Product Design Phase Research Articles

A fuzzy rough number-based AHP-TOPSIS for design concept evaluation under uncertain environments

Design concept evaluation in the early phase of product design plays a crucial role in new product development as it considerably determines the direction of subsequent design activities. However, it is a process involving uncertainty and subjectivity. The evaluation information mainly relies on expert’s subjective judgment, which is imprecise and uncertain. How to effectively and objectively evaluate the design concept under such subjective and uncertain environments remains an open question. To fill this gap, this paper proposes a fuzzy rough number-enhanced group decision-making framework for design concept evaluation by integrating a fuzzy rough number-based AHP (analytic hierarchy process) and a fuzzy rough number-based TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution). First of all, a fuzzy rough number is presented to aggregate personal risk assessment information and to manipulate the uncertainty and subjectivity during the decision-making. Then a fuzzy rough number-based AHP is developed to determine the criteria weights. A fuzzy rough number-based TOPSIS is proposed to conduct the alternative ranking. A practical case study is put forward to illustrate the applicability of the proposed decision-making framework. Experimental results and comparative studies demonstrate the superiority of the fuzzy rough number-based method in dealing with the uncertainty and subjectivity in design concept evaluation under group decision-making environment.

A Non-Dominant Sorting Genetic Algorithm for Optimization of a Product Design and Selection of Its Suppliers

The aim of this paper is to address the problem of supplier selection in a context of an integrated product design. Indeed, the product specificities and the suppliers’ constraints are both integrated into product design phase. We consider the case of improving the design of an existing product and study the selection of its suppliers adopting a bi-objective optimization approach. Considering multi-products, multi-suppliers and multi-periods, the mathematical model proposed aims to minimize supplying, transport and holding costs of product components as well as quality rejected items. To solve the bi-objective problem, an evolutionary algorithm namely, non-dominant sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is employed. The algorithm provides a set of Pareto front solutions optimizing the two objective functions at once. Since parameters values of genetic algorithms have a significant impact on their efficiency, we have proposed to study the impact of each parameter on the fitness functions in order to determine the optimal combination of these parameters. Thus, a number of simulations evaluating the effects of crossover rate, mutation rate and number of generations on Pareto fronts are presented. To evaluate performance of the algorithm, results are compared to those obtained by the weighted sum method through a numerical experiment. According to the computational results, the non-dominant sorting genetic algorithm outperforms the CPLEX MIP solver in both solution quality and computational time.

An Augmented Reality Collaborative Product Design Cloud-Based Platform in the Context of Learning Factory

In the modern market scheme, Market 4.0, there is an evident need for improved quality, increased quantities and lower delivery times of products. However, customers seek for highly personalized products. Consequently, production engineers must include customers in the product design phase so as to meet their unique requirements. On the contrary, during the fourth industrial revolution, cutting-edge digital technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Cloud technologies have reached a high level of maturity. AR is a digital technology, capable of super-imposing digital information to the user’s physical environment. Furthermore, with the adoption of the Learning Factory concept, academia contributes to the development of new skills and competencies, for the new generation of engineers, that align with the ever-increasing global market demands. As such, in this paper, a framework enabling collaborative product design based on AR is presented, which acts as the digital thread for connecting engineers to customers. The participants will design and develop a Cloud platform for supporting file exchange and storage. Moreover, the Cloud platform can be realized as the communication layer between the stakeholders. In addition to that, an end-user application for the product design, customization and visualization with the use of AR will also be developed. Finally, the proposed framework will be tested in vitro, in a machine shop, in order to gather useful insight into the skills and competencies acquired by the participants during the development of the project.

