Showing papers on "Product design specification published in 2005"

A product information modeling framework for product lifecycle management

Abstract: The Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) concept holds the promise of seamlessly integrating all the information produced throughout all phases of a product's life cycle to everyone in an organization at every managerial and technical level, along with key suppliers and customers. PLM systems are tools that implement the PLM concept. As such, they need the capability to serve up the information referred to above, and they need to ensure the cohesion and traceability of product data. We describe a product information-modeling framework that we believe can support the full range of PLM information needs. The framework is based on the NIST Core Product Model (CPM) and its extensions, the Open Assembly Model (OAM), the Design-Analysis Integration model (DAIM) and the Product Family Evolution Model (PFEM). These are abstract models with general semantics, with the specific semantics about a particular domain to be embedded within the usage of the models for that domain. CPM represents the product's function, form and behavior, its physical and functional decompositions, and the relationships among these concepts. An extension of CPM provides a way to associate design rationale with the product. OAM defines a system level conceptual model and the associated hierarchical assembly relationships. DAIM defines a Master Model of the product and a series of abstractions called Functional Models-one for each domain-specific aspect of the product-and two transformations, called idealization and mapping, between the master model and each functional model. PFEM extends the representation to families of products and their components; it also extends design rationale to the capture of the rationale for the evolution of the families. The framework is intended to: (1) capture product, design rationale, assembly, and tolerance information from the earliest conceptual design stage-where designers deal with the function and performance of products-to the full lifecycle; (2) facilitate the semantic interoperability of next-generation CAD/CAE/CAM systems; and (3) capture the evolution of products and product families. The relevance of our framework to PLM systems is that any data component in the framework can be accessed directly by a PLM system, providing fine-grained access to the product's description and design rationale.

Product Lifecycle Management: Closing the Knowledge Loops

Abstract: Competitive success of manufacturing firms is by and large determined by the success of the products they introduce to the market. This is why companies continuously try to improve the efficacy of their product realization process. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is a business solution which aims to streamline the flow of information about the product and related processes throughout the product’s lifecycle such that the right information in the right context at the right time can be made available. Yet, few organizations are positioned to reap the true benefits of PLM. One major reason for this is a lack of clear understanding of what PLM is, its core features and functions, and its relationship to the myriad of current software tools. This paper aims to do that and also elaborates on the role of PLM as a knowledge management system.

Modular and platform methods for product family design: literature analysis

Abstract: After the industrial revolution, the literature has mentioned different “principles” to allow a better management of the production and product life cycle activities. For example the principle of standardization was first mentioned in the literature by an automobile engineer and placed in a real context by Henry Ford. Standardization has made possible the configuration of different products using a large set of common components. Another strategy called “modularization” was first mentioned in the literature in the 60s. The modularity proposed to group components of products in a module for practical production objectives. Today, modularity and standardization are promising tools in product family development because they allow to design a variety of products using the same modules of components called “platforms”. Using platforms allows important family design savings and easy manufacturing. In this paper we give a literature review of the platform concept with a special interest on the efficient product family development. This paper is organized as follows. Section 1 mentions the general context of modularity to develop product variety. Section 2 details the importance of product architectures in the literature for a modular design. Section 3 points on some important works that apply some modular and platform methodologies.

Product lifecycle management: the new paradigm for enterprises

Abstract: Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is a developing paradigm. One way to develop an understanding of PLM's characteristic and boundaries is to propose models that help us conceptualise both holistic and component views in compact packages. Models can give us both a rich way of thinking about overall concepts and can identify areas where we need to explore issues that such models raise. In this paper, the author proposes and discusses two such related models, the Product Lifecycle Management Model (PLM Model) and the Mirrored Spaces Model (MSM) and investigates the conceptual and technical issues raised by these models.

The function-failure design method

Abstract: To succeed in the product development market today, firms must quickly and accurately satisfy customer needs while designing products that adequately accomplish their desired functions with a minimum number of failures. When failure analysis and prevention are coupled with a product's design from its conception, potentially shorter design times and fewer redesigns are necessary to arrive at a final product design. In this article, we explore the utility of a novel design methodology that allows failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA)-style failure analysis to be conducted during conceptual design. The function-failure design method (FFDM) guides designers towards improved designs by predicting likely failure modes based on intended product functionality.

