Fundamentals of Axiomatic Design

Abstract

Abstract In chapter 1, a brief introduction to axiomatic design was given. This chapter presents a more comprehensive description of axiomatic design using many examples. Axiomatic design has been used in designing a variety of different things: machines, software, organizations, systems, materials, manufacturing, complicated large systems and processes, and a variety of mechanical/electrical products. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a broad overview, which should help in understanding the materials presented in chapters 12–15. 11.2 Current State of Design Practice The ‘‘project of the first decade of the 21st century’’ may be the development of the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA). It is currently being designed to transport people and cargo from earth to the International Space Station (ISS) beginning in 2010. The OSP must be safe and robust, and satisfy all the functional requirements (FRs) of the mission. It must be developed in a relatively short period of time at a fraction of the cost that was incurred when NASA developed the Space Shuttle three decades ago. It must be able to perform its missions without extensive maintenance so as to eliminate the need to rebuild the vehicle each time it returns from its mission. (The current Space Shuttle requires 6 months of ‘‘maintenance’’ at a cost of over $350 million after each mission.) It is increasingly becoming apparent to NASA and a major aerospace company that the OSP cannot be designed and developed using the old paradigm. The old paradigm was an experience-based development process with repetitive ‘‘design– build–test’’ cycles repeated until the product no longer breaks down. The old paradigm of product development is not only expensive, but produces products that are unreliable and hard to maintain. An astronautics company is now applying axiomatic design in designing the OSP to reduce the time for development, lower the cost of development, and increase reliability, safety and maintainability, and robustness of the OSP. Axiomatic design is a rational way of developing a complicated system that satisfies FRs and constraints at low cost and on time.