Showing papers on "Product design specification published in 2013"

TanDEM-X Ground Segment – DEM Products Specification Document

Abstract: The purpose of this document is to describe the TanDEM-X DEM products, their specifications and formats.The chapter 4 introduces the main DEM product, and its variants. The target accuracies are presented (Section 4.1.) and the DEM generation process is shortly summarized in Section 4.2.. The DEM product specifications are given in Section 4.3. Therein, the accuracy and grid definitions (Section 4.3.1) all information layers are described (Section 4.3.2). Information about the structure of the DEM product is provided in Section 4.3.3. Section 4.4. gives a short summary about the characteristics of the Intermediate DEM Product and future FDEM and HDEM products. In the Appendices an introduction to the XML schema, product parameters and change log information are described. Please note that the current XSDs are appended to this document.

System and method for managing and evaluating network commodities purchasing

Abstract: One or more price metrics are generated by retrieving, from a database, one or more price data sets representing a specified time period. Each of the retrieved price data sets includes at least a parameter value, a quoted cost, and a selling unit of measure for at least one item, and is responsive to a product specification data set that includes at least one parameter value and a unit of measure for each of one or more items. In at least one embodiment, a combined item price total is divided by a combined item unit total to generate a metric price per unit for each item in the product specification data set. In another embodiment, a summed individual metric price per unit is divided by the number of individual metric prices to generate an overall metric price per unit for each item in the product specification data set.

Active Knowledge for the Situation-driven Control of Product Definition

Abstract: The current product model consists of features and unstructured contextual connections in order to relate features. The feature modifies the previous state of the product model producing contextual connections with previously defined features. Active knowledge is applied for the adaptive modification of product model features in the case of a changed situation or event. Starting from this state-of-the-art, the authors of this paper introduced a new method to achieve higher-level and more advanced active feature driven product model definition. As part of the related research program, new situation driven model definition processes and model entities are explained in this paper. Higher-level knowledge representation in the product model is motivated by a recent trend in industrial product modeling systems towards more advanced and efficient situation-based self- adaptive model generation. The proposed model represents one of the possible future ways of product model development for product lifecycle management (PLM) systems on the global or product level of decisions. Its implementation will be new application-oriented model entity generation and representation utilizing existing modeling resources in industrial PLM systems by use of application programming interfaces (API).

Integrating Sustainable Product and Supply Chain Design: Modeling Issues and Challenges

Abstract: Promoting sustainability within business operations requires sustainable products, processes, and system, i.e., sustainable supply chains (SSCs). To efficiently reduce environmental and societal impacts of supply chains (SCs) while maintaining continued profitability, it is necessary that the entire SC is designed and managed from a total life-cycle perspective considering coordination between product, process, and SC design. Coordinating product and SC design decisions play a critical role in improving the SSC's performance. The product design determines all its future costs, both in forward and reverse-flow, which in turn depend on the SC configuration such as the number and location of SC partners their capabilities and capacities. Therefore, coordinating sustainable product and SC design decisions requires consideration of all four product life-cycle stages and incorporating a closed-loop flow within the SC. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it emphasizes on the need and importance of coordinating product and SC design decisions in SSCs (through illustrative case studies) and the limitations of existing models from a SSC perspective. Second, the paper explains some of the challenges that need to be addressed while developing such holistic integrated models, provides key factors influencing their performance, and thereby proposes a framework to perform this coordination.

Mathematical model for simultaneous design of module commonalization and supply chain configuration toward global product family

Abstract: Manufacturing today has become global in all aspects marketing, design, production, distribution, etc. While product family design has been an essential viewpoint for meeting the demand for product variety, its interaction with the issues of supply chain, market systems, etc. makes the meaning of product family both broad and more complicated. In this paper we call such situation `global product family,' and first characterizes its components and complexity. Following this, we proposes a mathematical model for the simultaneous design problem of module commonalization strategies under the given product architecture and supply chain configuration through selection of manufacturing sites for module production, assembly and final distribution as an instance of the problems. In the model, the choice of modules and various sites are represented with 0-1 design variables with the volume of production and transportation represented with non-negative continuous design variables, and the objective defined on total cost. An optimization method is configured with a genetic algorithm and a simplex method for such a mixed integer programming problem. Some numerical case studies are included to determine the validity and promise of the developed mathematical model and algorithm. Finally, we conclude with some discussion of future work.

