and the evolution of the automotive supply chain.
Abstract: Supplier relationships in the automotive industry have changed fundamentally in recent decades owing to trends such as less vertical integration, global sourcing, simultaneous engineering, and the ...
TL;DR: This approach can help the designers completing the conceptual design synthesis of simple design missions or elementary functional modules of complex design missions with series-parallel-structured synthesis results.
Abstract: Conceptual design synthesis is the core and starting phase of the design process. During this phase, the designers should deal with a large number of design resources to construct conceptual systems which meet the functional requirement. Therefore, a conceptual design synthesis approach based on series-parallel function unit structure is proposed as an assistant tool for the designers. This approach can help the designers completing the conceptual design synthesis of simple design missions or elementary functional modules of complex design missions with series-parallel-structured synthesis results. A corresponding computer programme is established as an implementation, and the conceptual design synthesis of the mechanical part of a friction-abrasion testing machine is completed with this programme to prove the practicability of this proposed approach.
TL;DR: A Stackelberg game theoretic decision framework is proposed to model the interactions between product family planning in the current generation and product family re-planning in the next generation, and a nonlinear bilevel optimisation model with a common deviation objective function is formulated.
Abstract: Joint decision making of configuration design and supplier selection has been well recognised for successful development of modular product families. However, the prevailing practice for integratin...
TL;DR: A framework that helps designers obtain insight on relevant prior art and enables emerging design–prior art comparison is presented, which enables early identification of potential conflict and thereby could help designers steer their emerging designs away from protected solutions.
Abstract: The increasing complexity of patented mechanical designs means that their novelty and inventive steps increasingly rely on interacting geometric features and how they contribute to device functions...
TL;DR: The results of this study clearly demonstrate that input tolerances exert powerful effects on the quality of surfaces and, hence, the aesthetic characteristics of the final assembled products.
Abstract: The superior quality of automotive body surfaces is nowadays of growing concern to any customer Thus, it has been one of the key issues in the car body designing process The manufacturing tolerances play a crucial role in the quality of products in mass production With the advances in computer-aided design and engineering (CAD/CAE) software, the tolerance analysis has been taken into detailed consideration for aesthetic assessment of automotive bodies in recent decades In this paper, the surface fairness has been chosen as a quality metric for the compliant automotive bodies The relationship between input statistical tolerances and output fairness factor of the assembly has been established by integrating finite element analysis (FEA) with surface interrogation techniques in order to visually assess the quality of products prior to costly manufacturing processes The proposed methodology is categorised into three main modules: nonlinear FEA, fairness assessment, and statistical analysis The results of this study, validated by experimental measurements, clearly demonstrate that input tolerances exert powerful effects on the quality of surfaces and, hence, the aesthetic characteristics of the final assembled products
TL;DR: An approach to analysing coupled design for product family based on coupling incidence path and correlation impact degree is presented and corresponding decoupling strategies are proposed, if any, that may weaken the coupling of product family design.
Abstract: For the coupling between modules in product family design, an approach to analysing coupled design for product family based on coupling incidence path and correlation impact degree is presented. The coupling of three cases is discussed, i.e. the coupling between platform modules, between platform module and customisation module, as well as between customisation modules. Then the interface among modules can be identified, and instigating components are considered as controllable factors and experimental design techniques are utilised to analyse their influence on the design objectives. According to analysis on coupling incidence path and correlation impact degree, the implementation sequence of modules is identified and corresponding decoupling strategies are proposed, if any, that may weaken the coupling of product family design. Finally, an example on the trolley design of gantry crane is provided to illustrate the proposed method for coupling analysis and decoupling of association modules in product family design.
TL;DR: The performance of four error metrics is systematically compared in uncertainty quantification of VF surrogate model and shows that in low dimensional problems, MSE shows excellent error prediction capability not only in efficiency but also in effectiveness while LOO error performs the best in high dimensional problems.
Abstract: Variable-fidelity (VF) surrogate models which integrate different fidelities of date are wildly used in simulation-based modelling due to a good balance of modelling expense and modelling accuracy....
TL;DR: This research aims to explore the use of transparency in product design to provide an overview of the design intentions of using transparency and enrich visual appeal, enrich product experience, improve product usability, facilitate consumers’ comprehension and demonstrate product functionality.
Abstract: Transparency is used in product design across various product categories. Because of the physical property of letting light go through, transparency can create unique visual styles. Transparency can also communicate additional information as a result of what is situated underneath the product cover, which prompts different consumers’ interpretations. To support designers to use transparency effectively, this research aims to explore the use of transparency in product design to provide an overview of the design intentions of using transparency. Specifically, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, in-depth interviews with experienced designers (N = 6) were conducted and the results revealed the overview of the following five design intentions of using transparency in product design: enrich visual appeal, enrich product experience, improve product usability, facilitate consumers’ comprehension and demonstrate product functionality. The overview was further validated through consumer interviews (N = 13) in Study 2.
TL;DR: An experimental method for measuring the complexity of a mechanical design and a quantitative metric for evaluating the simplicity of product design based on quantifiable design parameters are presented.
Abstract: Mechanical designers strive to create a simple design that will reduce product's cost and increase its reliability. This paper presents an experimental method for measuring the simplicity of a mechanical design. It also presents a quantitative metric for evaluating the simplicity of product design based on quantifiable design parameters. The simplicity metric was developed by using experts’ evaluations of functionally equivalent products. The dominant parameter for predicting an expert's simplicity rating is the number of features required to fully define the examined computer-aided design (CAD) model. This parameter is highly correlated with two additional measured design parameters: number of parts and number of interfaces between parts.