A Principal-Agent Model for Product Specification and Production

Abstract: This paper develops and analyzes a principal-agent model for product specification and production motivated by "core buying" decisions at an automobile manufacturer. The model focuses on two important elements of the "core" buyer's responsibility: (1) assessing the supplier's capability, and (2) allocating some or all of a fixed level of some buyer-internal resource to help the supplier. Under the contracting scheme we model, the buyer (principal) delegates the majority of product specification and production activity to the supplier (agent), but retains the flexibility to commit a given, observable amount of an internally available, limited resource (e.g., engineering hours) to help the supplier. The supplier, in turn, allocates his resource (e.g., engineering hours) to produce the finished product. As in the motivating scenario, both the supplier's resource allocation and capability are assumed to be hidden from the buyer. Hence, the principal's problem is to determine a menu of (resource-commitment, transfer-price) contracts to minimize her total expected cost. Our analysis demonstrates that if buyer resource and supplier capability are substitutes, then the buyer's second-best involvement in the supplier's production process will be greater than first-best. The opposite is true if they are complements. Further, when the opportunity cost for the buyer's resource is zero, then in the substitutes case the buyer will commit all of its resource, while in the complements case the buyer may withhold some resources to screen the supplier type. We describe two applications of the model--one in inventory management and one in pharmaceutical drug discovery--to illustrate its applicability and versatility. Finally, we use insights from the model to suggest hypotheses for empirical study.

Engineering change management in individual and mass production

Abstract: The ability to manage engineering changes (ECs) efficiently reflects the agility of an enterprise. A large majority of products become gradually improved and perfected through the developmental-design process, during which the set design requirements are met or even upgraded, thus prolonging the product life cycle. The concept of product improvement was based on the activation and tracking of (ECs) through the developmental-design phase and the manufacturing phase. A special method was used to recognize activities within the process and the degree of involvement of individual participants. The individuals involved in the process were provided with appropriate information and the required communication channels with others were ensured. The EC process was generalized and applied to different types of production. A product's complexity and design level were analyzed first, and key factors such as CE methods, process definition, information system, communication and organization were used as a tool for optimizing the EC process. The method was tested and successfully applied into industrial practice.

Strategic evolution of eco-products: a product life cycle planning methodology

Abstract: This paper presents a methodology and a software tool to establish an eco-design concept of a product and its life cycle by assigning appropriate life cycle options to the components of the product. The product life cycle planning (LCP) methodology provides the following systematic procedures. First, the medium- or long-term production and collection plan for the product family is clarified. Next, target values for the product and its life cycle are set in the process of determination of customer-oriented specification and eco-specification. Then, eco-solution ideas to realize reasonable resource circulation are generated by using various life cycle option analysis charts. Finally, an eco-design concept which involves eco-solution ideas is evaluated for decision-making at early stages of product development. A design support tool was made for efficiently planning product life cycles by using quality function deployment and life cycle assessment data. Based on case studies, it was verified that the proposed methodology and tool are useful for developing multi-generational eco-products.

Product support strategy: conventional versus functional products

Abstract: Purpose – Most advanced durable industrial products need some kind of support to compensate for weaknesses in design or in product exploitation. Aims to examine different scenarios for product support and discusses approaches for development of product support strategy for conventional and functional products.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a case study of a manufacturer of advanced durable industrial production systems.Findings – Traditionally, the customer buys, operates, and maintains equipment used in production systems. Alternatively, the customer can buy the performance, instead of the physical product. In such cases, the manufacturer is responsible for operating, maintaining, and supporting the product in addition to designing and making it. Thus, the long‐term profit for both user and manufacturer will depend on the product's designed‐in life cycle costs, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and supportability) characteristics, as well as on the effectiveness and ef...

Streamlining Product Lifecycle Processes: A Survey of Product Lifecycle Management Implementations, Directions, and Challenges

Abstract: The past three decades have seen phenomenal growth in investments in the area of product lifecycle management (PLM) as companies exploit opportunities in streamlining product lifecycle processes, and fully harnessing their data assets. These processes span all product lifecycle phases from requirements definition, systems design/ analysis, and simulation, detailed design, manufacturing planning, production planning, quality management, customer support, in-service management, and end-of-life recycling. Initiatives ranging from process re-engineering, enterprise-level change management, standardization, globalization and the like have moved PLM processes to mission-critical enterprise systems. Product data representations that encapsulate semantics to support product data exchange and PLM collaboration processes have driven several standards organizations, vendor product development efforts, real-world PLM implementations, and research initiatives. However, the process and deployment dimensions have attracted little attention: The need to optimize organization processes rather than individual benefits poses challenging “culture change management” issues and have derailed many enterprise-scale PLM efforts. Drawn from the authors’ field experiences as PLM system integrators, business process consultants, corporate executives, vendors, and academicians, this paper explores the broad scope of PLM, with an added focus on the implementation and deployment of PLM beyond the development of technology. We review the historical evolution of engineering information management/PLM systems and processes, characterize PLM implementations and solution contexts, and discuss case studies from multiple industries. We conclude with a discussion of research issues motivated by improving PLM adoption in industry.

