A modular product multi-platform configuration model

Abstract

The product platform strategy has emerged as one of the important enablers of mass customisation where common components used across different product variants are maximised to decrease design, manufacturing and assembly cost. The Modular Product Multi-Platform (MPMP) model is introduced to co-design optimal product platforms along with the best number and combinations of corresponding product family members. The model obtains optimal solutions without using meta-heuristic techniques for large sets of products and components. It captures the different relations between the modular elements of a dynamic platform without a priori knowledge of the number of the changeable platforms and families. A large family of touch screen tablets is used to illustrate the application and advantages of the newly developed dynamic product platform design model. The model uses both assembly and disassembly to customise platforms into product variants which increases the commonality between modular products. Comparison between the MPMP model and the closest model in the literature shows that MPMP model is more efficient (36.6–74.3% faster) and more accurate as it can deal with zero demand products. The model computation time is affected more by number of product components than the number of products.