Validating the Generational Variety Index (GVI) Through Product Family Optimization: A Preliminary Study

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Bobuk ◽  
Laura A. Slingerland ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Ben Donaldson ◽  
Karl Reichard
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Development ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
Product Family Optimization ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Trade Study ◽  
Generational Variety Index ◽  
Complementary Set ◽  
Effective Product

Effective product platforms must strike an optimal balance between commonality and variety. Increasing commonality can reduce costs by improving economies of scale while increasing variety can improve market performance, or in our robot family example, satisfy various robot missions. Two metrics that have been developed to help resolve this tradeoff are the Generational Variety Index (GVI) and the Product Family Penalty Function (PFPF). GVI provides a metric to measure the amount of product redesign that is required for subsequent product offerings, whereas PFPF measures the dissimilarity or lack of commonality between design (input) parameters during product family optimization. GVI is examined because it is the most widely used metric applicable during conceptual development to determine platform components. PFPF is used to validate GVI because of its ease of implement for parametric variety, as used in this case. This paper describes a product family trade study that has been performed using GVI for a robot product family and compares the results to those obtained by optimizing the same family using PFPF. This work provides a first attempt to validate the output of GVI by using a complementary set of results obtained from optimization. The results of this study indicate that while there are sometimes similarities between the results of GVI and optimization using PFPF, there is not necessarily a direct correlation between these two metrics. Moreover, the platform recommended by GVI is not necessarily the most performance-optimized platform, but it can help improve commonality. In the same regard, PFPF may miss certain opportunities for commonality. The benefits of integrating the two approaches are also discussed.

Multidisciplinary design optimization of vehicle chassis product family

2021 ◽  
pp. 095440542110366
Author(s):  
Xiaokai Chen ◽  
Chenyu Wang ◽  
Guobiao Shi ◽  
Mingkai Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Design Optimization ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Multidisciplinary Design Optimization ◽  
Optimization Design ◽  
Optimization Problem ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Multidisciplinary Design ◽  
Product Family Design ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
Product Family Optimization

In order to improve the performance of automotive product platforms and product families while keeping high development efficiency, a product family optimization design method that combines shared variable decision-making and multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) is proposed. First, the basic concepts related to product family design optimization were clarified. Then, the mathematical description and MDO model of the product family optimization problem were established, and the improved product family design process was given. Finally, for the chassis product family optimization problem of an automotive product platform, the effectiveness of the proposed optimization method, and design process were exemplified. The results show that the collaboratively optimized product family can effectively handle the coordination between multiple products and multiple targets, compared to Non-platform development, it can maximize the generalization rate of vehicle parts and components under the premise of ensuring key performance, and give full play to the advantages of product platforms.

Effective Product Family Design Using Physical Programming and the Product Platform Concept Exploration Method

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achille Messac ◽  
Michael P. Martinez ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Product Family ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Customer Requirements ◽  
Product Family Design ◽  
Physical Programming ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
Concept Exploration ◽  
Effective Product ◽  
Performance Gains

Abstract In an effort to produce more variety for today’s highly competitive market, companies are designing and developing families of products — groups of related products derived from common product platforms — to simultaneously satisfy multiple customer requirements. After reviewing the state of the art in product family and product platform design, we describe the Product Platform Concept Exploration Method (PPCEM) for designing common product platforms that can be scaled or “stretched” into a suitable family of products. This paper extends previous work by the authors through the novel integration of physical programming within the PPCEM to enable the product family design problem to be formulated using physically meaningful terms and preferences. The design of a family of universal electric motors is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Performance gains are achieved in the motor family by utilizing physical programming within the PPCEM when compared to previous results.

Application of a Product Platform Knowledge Management Methodology Using the Semantic Web Paradigm to a Playground System

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. Hart ◽  
Steven B. Shooter ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Semantic Web ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
Planning Strategies ◽  
Effective Product ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Design And Manufacture

Information management has been recognized as an essential ingredient for effective product family planning strategies through the utilization of product platforms. Product platforms utilize commonality of parts, modules, and processes during design and manufacture. This commonality must be well documented for its effective use, and ontologies are one way to organize this information to promote knowledge management. The following provides a case study to verify a proposed methodology for product platform knowledge management that uses the semantic web paradigm by applying it to a component from a major modular playground equipment producer. Our objective is to verify the developed methodology using a case study of a modular playground component and to evaluate the methodology’s user adoptability. It will be shown that the methodology is successful and valid to apply to other applications, with some improvements, in the future.

scholarly journals Improving Commonality in Custom Products Using Product Platforms

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald S. Farrell ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Modular Architecture ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
Delivery Times ◽  
Customized Products

Abstract Many companies find it difficult to maintain commonality and economies of scale in products with strict customer design requirements that may vary greatly from contract-to-contract or piece-to-piece. These strict and varied requirements typically result in highly customized products that are costly to manufacture, involve short production runs, and require long delivery times. In this paper we discuss how the strategic incorporation of product platforms into the design process can leverage the design effort of individually customized products. As an example, we discuss the design of yoke cross-section platforms used to mount valve actuators in the nuclear power industry. Through this example we demonstrate the process of creating a market segmentation grid, choosing a targeted segment, creating a product platform for the yoke cross-section, and defining the yoke product family. The proposed modular architecture for pattern construction reduces the number of new yoke patterns needed for manufacturing, which will generate the most significant savings. Implementation of the yoke platforms will also reduce design cycle time and costs, shorten quotation and lead times, and improve overall customer satisfaction and good will. The end result is a product platform design process that will improve response to customer requests, reduce design cost, and improve time to market for companies that make small production runs of highly customized products.