Product Innovation: Leading Change through Integrated Product Development

Abstract: Preface Part I Product Innovation, Strategic Logic, & the New Product Development Process: 1 Introduction to product innovation and new product development 2 Strategic logic of product innovation 3 New product development process and organizational aspects Part II Establishing the Foundation: the Conceptual Level: 4 Identifying new produce opportunities: idea generation (phase 1) 5 Concept development and selection (phase 2) 6 New product development program definition (phase 3) 7 Product/market considerations, integrated product design and product architecture 8 Marketing strategies and methods: conceptualizing and designing the new product marketing campaign 9 Production strategies and methods: operational and manufacturing implications 10 Financial applications and implications 11 Design and development (phase 4) 12 Validation phase (phase 5) 13 Pre-commercialization (phase 6) and launch 14 Concluding remarks and insights about product innovation in the 21st century Glossary References

Technology Solutions for Collaborative Product Lifecycle Management – Status Review and Future Trend

Abstract: In the modern global economy, companies are facing ever-increasing challenges for short time-to-market to enter into the market early, for reduced time-to-volume to occupy the market quickly, and for decreased time-to-profit to get return from market shortly Product lifecycle management (PLM) is recognized as one of the key leading technologies to facilitate companies to overcome these challenges, which will offer companies a new way to rapidly plan, organize, manage, measure, and deliver new products or services much faster, better, and cheaper in an integrated way Following this trend, this study proposes a full scenario of technology solutions for PLM based on the complete analysis of business drivers, industry requirements, limit of current solution, and recent state-of-the-art review in the domain related to PLM Potential industrial impact of the developed PLM technology solutions is analyzed It is hoped that the proposed PLM technology solutions will form the frontier basis for further research,

Configuration-oriented product modelling and knowledge management for made-to-order manufacturing enterprises

Abstract: In made-to-order (MTO) manufacturing enterprises (ME), product architectures are usually modularised and components standardised. Product configuration is a key technology for order realisation in MTO–ME and is a typical knowledge-based application. Through a configuration process, product modules or components are selected and assembled according to customer requirements. Product configuration relates to a great deal of knowledge that represents complexity relations among components or modules, such as configuration rules and assembly constraints. Traditional product modelling techniques are focused mainly on physical product modelling and geometric representation, which makes them insufficient to help in the product configuration process. This paper discusses configuration-oriented product modelling and knowledge management for MTO–ME. A general process of product configuration modelling is proposed. The configuration model represents a product family from which a specific configuration solution or product variant can be derived. Actually, configuration modelling is a process which captures and represents product knowledge. In this paper, product knowledge is organised and managed through a knowledge component (KCOM) that includes configuration rules and constraints. A KCOM-based product knowledge representation model is presented. Finally, a PDM system is extended to support product modelling and knowledge management for MTO configurable products .

The Structured Intuitive Model for Product Line Economics (SIMPLE)

Abstract: : Software product line practice is an effective strategy for developing families of software-intensive products. Business modeling is a fundamental practice that provides input into a number of decisions that are made by organizations using or considering using the product line strategy. This report presents the Structured Intuitive Model of Product Line Economics (SIMPLE), a general-purpose business model that supports the estimation of the costs and benefits in a product line development organization. The model supports decisions such as whether to use a product line strategy in a specific situation, the specific strategy to apply, and the appropriateness of acquiring or building specific assets. This report illustrates the model's scope by presenting several scenarios as well as its usefulness by integrating it into several product line practice patterns. The report ends with a description of future work aimed at making the model usable by product line practitioners.

Knowledge management system with integrated product document management for computer-aided design modeling

Abstract: A knowledge management system captures, stores, manages, and applies rules for modeling geometric objects and related non-geometric attributes, and includes integrated support for one or more third party product document management systems (110, 120, 130, 140) The knowledge management system can store documents in the product document management system, such as templates for generated computer-aided design system components (210, 220, 230, 240) An add-in program may be executed by the computer-aided design system for creating and managing template documents in the product document management system for use by the knowledge management system (310, 320)

Systematic product platform design: a combined function-means and parametric modeling approach

Abstract: This paper describes a systematic product platform design procedure and a computer-based product platform concept model that capture both functional behavior and embodiment of design solutions as well as the operative component structure in a configurable system product. It is argued that such design procedures and product descriptions are necessary from a business perspective in order to successfully manage development of derivative products and product variants based on a product platform concept. The concepts presented in this paper are currently being deployed by Saab Automobile as the next logical evolution of product description systems necessary in order to maintain competitiveness in the automotive business.