Observed benefits from product configuration systems

Abstract: This article presents a study of the benefits obtained from applying product configuration systems based on a case study in four industry companies. The impacts are described according to main objectives in literature for implementing product configuration systems: lead time in the specification processes, on-time delivery of the specifications, resource consumption for making specifications, quality of specifications, optimization of products and services, and other observations. The purpose of the study is partly to identify specific impacts observed from implementing product configuration systems in industry companies and partly to assess if the objectives suggested are appropriate for describing the impact of product configuration systems and identifying other possible objectives. The empirical study of the companies also gives an indication of more overall performance indicators being affected by the use of product configuration systems e.g. increased sales, decrease in the number of SKU’s, improved ability to introduce new products, and cost reductions.

Knowledge-based assessment of manufacturing process performance: integration of product lifecycle management and value-chain simulation approaches

Abstract: Regarding the market globalisation, manufacturers have to improve the performance and efficiency of their production plants. To fulfil this goal, managers need methods and tools to assess their product development and their production engineering processes by assessing the performance and the value of the specified technical solutions. This article presents a new approach to support this assessment of manufacturing enterprise processes in terms of performance and value indicators based on knowledge management KM integration. Based on the principles of value chain, in one hand, and on methods of KM, on the other hand, the aim of the proposal is to help experts to make relevant decisions on product development and/or production process planning. The approach originality is to use of product lifecycle management PLM capabilities to achieve semi-automated capitalisation of heterogeneous knowledge from various enterprise information systems. Capitalised knowledge is then used as an input of the assessment module. This module implements a set of simulation algorithms for the assessment and evaluation of different alternatives of value chains according to required performance criteria.

Multi-level modelling and simulation of new product development processes

Abstract: This article presents a multi-level modelling approach for supporting the management of evolving new product development (NPD) processes. Following its articulation, an example of implementing process changes during the development process is presented. Such changes cannot be modelled by existing design/dependency structure matrix (DSM) approaches. A conceptual change in the product design occurs during the development process, in order to standardise the product components, and yields changes in the process plans that are simulated for decision-making. Implementation implications of dynamic changes to a development process are demonstrated, including business rules used to choose between process change options, while considering iteration learning effects. From the demonstration, it becomes clear that either DSM or Petri nets alone do not offer complete modelling capabilities for NPD processes and a multi-level approach must be adopted. Such a complete cycle of modelling would start from product knowledg...

Towards Product Avatars Representing Middle-of-Life Information for Improving Design, Development and Manufacturing Processes

Abstract: In today’s globalized world, customers increasingly expect physical products and related information of the highest quality. New developments bring the entire product lifecycle into focus. Accordingly, an emphasis must be placed upon the need to actively manage and share product lifecycle information. The so-called Product Avatar represents an interesting approach to administrate the communication between intelligent products and their stakeholders along the product lifecycle. After its initial introduction as a technical concept, the product avatar now revolves around the idea individualized digital counterparts as targeted digital representations of products enabling stakeholders to benefit from value-added services built on product lifecycle information generated and shared by Intelligent Products. In this paper, first the concept of using a Product Avatar representation of product lifecycle information to improve the first phases, namely design, development and manufacturing will be elaborated on. This will be followed by a real life example of a leisure boat manufacturer incorporating these principles to make the theoretical concept more feasible.

Analyzing Product Architecture Under Technological Change: Modular Upgradeability Tradeoffs

Abstract: A modularly upgradeable product allows customers to keep pace with technology by replacing modules instead of updating the entire unit, thus minimizing development and production costs for the firm. Despite these advantages, seemingly few consumer products are modularly upgradable (rather they are integral from the users' perspective). To offer possible explanations, and help guide firms in enhancing the relative attractiveness of modularity, we develop an economic model where the firm's frequency of product introduction and the end-users' frequency of upgrades are endogenous. We characterize the firm's introduction decisions under 1) an integral upgrade strategy, where the entire product is newly designed each generation, and 2) a modular upgrade strategy, where individually upgraded components are offered. We find that, contrary to intuition, the value of modularity diminishes with the overall rate of innovation in component technologies. On the other hand, the value of modularity increases with the difference in the rates of improvement between components, and increases when customers are more technically sophisticated, when production costs are high, and when the performance loss due to modularization is low.

Reverse engineering in product manufacturing: an overview

Abstract: Reverse engineering plays vital role in the branch of the mechanical design and manufacturing based industry. This technique has been widely recognized as an important technique in the product design cycle. In regular computerized manufacturing environment, the operation order usually starts from the product design and ends with machine operation to convert raw material into final product. It is often essential to reproduce a CAD model of existing part using any digitization techniques, when original drawings or documentation are not available and used for analysis and modifications are required to construct a improved product design. In reverse engineering approach the important steps involved, are characterizations of geometric models and related surface representations, segmentation and surface fitting of simple and free-form shapes, and creating accurate CAD models. The chapter presents review on reverse engineering methodology and its application areas related to product design development. The product re-design and research with reverse engineering will largely reduced the production period and costs in product manufacturing industries.