scholarly journals Diversity minimization through part combination – a Portuguese railway infrastructure case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-94
Author(s):  
Diogo Rechena ◽  
Luís Sousa ◽  
Virgínia Infante ◽  
Elsa Henriques
Keyword(s):  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Railway Infrastructure ◽  
Sustainable Services ◽  
Market Needs ◽  
Design Diversity ◽  
Requirement Changes

Abstract With increasing market needs for product and service variety, companies struggle to provide diversity in cost-effective ways. Through standardization of components with a low perceived added value, companies can take advantage of economies of scale while maintaining product diversity. Railway infrastructure managers face similar challenges of providing economically sustainable services while dealing with the costs of maintaining the system diversity. Typically, unintended design diversity stems from design practices in which existing solutions are not reused for new problems and new solutions are rarely planned considering the dynamics of requirement changes. In this paper we provide a methodology to assess how to standardize different designs to minimize design diversity and to assess design divergence in a product family. The developed methodology is able to take into account any set of standardization compatibility constraints that the user can define. The methodology was applied in the context of a small-scale railway infrastructure manager using a dataset of 223 unique designs of functionally similar components from its electrification system. Depending on the activated compatibility constraints, results indicate that over 60% of components can be reduced to a set of 86 unique designs.

A Product Variety Tradeoff Evaluation Method for a Family of Cordless Drill Transmissions

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn G. Conner ◽  
Joseph P. De Kroon ◽  
Farrokh Mistree
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Product Performance ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
Individual Product ◽  
Alternative Product ◽  
Per Se

Abstract In this paper we present the Product Variety Tradeoff Evaluation Method for assessment of alternative product platforms in product family design. The Product Variety Tradeoff Evaluation Method is an attention-directing tool for evaluating tradeoffs between commonality and individual product performance for product platform alternatives with differing levels of commonality. We apply the Product Variety Tradeoff Evaluation Method to a case study in transmission redesign for a family of cordless drills. The emphasis in this paper is placed on the method rather than on the results, per se.

Increasing Commonalities by Designing Production-Oriented Modular Product Platforms

2014 ◽  
Vol 907 ◽  
pp. 197-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Günther Schuh ◽  
Stefan Rudolf ◽  
Jens Arnoscht ◽  
Bastian Lüdtke
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Design ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Product Range ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Product And Process ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Descriptive Framework ◽  
Architecture Development

Companies producing in high-wage countries are increasingly challenged due to the necessary differentiation and cost pressure. The modular product platform approach is more and more used by these companies for structuring their product range in order to realise and deploy commonalities. This type of product architecture enables companies to produce nearly individual products without losing economies of scale across the product range. Economies of scale due to communalities result in decreased process costs, reduced development lead-time by uncoupling the development of modules and products as well as the augmentation of the technical product robustness. However, the design of modular product platforms itself causes new challenges regarding the product structuring, the process and organizational design. Recent approaches for the development of communalities through modular product platforms are focusing only the product itself. Since costs are mainly determined in the development phase but caused later in the production phase both product and production have to be taken into account. Furthermore, modular product platforms have a higher variety and diversity of elements since they represent the components, modules and functions of the entire product program. This paradigm shift from an integral product design to a modular product structure cannot be controlled with existing models and methods. Our paper confirms commonality has to be optimized by focusing both the product and production. Therefore we have designed a descriptive framework (commonality model) to display and optimize the commonality both in the product and the process. Furthermore, a product architecture development process that is superior to the individual product development processes was developed for the systematic design of commonalities. The approach presented in this paper focusses on the interactions between product and process parameters. In our approach these interactions will first be displayed based on the graph theory and then be optimized applying sensitivity analysis. By varying relevant parameters both on the product and process side constitutive features can be derived determining product and process standards in order to enhance the overall commonality level.

Algorithm-Based Support for the Redesign of Product Variants

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Redeker ◽  
Philipp Gebhardt ◽  
Thomas Vietor
Keyword(s):  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Graph Matching ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Automated Analysis ◽  
Production Volume ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Product Families ◽  
First Case ◽  
Subtractive Manufacturing ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract Incremental Manufacturing is a novel manufacturing approach where product variants are manufactured based on a finalization of pre-produced parts through additive and subtractive manufacturing processes. This approach allows a multi-scale production with the possibility to scale product variants as well as the production volume. In order to ensure high economic efficiency of the manufacturing concept, there is a need for pre-produced parts that come as close as possible to the final variant geometries to ensure that only variant-specific features need to be added by additive or subtractive manufacturing steps. Furthermore, to ensure high economies of scale, a high degree of commonality should be ensured for the pre-produced parts manufactured in mass production. In this context, a graph-based method is developed that enables an automated analysis of product families, based on physical and functional attributes, for standardization potentials. The method thus provides support for the strategic definition of pre-produced parts and is embedded in an overall approach for the redesign of products for Incremental Manufacturing. For the demonstration of the approach, which is based on 3D Shape and Graph Matching methods, a first case study is carried out using a guiding bush product family as an example.

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