Decision support model of environmentally friendly and economical material strategy for life cycle cost and recyclable weight

Materials and parts selection in product design phase will affect procurement cost, assembly cost and recycling costs in manufacturing phase. Similar to such costs, recyclable weight depends on material types due to different material manufacturing processes. As material shortages have increased, environmentally friendly and economical material selection is required. Since assembly products consist of various parts made of different materials, it is difficult and complex to evaluate recyclable weight and costs simultaneously in the assembly product design. This selection is considered as a multi-criteria decision-making problem in which objective functions have trade-off relationships. Thus, a decision support model is required to enable product designers to evaluate alternative material in terms of both environmental and economic aspects among procurement, assembly, and recycling. As a method of solving the multi-criteria decision-making problems, goal programming is recognized as one of the effective ways of evaluating the different objective functions simultaneously.This study proposes a decision support model of environmentally friendly and economical material strategy for life cycle cost and recyclable weight. The developed model contributes to proposing candidate materials for the assembly products in the concept design phase since the model requires only inputting the material type and weight for each part to evaluate cost and recyclable weight. First, the procedures regarding alternative material selection are explained. Next, the procurement, assembly, and recycling costs are estimated based on the material types and assembly/disassembly tasks and weights. In addition, the environmental loads, such as the recyclable weight for each part, are calculated based on the material types and weight. Third, the alternative material selection is formulated as a bi-objective problem by goal programming for minimizing costs such as procurement, assembly, and recycling costs for minimizing recyclable weight. Finally, a case study is presented and analyzed in terms of the environmental and economic aspects among procurement, assembly, and recycling.

Joint Asymmetric Tolerance Design and Manufacturing Decision-Making for Additive Manufacturing Processes

Tolerance allocation is a design tool that is proven crucial for enhancing the cost effectiveness and productivity of manufacturing systems. The growing implementation of additive manufacturing (AM) with its unique characteristics requires novel tolerance allocation methodologies to be developed. More specifically, many of the assumptions in traditional tolerance allocation methods such as normality assumption, a priori known probability density function of data, and symmetricity of tolerances cannot be seamlessly applied to AM processes. Furthermore, as the obtained dimensional errors of components in AM processes are significantly affected by the decisions made during the manufacturing stage (e.g., selected process, material, layer thickness, and build direction), the manufacturing parameters need to be jointly considered for allocating feasible and optimum tolerances during the product design phase. In this paper, a methodology for joint dimensional tolerance allocation and manufacturing of assemblies fabricated by AM processes is proposed based on the asymmetric distribution of errors and considering assembly requirements, namely, specification and confidence level. The bootstrap statistical technique is used to estimate the unknown population’s statistics. A cyclic optimization approach is adopted to tackle the formulated problem. The numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Note to Practitioners —Tolerance allocation is an important design task with significant impacts on cost and product quality. As the application of additive manufacturing (AM) for fabricating practical products (especially in critical industries) is increasing, it is important to develop the design and manufacturing standards and guidelines for both designers and manufacturers. Currently, there is a lack of tolerance specification standards and process capability evaluation of different AM processes. As a result, trial and error approaches are usually adopted to determine the feasible tolerances and cost-effective process plans, which are time-consuming (especially due to the slow production speed of AM) and require extensive efforts. In this paper, a methodology is proposed where the design and manufacturing decisions for assemblies with AM components can be made concurrently in a cost-effective way.

The Cost of Learning from Failures and Mistakes in Product Design: Reviewing the Literature

AbstractIn the design phase of product development (PD) process, most new products face significant uncertainties and risks. Uncertainty is typically associated with a lack of information, while learning is a process that acquires information. Therefore, learning fast and at low cost decreases the uncertainty and increases the efficiency of the product design phase. This paper investigates the concept of the cost of learning in PD's design phase. Reviewing the literature, we conceptualize the cost of learning and review the learning methods considering three aspects in the design phase of the PD process: (1) costs associated with learning from mistakes and failures, (2) learning methods and (3) categories of learners. This paper thus provides the conceptual foundations for future work to increase the efficiency of the PD process by reducing the cost of learning from mistakes and failures.

