Improve Product Design Research Articles

A Review on the Relationships between Processing, Food Structure, and Rheological Properties of Plant‐Tissue‐Based Food Suspensions

Nowadays, there is much interest in controlling the functional properties of processed fruit- and vegetable-derived products, which has stimulated renewed research interest in process-structure-function relations. In this review, we focus on rheology as a functional property because of its importance during the entire production chain up to the moment of consumption and digestion. This review covers the literature of the past decade with respect to process-structure-rheology relations in plant-tissue-based food suspensions. It became clear that the structure of plant-tissue-based food suspensions, consisting of plant-tissue-based particles in an aqueous serum phase, is affected by many unit operations (for example, heat treatment) and that also the sequence of unit operations can have an effect on the final structural properties. Furthermore, particle concentration, particle size, and particle morphology were found to be key structural elements determining the rheological properties of these suspensions comprising low amounts of starch and serum pectin. Since the structure of plant-tissue-based products was shown to be changed during processing, rheological parameters of these products were simultaneously altered. Therefore, this review also comprises a discussion of the effect on rheological properties of the most relevant processing steps in the production of plant-tissue-based products. Linking changes in rheology due to processing with process-induced alterations in structural characteristics turned out to be quite intricate. The current knowledge on process-structure-function relations can form the basis for future improved and novel food process and product design.

PEM Fuel Cell Bus Stack Durability:Improvements and Current Research

Over the past 30 years Ballard’s PEM fuel technology evolved from proof-of-concept single cells via sub-scale and full-scale prototype systems to products in the areas of motive power (buses and materials handling), back-up power, co-generation, and distributed power generation which have been deployed extensively in demonstration programs and field trails. Today, Ballard is a leader in fuel cell stack design and manufacturing with products being commercially deployed in the materials handing and back-up power markets which both benefit from attractive financial value propositions. Furthermore, extensive research and development is also focused on bus stack and large scale distributed generation technology.In early technology demonstrations and field trials specifically in the transportation sector fuel cell performance was the key attribute under consideration; however, today the emphasis is on durability and cost which are the two major challenges that still hinder large-scale commercialization of fuel cell technology across all markets.Since 1991 Ballard’s fuel cell bus technology has been deployed in a variety of demonstration projects and today 49 fuel cell buses are in operation worldwide. The largest bus fleet deployed in 2009 in Whistler, B.C. has accumulated more than 150,000 hours of operational hours and a total driving distance of >3 million kilometers. The figure on the right shows the average cell performance of the buses which exceeds the warranted operational life of 8000 hours of the HD6 stack.As opportunities in the fuel cell bus market have accelerated over the last decade and with the development of over six generations of fuel cell modules, Ballard has overcome technical barriers related to power density and reliability. To date, the bus transportation platform developed by Ballard has been proven to meet the demands of range and duty cycle expectations, but the key barriers pertaining to cost and durability under the wide range of operating conditions necessary for transportation fuel cell stacks still remain.Ballard’s overall activities on reducing product cost have been driven by several approaches; (1) product design improvements that include reduced platinum loadings, lower part counts, and enhanced durability, (2) reduced sourcing costs through lower materials costs and increased volumes, (3) increased manufacturing efficiencies including use of continuous, automated assembly, (4) production scale up through increased market penetration. Since 2003 Ballard has achieved substantial cost reductions while increasing stack operational life 4-fold.Ballard’s large numbers of demonstration programs and field trials have been instrumental in providing insight into stack and MEA failure modes and this understandingtogether with modeling and fundamental research has been a driver in durability improvement through MEA design opportunities and operational mitigation strategies.The work that will be presented will provide an overview of Ballard’s Fuel Cell bus program, discuss the different aspects of stack durability that has been achieved over the last 10 years, and provide an insight into current research and development that is needed to narrow the durability and cost gap for large-scale commercialization.

Influence of Characteristics of the Internet of Things on Consumer Purchase Intention

We studied the mechanism of the influence of the Internet of Things (IOT) product characteristics on consumer purchase intention. The results of a survey of 360 consumers showed that 6 dimensions of IOT product characteristics influence purchase intention; namely connectivity, interactivity, telepresence, intelligence, convenience, and security. We found that customer experience was the key mediating variable in the relationship between IOT product characteristics and purchase intention. Connectivity, interactivity, telepresence, intelligence, convenience, and security all positively influenced purchase intention via functional experience. Furthermore, connectivity, telepresence, convenience, and security positively influenced purchase intention via emotional experience. Our findings in the study provide some points of reference for improvement of IOT product design.