ISO 10303, the STEP standard for product data exchange, and its PLM capabilities

Abstract: The international standard ISO 10303 (STEP) has been under development since 1984 and in use since 1994. It provides for the standardised exchange of product data. Initial parts of the standard were oriented towards data for specific life-cycle activities such as design and manufacturing, but a major expansion of scope has recently been achieved with the release for publication of ISO 10303-239, a STEP application protocol entitled "Product Life Cycle Support" (PLCS), which covers the entire history of a product from conceptual design to disposal. The first part of the paper gives an overview of the entire STEP standard as it currently exists, and the second part provides a more detailed description of the capabilities of the new PLCS component of STEP.

Configurable product design using multiple fuzzy models.

Abstract: The present economic environment is characterized by increasing market demands for customized products. Configurable product design or design for configuration represents the solution for the new market challenges. Configurable product design is complex. The development of a methodology of design for configuration must take into account the different views of the product that occur during the design process, the great number of product variants that can be generated and also the customer-oriented characteristic of the configurable products. Moreover, the design for configuration must represent and manipulate the uncertainty throughout all design stages. This paper proposes the development of an integrated approach of configurable product design based on multiple fuzzy models. The transition from customer specifications into physical solutions is performed by the help of multiple fuzzy models: the fuzzy product specification model, the fuzzy functional network, the fuzzy physical solution model and the fuz...

Elements of Product Lifecycle Management: Definitions, Open Issues and Reference Models

Abstract: The thesis contributes to the area of PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) as a two-layer topic: the first deals with a definition of the boundaries of what is considered as PLM in the market, while, in a complementary way, the second deals with the definition of a reference metamodel for product management and traceability along the product lifecycle. Product and production management have become complicated processes where more problems are overlapping each other's. Product development might ever more take into account improved customers' tastes and requests in a shorter time-to-market. This way, the product lifecycle and its related management are becoming unavoidable key aspects, creating such a “product centric” (or product-driven) problem. The integrated management of all the information regarding the “product” and its production is one of the related questions. One of the main issues concerning with the product management in a wider perspective (along a defined lifecycle), deals with the traceability of the product. The problem of information exchange could easily arise and further standardization efforts will be needed, so establishing a kind of barriers to the diffusion of the same holonic traceability. In order to reduce these further barriers, but ever more in order to improve the currently definition and the study of Holonic product traceability, we are looking to the current situation of enterprise information systems (where product information are resident) and trying to elaborate it in an holonic view, creating a conceptual HMS product-oriented architecture.

RFID-based product manufacturing and lifecycle management

Abstract: Architecture that utilizes RFID technology in product manufacturing and lifecycle management to track the depletion of inventory, verify the correctness of a part, monitor the completeness of an assembled product, and check a returned product to determine warranty procedure. An RFID reader, or reader/writer, can sense information of an RFID tag associated with an item at various stages of product life. The information can be compared with data associated with the RFID-tagged item, and appropriate action can be taken based on the comparison. A machine learning and reasoning component can be utilized to generate automatic action based on the information.

Eco‐efficiency for Pollution Prevention in Small to Medium‐Sized Enterprises: A Case from South Korea

Abstract: Summary A simple method of representing the eco-efficiency (E/E) of a product system has been developed and applied to a pollution prevention program at a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME). Cost-side and environment-side indicators were derived using total cost accounting and life-cycle assessment, respectively. The derived indicators were subsequently normalized to reference values representing the current cost and environmental situation. By combining these normalized indicators, the E/E of a product system can be expressed on a simple graph. The method was applied in a case study carried out at a South Korean SME producing components for electronic equipment such as mobile communication base stations. A silver-plating process was identified as one of the key processes driving a substantial fraction of the total cost and aggregate environmental impact of the product system. Focusing on the key issues identified, a series of alternative processes, including use of a product insulation cover, a sieve-type ancillary electrode, a balanced-uniform plating technique, stream segregation, and noncyanide electroplating, were proposed. The feasibility of these alternatives was validated against product specifications as well as the company's financial and spatial capacity. The potential improvements accruing from these alternatives are presented as a simple graph that can be used by decision makers to readily identify trade-offs between economic and environmental issues.

PDCS-a product definition and customisation system for product concept development

Abstract: In recent years, owing to the rapid changing customer needs and much shorter product life cycle than ever before, employing more efficient and flexible approaches for product concept development has become an imperative for a successful product. This work aims at establishing a novel product definition and customisation system (PDCS) for organisations to meet this demand in today's competitive and globalised business climate. A prototype PDCS is proposed, from a design knowledge-handling viewpoint, in this paper. It comprises two phases, namely, product definition using the laddering technique and a novel design knowledge hierarchy (DKH), and product customisation using an integrated methodology of conjoint analysis (CA) and Kohonen association (KA) techniques. Basically, this system is a method of making design decisions via customer involvement, i.e. a strategy for transferring customer preference into a specific product concept. A case study on wood golf club design has been used to illustrate and validate the PDCS. The details of the validation are discussed.