Biocompatibility Considerations in the Design of Graphene Biomedical Materials

AbstractGraphene‐based materials (GBM) have outstanding properties that have proven highly beneficial in several proof‐of‐concept investigations on their biomedical potential. They can be used as suspensions of nanosheets for nanomedicine purposes as well as components of macroscale products in medical devices or tissue engineering/regenerative medicine products. However, the clinical translation of these preclinical concepts is hampered by the incomplete understanding of the biocompatibility of GBM in general, and the limited or lack of safety considerations in most preclinical proof‐of‐concept studies. In this review, the main safety aspects to be considered for the design of biocompatible materials based on GBM that interface with the human body or its fluids are outlined. Guidance to overcome some of the unique challenges presented by graphene biomedical materials are provided, stressing the need to consider safety challenges as early as possible in the design phase of the candidate biomedical product to raise its chance for clinical translation.

Preliminary Product Design Based on the Cumulative Functions Concept

This article presents the new concept of cumulative functions and its use in the preliminary product design phase. The first part of the article concentrates on the cumulative functions concept. There is a description from the manufacturer's perspective of product functions followed by the customer's perspective of product functions. Combining these perspectives leads to the creation of the new cumulative functions concept. The second part of the article concentrates on preliminary product design, where the cumulative functions are used. It consists of three main parts: Morphological analysis, Crude design structures and Evaluation of product design variants.

Stress and Strain Analysis of Plywood Seat Shell

In this paper, the stress and strain analysis of common laminated wood seat shell is performed. Experimental stiffness evaluation is conducted by measuring displacement of the point on the backrest, and experimental stress analysis is carried out by tensometric measuring at the critical transition area from the seat to the backrest. Finite element analysis is carried out layer by layer with a “2D linear elastic model” for orthotropic materials. Good matching is found between numerical and experimental results of displacement. It is also shown that the results of the principal stress in the measurement points of the seat shell compare favourably with experimental data. The applied in-plane stress analysis of each individual veneer is not applicable for interlaminar stress calculations that are a significant factor in curved forms of laminated wood. Curved forms of laminated wood products require more complex numerical analysis, but the method can be used to achieve approximate data in early phase of product design.

Product manual elaboration in product design phases: Behavioral and functional analysis based on user experience

In classical design methods, intuitive consideration is given to how the product, or the system that is the subject of the design, is used. How the product is used is defined in a product manual. It is taken into account in the final phase of the techno-centric process, which leads not only to modifications of the late design phases, but also to difficulties using the product. Product manual also helps businesses save significant staff training and customer service costs. Anthropocentric methods are rarely used by the general public, and are in fact too expensive. We propose to take product use into account by integrating behavioral analyses (the behavior of the product and of its user) with functional analyses. This will allow us to set out instructions for using the product right at the design stage. An analysis of techno- and anthropocentric approaches is presented in this work in a bid to position our approach. Next, a functional and behavioral analysis is proposed based on a car seat case study. The proposed method also calls for a phase dedicated to the collection of product use information and data on user feedback or legislatives data. These analyses are carried out using the QFD method in order to assist the designer in structuring knowledge, taking into account the functions of the product, the characteristics or criteria of its use, and the points to be developed when drawing up operating instructions.

A 6-DOF haptic manipulation system to verify assembly procedures on CAD models

During the design phase of products and before going into production, it is necessary to verify the presence of mechanical plays, tolerances, and encumbrances on production mockups. This work introduces a multimodal system that allows verifying assembly procedures of products in Virtual Reality starting directly from CAD models. Thus leveraging the costs and speeding up the assessment phase in product design. For this purpose, the design of a novel 6-DOF Haptic device is presented. The achieved performance of the system has been validated in a demonstration scenario employing state-of-the-art volumetric rendering of interaction forces together with a stereoscopic visualization setup.