Towards modular analysis of multi product lines

Abstract: Software product-line engineering enables efficient development of tailor-made software by means of reusable artifacts. As practitioners increasingly develop software systems as product lines, there is a growing potential to reuse product lines in other product lines, which we refer to as multi product line. We identify challenges when developing multi product lines and propose interfaces for different levels of abstraction ranging from variability modeling to functional and non-functional properties. We argue that these interfaces ease the reuse of product lines and identify research questions that need to be solved toward modular analysis of multi product lines.

Application of virtual reality technologies in consumer product usability

Abstract: Users of consumer products have benefited from companies' growing interest in seeking technological innovation to improve their competitiveness and business performance. In this context, interface design represents an essential task in the product process development to directly influence customer satisfaction and, consequently, the success of the product in the market. Usability is about the product ease of use so it is necessary first and foremost to know who are the user / consumer and what their levels of requirements to serve them efficiently, this research has come to play an important role in interface design. Virtual reality (VR) technologies provide novel and enhanced modes for human computer interaction that can be used as a potential tool to provide product user experience and usability evaluation are more efficient, even in the early stages of the product design. This paper presents a conceptual approach to virtual reality technologies application in the evaluation of usability in consumer product design.

Incrementally synthesizing controllers from scenario-based product line specifications

Abstract: Many software-intensive systems consist of components that interact to fulfill complex functionality. Moreover, often many variants of such systems have to be designed at once. This adds complexity to the design task. Recently, we proposed a scenario-based approach to design product lines, which combines feature diagrams and Modal Sequence Diagrams. We proposed a consistency-checking technique based on a dedicated product line model checker. One limitation of this technique is that it is incomplete, i.e., it may fail to show the consistency of some consistent specifications. In this paper we propose a new game-based approach that overcomes this incompleteness and, in addition, automatically synthesizes controllers for the consistent product specifications. We exploit the fact that many variants are similar and efficiently synthesize product controllers incrementally. We provide a prototype tool and evaluate the efficiency of the approach.

Challenges in the Qualification of Electronic Components and Systems

Abstract: Qualification, which is the process of demonstrating that a product is capable of meeting specified requirements, is a costly and lengthy part of the product development process. This paper discusses the challenges that companies face when qualifying their products in an environment of abbreviated product development cycles, changing environmental regulations, which require the use of new materials or processes, and a complex and diffuse supply chain. A more comprehensive approach to product qualification involving the use of physics-of-failure principles, prognostics and health management techniques, and qualification at every stage of product development that builds on earlier work and industry standards is presented here.

A modeling framework for the analysis of supply chain complexity using product design and demand characteristics

Abstract: This paper develops a methodological framework for building a better understanding of supply chain complexity. The framework incorporates product design and product demand characteristics that underpin the level of supply chain complexity, which is constructed as a multi-dimensional concept to include configuration, collaboration and coordination. A set of constructs and their measurement items are defined and their relationships are conceptually mapped to illustrate the linkages that define the levels of supply chain complexity. Testable hypotheses for validation of the framework are also suggested. We propose that this conceptual framework, by considering simultaneous impacts of product design and product demand characteristics on supply chain, will develop a foundation for simplifying their complex interrelationships and interdependency and assist in the alignment of product design and product demand with supply chain to better manage uncertainty and risk in our increasingly volatile world. Keywords : Supply Chain, Complexity, Product Demand, Product Design

Application of agent technology for recycling‐oriented product assessment

Abstract: Purpose – The paper aims to describe ideas and implementation of the computer tool for computer‐aided and recycling‐oriented design. Currently, there is a strong tendency to take into account the impact of a product on the natural environment. The authors concentrated on the issue of the recycling process of the product, taking into account the phase of its design. The purpose, structure, technology and example results are presented in this paper.Design/methodology/approach – It was assumed that analysis will be performed based on a set of measures of a product. These measures (developed by the authors), describing the product from the recycling point of view, are calculated automatically, according to the changes (variants) in the product's model. The presented tool is based on agent technology. The structure of the system – the agents, its roles and communication between them – has been described.Findings – The main achievement of the work presented in this paper is the method supporting eco‐design base...

