A Platform Selection Approach Based on Product Family Ontology Modeling

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soon Chong Johnson Lim ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Wing Bun Lee
Keyword(s):  
Product Family ◽  
Product Family Design ◽  
Laptop Computer ◽  
Product Representation ◽  
Faceted Search ◽  
Design Concepts ◽  
Selection Approach ◽  
Current Product ◽  
Representation Scheme ◽  
Future Work

Product family design is probably the most widely adopted strategy for product realization in mass customization paradigm. With the ever-increasing product offerings in consumer market, current product representation schemes are restricted by their limited capability in handling multiple conceptual relationships amongst product components and rich semantic annotations associated with different design concepts. Previously, we have studied and proposed an ontology-based information representation scheme for product family design, which offers a promising solution to address the aforementioned challenges. In this study, we suggest a new commonality metric and a faceted platform selection approach, which are both created for ontology-based product family representation models. Utilizing this metric and faceted search, we discuss the advantages of our approach compared to existing modeling possibilities. We also exemplify the applications of our proposal towards an optimal configuration of product variants using a case study of four laptop computer families. Finally, we conclude this paper with some indications for future work.

Exploring Semantic Web Technologies for Product Family Modeling

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyotirmaya Nanda ◽  
Henri J. Thevenot ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Soundar R. T. Kumara ◽  
Steven B. Shooter
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Web ◽  
Product Design ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Ontology Development ◽  
Product Family Design ◽  
Product Representation ◽  
Semantic Web Technologies ◽  
Design Representation ◽  
Ontology Language ◽  
Single Use

By sharing product design information across a family of products, companies can increase the flexibility and responsiveness of their product realization process while shortening lead-times and reducing cost. This paper describes a preliminary attempt at using semantic web paradigm, especially the Web Ontology Language (OWL), for product family information management. An overview of the ongoing work with Semantic Web is also presented. Formal product representation using OWL can not only store the structure of the product family but also help in capturing the evolution of different components of the product family. As an illustration, a group of single-use cameras, containing several products from the Kodak single-use camera family, is represented in OWL format. The methodology of ontology development that can support product family design is discussed in detail. Product family design representation using OWL promotes better learning across products and reduced development time, system complexity, and product design lead-time.

Product Family Design Through Ontology-Based Faceted Component Analysis, Selection, and Optimization

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Liu ◽  
Soon Chong Johnson Lim ◽  
Wing Bun Lee
Keyword(s):  
Information Search ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Component Analysis ◽  
Product Family Design ◽  
Product Analysis ◽  
Laptop Computer ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Design Structure ◽  
Product Service ◽  
Design Requirements

Product family design (PFD) is a widely adopted strategy for product realization, especially when design requirements are diversified and multi-faceted. Due to ever-changing customer needs and the increasingly complex and integrated product design structure, PFD and its optimization have been concerned more about a rapid and contextual product analysis and variant derivation based on a multi-objective optimization scheme subject to design concerns, which are often cross disciplinary, such as product service, carbon footprint, user experience, esthetics, etc. Existing PFD modeling approaches, which are primarily structured using component attributes and assembly relationships, possess notable limitations in representing complex component and design relationships. Hence, it has restricted comprehensive PFD analysis in an agile and contextual manner. Previously, we have studied and demonstrated the feasibility of using ontology for product family modeling and have suggested a framework of faceted information search and retrieval for product family design. In this paper, several new perspectives towards PFD based on ontology modeling are presented. Firstly, new metrics of ontology-based commonality that better reveal conceptual similarity under various design perspectives are formed. Secondly, faceted concept ranking is proposed as a new ranking approach for ontology-based component search under complex and heterogeneous design requirements. Thirdly, using these ranked results, a platform selection approach that considers a maximum aggregated ranking with a minimal platform modification among various platform choices is researched. From the selected platform and the newly proposed metrics, a modified multi-objective evolutionary algorithm with an embedded feature of configuration incompatibility check is studied and deployed for the optimal selection of components. A case study of PFD using four laptop computer families is reported as our first attempt to showcase how faceted component analysis, selection, and optimization can be accomplished based on the proposed family ontology.