Environmental assessment in the conceptual design phase of new product development

Many studies have shown the importance of incorporating environmental issues into the process of new product development (NPD). However, a critical review of the literature reveals a lack of tools to evaluate environmental criteria during the initial phases of product design - specifically, the conceptual design phase and concept selection stage. The objective of this manuscript is to present a framework for the environmental evaluation of product concepts based on design for environment (DfE), with an emphasis on tangible products. The framework could enhance the effectiveness of implementing DfE strategies in the conceptual design phase. The framework was based on DfE strategies related to the physical dimension of products and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). This is one of the very first studies to present a framework for selecting a concept that best meets DfE criteria from a product life cycle perspective and offers the potential to be expanded to multiple manufacturers.

Environmental assessment in the conceptual design phase of new product development

Many studies have shown the importance of incorporating environmental issues into the process of new product development (NPD). However, a critical review of the literature reveals a lack of tools to evaluate environmental criteria during the initial phases of product design - specifically, the conceptual design phase and concept selection stage. The objective of this manuscript is to present a framework for the environmental evaluation of product concepts based on design for environment (DfE), with an emphasis on tangible products. The framework could enhance the effectiveness of implementing DfE strategies in the conceptual design phase. The framework was based on DfE strategies related to the physical dimension of products and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). This is one of the very first studies to present a framework for selecting a concept that best meets DfE criteria from a product life cycle perspective and offers the potential to be expanded to multiple manufacturers.

Make in India - a great path forward for operational excellence and cost reduction opportunities for electronics industry

Electronic device industry in India is growing with increase of demand in local and overseas market. Many top semiconductor MNCs have their design houses located in India, however boards/systems are preferred to be manufactured either in China, Taiwan and Malaysia. Rising manufacturing costs in China enabling India as alternate destination. Currently design centres from India support both chip design and validation activities for products delivered across the world. Indian government's 'Make in India' initiatives promote industry players to come up with plans to invest in India. In this study we attempt to establish new engagement model to enable EMS partner in India for IoT and other sectors. If companies manufacture boards in India, the schedule and cost can be brought down drastically. Moreover engaging local EMS partner starting from the design phase of product reduces the overall cost, improves execution speed and brings agility to the system.

Synergizing Product Design Information and Unit Manufacturing Process Analysis to Support Sustainable Engineering Education

Promoting excellence in sustainable manufacturing has emerged as a strategic mission in academia and industry. In particular, universities must prepare the next generation of engineers to contribute to the task of sustaining and improving manufacturing by providing appropriate types of sustainability education and training. However, engineering curricula are challenged in delivering educational training for assessing technical solutions from the three domains that define sustainability: economic, environmental, and social. In the research presented here, an educational framework is developed with an aim to improve student understanding of sustainable product design (PD) and manufacturing. The framework is founded on the analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate (ADDIE) model for instructional design. The developed framework is demonstrated using an example of a sustainable PD activity. This instructional design case study illustrates how engineering students would be able to investigate the impacts of raw materials, unit manufacturing processes, manufacturing locations, and design changes on product sustainability performance by integrating PD information and manufacturing analysis methods during the PD phase.

Evaluation of design alternatives of End-Of-Life products using internet of things

Internet of Things (IoT) can play a crucial role in End-of-Life (EOL) product recovery. It can help in determining conditions of returned EOL products with the help of sensors and RFID tags, which then can be used to decide a feasible recovery process for the EOL product amongst disassembly, remanufacturing, recycling or disposal. Product design is a key criterion which affects the choice of recovery process. Complex product designs will increase the cost of disassembly which will lead to higher recovery costs. Therefore, considering the recovery operations during a product's design phase can lead to effective recovery process after its EOL.In order to see the effect of product design on product recovery using IoT, this paper proposes an Advanced-Remanufacturing-To-Order-Disassembly-To-Order (ARTODTO) system which receives sensors and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags embedded End-Of-Life (EOL) products to satisfy various products, components and materials demands. The received EOL products can be recovered via disassembly to meet the components demands, remanufactured to meet the products demands or recycled to meet the materials demands. The remaining EOL products can be disposed of. The model evaluates different designs of a product for the ease of disassembly and remanufacturing based on three criteria viz., total profit, quality level and the number of disposed items. To solve the proposed multi-criteria decision-making model, linear physical programming is used. An example of laptops is considered for illustration of the proposed methodology.