Systematic Evaluation of Software Product Line Architectures

Abstract: The architecture of a software product line is one of its most important artifacts as it represents an abstraction of the products that can be generated. It is cru- cial to evaluate the quality attributes of a product line architecture in order to: increase the productivity of the product line process and the quality of the products; provide a means to understand the potential behavior of the products and, consequently, decrease their time to market; and, improve the handling of the product line variability. The evaluation of product line architecture can serve as a basis to analyze the managerial and economical values of a product line for software managers and architects. Most of the current research on the evaluation of product line architecture does not take into account metrics directly obtained from UML models and their variabilities; the met- rics used instead are dif fi cult to be applied in general and to be used for quantitative analysis. This paper presents a Systematic Evaluation Method for UML-based Soft- ware Product Line Architecture, the SystEM-PLA. SystEM-PLA differs from current research as it provides stakeholders with a means to: (i) estimate and analyze potential products; (ii) use predefined basic UML-based metrics to compose quality attribute metrics; (iii) perform feasibility and trade-off analysis of a product line architecture with respect to its quality attributes; and, (iv) make the evaluation of product line architecture more flexible. An example using the SEI's Arcade Game Maker (AGM) product line is presented as a proof of concept, illustrating SystEM-PLA activities. Metrics for complexity and extensibility quality attributes are defined and used to perform a trade-off analysis.

Recent developments in International Organization for Standardization geometrical product specification standards and strategic plans for future work

Abstract: Over the last 2 years, ISO TC 213, the committee that publishes the ISO geometrical product specification (GPS) standards, has published about 35 standards, more than double the number of the preceding 4 years. This rapid development has brought many significant changes to the ISO-GPS system. The author is the chairman of that committee and gives an overview of the more important ones in this article. The work is now at a crossroad, where items that have been on the TC 213 work program for many years have been completed. This has allowed TC 213 to start new strategic initiatives that will guide the development of ISO-GPS standards over the next 8–10 years. This article will outline the two stages of the strategic plan, the changes to the ISO-GPS standards complex that is envisioned, and how it will impact the users of these standards; whether they are part of the specification community or the verification community.

Schema specification to improve product consumability on installation, configuration, and/or un-installation activity

Abstract: Provided are techniques for retrieving a universal schema specification file that defines a structure of a product specific data set, retrieving the product specific data set that defines a specific configuration for a version of a product, validating the product specific data set using the universal schema specification file, and using the validated product specific data set and a product specific installable to automatically install the version of the product with the specific configuration.

Product and Systems Development: A Value Approach

Abstract: As known, to finish this book, you may not need to get it at once in a day. Doing the activities along the day may make you feel so bored. If you try to force reading, you may prefer to do other entertaining activities. But, one of concepts we want you to have this book is that it will not make you feel bored. Feeling bored when reading will be only unless you don't like the book. product and systems development a value approach really offers what everybody wants.

Integrated Software Platform for Green Engineering Design and Product Sustainability

Abstract: Nowadays, industrial products, particularly household appliances, are strongly related to environmental issues. Due to high levels of uncertainty regarding design embodiments at the early design phase, new methods and tools are essential to provide designers a basis to determine the degree of sustainability of a given product. The paper aims to integrate ecodesign activities within the traditional flow of the product design process through the development of an integrated software platform which supports the decision-making task for product sustainability in the early phase of product design.

Improving the link between computer-assisted design and configuration tools for the design of mechanical products

Abstract: The competitive market forces companies to offer tailored products to meet specific customer needs. To avoid wasting time, design efforts generally address the configuration of existing solutions, without producing substantial design modifications. Configuration tools are used to achieve customized products starting from a common platform. Many approaches have been successfully proposed in literature to configure products. However, in the mechanical field they need further investigation in order to be efficiently linked to computer-aided design technologies. Research is focused on tools and methods to automatically produce geometrical models and improve the flexibility of the continuous product updating process. In this context, this paper aims to combine product configuration approaches with design automation techniques in order to support design activities of products to fulfill specific requirements. The approach is based on entities called configurable virtual prototypes. Three different domains are managed and connected via configurable virtual prototypes: product specifications, geometrical data, and product knowledge. In particular, geometry recognition rules are used to identify the parameterization of parts and the assembly mating constraints. The approach is exemplified through an industrial case study where a tool has been developed on the basis of the described method. Advantages of the system are shown in terms of achieved product configuration efficiency.

Scrum integration in stage-gate models for collaborative product development - A case study of three industrial manufacturers

Abstract: The relevance of collaborative Product Development (PD) is rising with the decrease of product life cycles combined with growing customer demands. Industrial manufacturers now experience competition in the global market where differentiation is necessary for survival. Hence, in order to differentiate from low-cost competitors and increase PD performance, some industrial manufacturers now seek competitive advantage by experimenting with new ways for collaborative PD. This includes integrating customer-focused agile process models like Scrum from the software industry into their existing PD models. Thus, instead of replacing traditional stage-gate models, agile methods are currently integrated in existing PD models generating hybrid solution for collaborative PD. This paper includes a study of three industrial cases that have successfully integrated Scrum into the stage-gate process model for collaborative PD. The paper introduces the three functional hybrid models, including the impact on PD performance, PD roles and customer collaboration.