TL;DR: This paper describes the main stages of the GDFM approach that consists of the manufacturing knowledge management, the material selection and the selection of manufacturing processes and describes the validation of the approach and the analysis of the obtained results.
Abstract: In the industrial sector, companies must manufacture a high quality and inexpensive product in a short time. In this competitive context, the DFM (Design For Manufacturing) improves profitability by reducing costs and manufacturing time while preserving the product quality. By treating the DFM elements, the GDFM approach (Global Design For Manufacturing) takes into account the manufacturing constraints as of the design phase and allows the designer to select the most appropriate material and processes. This paper describes the main stages of the GDFM approach that consists of the manufacturing knowledge management, the material selection and the selection of manufacturing processes. The material selection and the selection of processes uses the same fundamental approach that is composed of four successive stages: translation of requirements, screening of alternatives, ranking of alternatives and additional documentation. Thereafter, the use of the example of a piston has allowed the validation of the approach and the analysis of the obtained results. As a result, the GDFM approach improves the transition between the design and manufacturing, and allows the designer to select the most appropriate material and processes for the manufacture of the product.
TL;DR: The main conclusion is that the correct division of the part into its pieces and adaptive expertise improved the results in relation to design intent in the CAD.
Abstract: In CAD modelling, there is no one general standardised teaching-learning methodology. We use the strategic-learning methodology, maintaining design intent, fully aware that it is necessary to modif...
TL;DR: A computational synthesis framework that automatically generates, from a set of formatted requirements and a sub-systems database, all architectures that are requirement consistent, minimalist regarding the number of components and non-redundant is proposed.
Abstract: Architectural synthesis is a key phase of the conceptual design process. In the constant evolution of complex systems, architects have found it difficult to carry out an exhaustive search o...
TL;DR: It is indicated that products with good affective design excite psychological feelings and improve consumer satisfaction in terms of emotional aspects and important affectiveneeds for newproductdevelopment may be partially or fully overlooked.
Abstract: In addition to the functionality, prices, performance and quality of new products, consumers are increasingly concerned with affective aspects such as texture, outlook, colour, forms and images of newproducts. Nowadays, affective aspects of products without doubt play an important role in contributing to their success in themarket place. As an early example, the concept of affective design was originated from Kurosu and Kashimura who developed two cash teller machines having identical functional features (Kurosu and Kashimura 1995). One machine was equipped with attractive buttons and screen, and the other was with less attractive ones. User surveys indicated that the most attractive one could help promote apparent usability (Norman 2002; Zhang and Li 2005). Using amore recent example of affective design of smartphones, surveys have shown that smartphones that were equipped with more attractive interface designs helped promote the product, although smartphones are generally developedwith similar functions (Kim and Lee 2016). These two studies indicate that products with good affective design excite psychological feelings and improve consumer satisfaction in terms of emotional aspects. Therefore, considering affective aspects in engineered product designs is essential to identify and develop pleasurable features into new products that meet affective needs of customers. Affective needs of customers are commonly collected by surveys. Potential consumers are asked to fill in questionnaires and/or participate in interviews in order to uncover their affective needs towards products. However, conducting surveys/interviews is generally expensive and time consuming and there is no guarantee that all domains of affective needs can be captured. Since only limited Kansei words and affective needs can often be addressed in surveysor interviews, important affectiveneeds for newproductdevelopment may be partially or fully overlooked. Thanks to the advanced technologies of capturing ‘big data’, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data can be captured on a daily basis through the internet such as pervasive sensor networks, social media, web pages, or blogs (IBM 2015). ‘Big data’ can be used to capture useful information for developing corporate strategies, marketing campaigns and new products. Many companies adopt affective computing to realise product differentiation strategies. Techniques involving big data can potentially be applied to affective design. In line with the technologies of big data, affective computing has been examined over the past few years including product design (Ayas 2011; Koutsabasis and Istikopoulou 2013), fashion design (Sokolova and Fernández-Caballero 2015), web design (Koutsabasis and Istikopoulou 2013), media communication (Bergen and Ross 2013; Cao et al. 2014), computer game (Yannakakis et al. 2014), human computer interaction (Bakhtiyari, Taghavi, and Husain 2015; Park and Zhang 2015), service development (Hensher 2014; Morris and Guerra 2015) and urban landscape design. From the literature, a growing interest in mining multi-disciplinary affective data by both researchers and industry can be seen.
TL;DR: In this article, the influence of task interdependence and cooperative conflicts on the members of the research and development (RD) teams was investigated and the results were calculated and analyzed.
Abstract: This study investigated the influence of task interdependence and cooperative conflicts on the members of the research and development (RD the results were calculated and analyzed. Subsequently, we categorised the teams according to various kinds of task interdependence before analyzing 32 cases of product development performed by these teams and investigating cooperation and conflict among team members. The results revealed four categories of task interdependence, namely reason and pragmatics, speed and efficiency, trust and mutual assistance, and institutional professionalism. Engineering design teams featuring different categories of task interdependence exhibit differing combinations of team cooperation, team conflict, loyalty, and work values. Few studies have addressed conflict and cooperation among engineering designers within teams; the c...