THE ENVIRONMENT OF RESIDENCE EFFECT ON THE NUTRITION BEHAVIOR OF CHILDREN AGED 10-12 YEARS

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the living environment on the nutritional behavior of children aged 10-12. There was used an auditory method. Questionnaires were filled in by 100 children residing in the countryside and in the city. The Food Attitude Survey (FAS-R) method had been used to assess the knowledge and acceptance of 20 food products presented in the study by children. The conclusion was formulated as follows: children from villages more often than their peers living in the city eat between meals some products with health-promoting properties. The results obtained can be used in the design and marketing phase of new products for children and adolescents. The article has a research nature.

Adding Value of Crispy Peperek Product Using Quality Function Deployment and Value Added Engineering

Peperek fish production is the seventh largest production in Lamongan, low price of fish has resulted in fishermen’s income peperek too low, then if an attempt is prospective fishery products to be processed into other products that have value added. The development of product design used Quality Function Deployment (QFD) method especially the product design phase and value engineering method to analyze added value. The results of this study indicate that processed fish products that consumers demand peperek are crispy peperek (57.5%). Technical requirements regarding products that have the highest contribution value are the materials used are quality materials 0,1441, clean fish condition and repeatedly washed 0,1297, the rest of the cooking oil on fish is minimal 0,1270. Technical requirements regarding packaging that has the highest contribution value are the packaging should be tightly closed 0,1805 and packing not easily broken 0,1800. An alternative design chose by using value engineering method that is the best alternative with original taste crispy peperek, polypropylene plastic packaging, medium fish size, and net of 100 - 125 gram every pack. The added value of crispy peperek products is IDR. 4.692 every pack with a profit rate of 46,92%.

Using fuzzy logic to reduce risk uncertainty in failure modes and effects analysis

Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is used in product design as a systematic analysis tool that aims to identify and evaluate potential failure modes, their causes and effects. However, vital information for FMEA, such as consumer needs and expert opinions, is often uncertain or vague in the product design phase. On the other hand, fuzzy logic is a technique that has been used to overcome the absence of concrete data and generate robust results to drive decisions from uncertainties. In this sense, this paper proposes a methodology that combines the concepts of fuzzy logic and product FMEA. In the proposed approach, the parameters severity, occurrence and detectability are evaluated in a fuzzy inference system. Its applicability was investigated with the help of an illustrative case study. Fuzzy FMEA was carried out to prioritize risks on one module of a Jerusalem artichoke processing equipment. The results provide an alternate ranking to that obtained by the traditional method. The conclusion is that the proposed methodology enables experts to combine occurrence probability, severity and failure modes detectability in a more flexible and realistic manner by using their judgement and experience.

Design of customised products and manufacturing networks: towards frugal innovation

ABSTRACTAs manufacturing companies move towards frugal innovation, more and more tools that take into account regional customer requirements and regionalisation practices are emerging. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are considered as a means to integrate customers into product design phase. Moreover, digitalised solutions that provide seamless decision-support tools that consider multi-conflicting criteria have emerged and are integrated in existing business models to provide holistic solutions. This paper presents a unified framework of an augmented reality product customisation application, which supports realistic product visualisation so as to extract end users’ requirement that provides input to a web-based supplier selection and the network design tool that considers frugal criteria. The two tools are connected and supported by a product lifecycle management (PLM) tool. The proposed framework is applied in a white-good industry case study and meaningful performance indicators provided by the industry are used to evaluate the proposed framework.