Product Family and Product Platform Benchmarking With Commonality and Variety Indices

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy W. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Product Family ◽  
Lead Times ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Effective Strategy ◽  
Product Family Design ◽  
Product Families ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Common Platform

As companies are pressured to reduce costs and lead-times while increasing variety, the need to design products based on common platform “elements” is growing. Product family design has become an effective strategy to meet this challenge, but companies still struggle with assessing how “good” their product family is. Companies routinely benchmark their individual products, but they struggle with how to benchmark their platforms and product families against their competitors. A novel approach for product family benchmarking is introduced in this paper integrating commonality and variety indices to compare competing product families and their platform “elements”. An example involving two families of men’s razors is presented to illustrate the approach. Limitations of the approach and future work are also discussed.

Multi-Level Value-Driven Design Approaches for Product Family Design

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangjin Jung ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Christina Bloebaum
Keyword(s):  
Product Family ◽  
Optimization Methods ◽  
Value Functions ◽  
Product Family Design ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Cost Performance ◽  
Best Value ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Value Function

Companies usually launch families of products into the market to provide value to different segments based on different customer needs; however, most of the research on Value-Driven Design (VDD) in the literature has focused on modeling value functions and optimizing the design of single products, not families of products. In order to increase profit and minimize total cost for product design and manufacturing, VDD should be applicable to product family design. In this work, we propose a multi-level VDD approach for product family design by extending multidisciplinary design optimization methods. The multi-level VDD is applied to a family of front-loading washing machines to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. With this example, we demonstrate that design problems that optimize traditional objective functions (e.g., cost, performance) at each level do not necessarily maximize value when compared to an appropriate VDD formulation. On the other hand, when the value function is set as an objective function throughout the organization (company, product family, and product level), we find that the VDD formulation provides the best value. Future work based on these promising findings is also discussed.

Product Analysis and Variants Derivation Based on a Semantically Annotated Product Family Ontology

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soon Chong Johnson Lim ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Wing Bun Lee
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Annotation ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Product Analysis ◽  
Laptop Computer ◽  
Family Analysis ◽  
Design And Manufacturing ◽  
Commonality Analysis ◽  
Current Representation

In literature, there are a number of indexes suggested that serve as the indicator of commonality among product components, modules and variants. However, as these elements are increasingly interconnected with aspects other than the component view, the existing commonality metrics are unable to effectively model these aspects due to their limitation in capturing relevant information for analysis. Therefore, there exists a need to consider multiple design and manufacturing aspects in commonality metrics so that a comprehensive view of the commonality among product variants can be presented. In the current representation schemes proposed for product family modeling, ontology is one of the most promising ones to model the complex semantic relations among various elements in a product family. Nevertheless, the research and application of ontology in the analysis of a product family has so far received little attention. In this paper, we proposed a framework to generate a semantically annotated multi-facet product family ontology. Using a case study of a laptop computer family, we suggest and demonstrate a new commonality analysis approach based on the semantically annotated multi-facet laptop product family ontology. Together with a new method of deriving product variants based on the aforementioned ontology, our approach illustrates the merits of using semantic annotation in assisting ontology based product family analysis.

A Market-Based Design Strategy for a Universal Product Family

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung Ki Moon ◽  
Daniel A. McAdams
Keyword(s):  
Mass Customization ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Differentiated Products ◽  
Product Family Design ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Market Segments ◽  
Light Duty

Companies that generate a variety of products and services are creating, and increasing research on, mass-customized products in order to satisfy customers’ specific needs. Currently, the majority of effort is focused on consumers who are without disabilities. The research presented here is motivated by the need to provide a basis of product design methods for users with some disability—often called universal design (UD). Product family design is a way to achieve cost-effective mass customization by allowing highly differentiated products serving distinct market segments to be developed from a common platform. By extending concepts from product family design and mass customization to universal design, we propose a method for developing and evaluating a universal product family within uncertain market environments. We will model design strategies for a universal product family as a market economy where product family platform configurations are generated through market segments based on a product platform and customers’ preferences. A coalitional game is employed to evaluate which design strategies provide more benefit when included in the platform based on the marginal profit contribution of each strategy. To demonstrate an implementation of the proposed method, we use a case study involving a family of light-duty trucks.

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