Abstract
The main objective of this paper is to propose a modified methodology for concept evaluation by applying Axiomatic Design principles. Several drawbacks were recognised during the literature review and application of established Axiomatic Design principles that limit its use for concept evaluation. These drawbacks include the lack of analysis of concepts that violate the Independence Axiom, the application to concepts that are not generated with Axiomatic Design and inclusion of constraints and requirements in the evaluation process. The proposed methodology consists of four steps of which the first one is to analyse the compliance of concepts with a set of functional requirements. Afterwards, to determine the possible violation of the Independence Axiom, non-diagonal elements need to be examined and reangularity and semiangularity values calculated for each concept. Finally, concepts are evaluated in terms of Information Axiom to include requirements, criteria and constraints other than functional requirements. Applying Information Axiom to all concepts regardless of Independence Axiom violation provides insight into the complexity of concepts. The proposed methodology was applied to mobility scooter conceptual design conducted in cooperation with an industrial partner. The partner company provided input and system constraints at the beginning of the project and guidelines for concept development. Constraints were taken into consideration by applying the Information Axiom in which constraints are compared with values measured on prototypes.
Highlights
A concept is an approximate description of the technology, working principles, and form of the product [1]
Application of Axiomatic Design (AD) principles to concept evaluation relies more on technical knowledge, compared to other methods used for evaluation, since the designer reformulates the needs perceived by the customer into the functional requirements [12]
The modified methodology proposed in this paper aims to solve reoccurring issues found in the literature about various aspects of concept evaluation using AD principles
Summary
A concept is an approximate description of the technology, working principles, and form of the product [1]. The evaluation usually occurs at the end of the conceptual design phase when developing a new product or when selecting the best concept variant among existing ones [3]. The evaluation includes a comparison of concept variants or a comparison of a concept variant with the defined ideal solution [3]. Along with several existing methods and tools, Axiomatic Design (AD) theory can be applied for concept evaluation [4]. Application of Axiomatic Design principles usually defines how close the alternative is to the ideal one as opposed to directly comparing alternatives to each other. According to [5], ideal concepts in Axiomatic Design can satisfy the identified customer needs and are scarcely affected by sensitivity to possible alterations in later phases. Along with other AD principles (e.g. domains, mapping process, decomposition, hierarchy, and zigzagging [6]), axioms provide the systematic basis for solving design problems in various design areas
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