Issues in the sustainability of products designed for multi-lifecycle

Design for multi-lifecycle (DFML) is a sustainable design approach that seeks to maximize the utility of resources used in developing a product by incorporating features that enable the elongation of the techno-economic service life of that product at the design stage. The goal of DFML is indefinite use of the resources invested/embodied in a product without compromising its economic value, technological soundness and socio-cultural acceptability. However, there is a limit to how many times a product designed for multi-lifecycle can be cycled. The aim of this research is to identify issues affecting how many times products designed for multi-lifecycle could be cycled. Another goal of this study is to articulate how the understanding of these issues can be utilized in improving product design for multi-lifecycle. This study is based on intensive literature survey and on over twenty years experience in conventional- and in sustainable design and development of agri-food machinery. From the study we learned that the sustainability of products and equipment designed for multi-lifecycle depends, among other things, on the durability of the core components, the required performance standard, resource consumption tipping point, economic advantage eradication point, changes in consumer taste, and regulatory changes. It means that the number of times that resources invested in a product designed for multi-lifecycles can be cycled is increasable by improving the durability of the structure and core components of the product. It also means that designers would be able to improve the sustainability of machinery designed for multi-lifecycles by incorporating features that facilitate easy reconfiguration and upgrading of the product at reasonable cost as consumer taste and regulations changes. Keywords: Design for multi-lifecycle, design for environment, sustainable design, sustainability, Eco design.

Computation of mass transport properties of apple and rice from X-ray microtomography images

Computational simulations of food processes such as baking, frying, and cooling require transport properties in order to accurately model the process. Coupled with the increased usage of X-ray computed microtomography to better understand manufactured food microstructures other than simple observation, there is an avenue to improve transport models, safety, and process optimization. This work does not focus on the development of new software or simulations but on taking existing software available in other fields of research and applying it to published images of food products to show how it can be used to improve our understanding of food. The two examples of food systems are apple and rice. Using both foods, this work presents open source computational software to calculate intrinsic permeability using a lattice-Boltzmann simulation, pore-size distribution, pore connectivity using the Hoshen and Kopelman algorithm, and vapor diffusivity and tortuosity of water by a random-walk. Simulations are validated when available. This work is extremely relevant to industry in that it allows for more quantitative data from X-ray μCT. Therefore, the increased data allows for improved product design, process optimization, and food safety. Additionally, the quantitative transport properties garnered can help improve transport models. These simulations can provide useful information where conventional experimentation will not always work.

A Decision Framework to Select Alternative based on Lean Manufacturing Concepts in Design Processes

Today’s manufacturing and business environments requires critical levels of competition to survive in markets. Manufacturers have to create new strategies for improving organizational performance. This research aims to provide decision frameworks in product design and process improvements based on lean manufacturing principles and multi-criteria decision making concepts. The results can select the best alternative to optimal in quality, cost and flexibility.

Life cycle implications of product modular architectures in closed-loop supply chains

Most of the product life cycle costs and environmental impacts are determined during product design stage. A product supply chain network can be seen as a system dealing with product life cycle processes. Ideally, a product should be designed to have a structure yielding a good life cycle performance in its existing supply chain network. However, there is a lack of research related to modeling supply chain effects in the product design stage. This paper aims at investigating the supply chain effects on product modular design. The life cycle performance of a modular structure (life cycle cost and life cycle environmental impact) at various supply chain states is evaluated by a supply chain evaluation model and analyzed by statistical techniques. The preliminary results indicate that the supply chain-related effects on product life cycle performance are significant and modular structure optimization is effective in reducing the surge of life cycle cost and life cycle environmental impact caused by various supply chain states. The main supply chain effects are identified for use in product design improvement.

Evaluation of industrial machine design improvement ideas using characteristic-based hierarchical optimisation strategies

Design optimisation technologies are a practical requirement when aiming to obtain optimal product design variable values from an initially given feasible design space, but such technologies also can contribute to the generation of more effective product design alternatives, namely, product design innovations. This paper proposes an effective evaluation method that enables improvement of product design ideas, using characteristic-based hierarchical optimisation strategies applicable to industrial machine products. After related characteristics are decomposed into simpler characteristics, or simpler characteristics are extracted from higher level characteristics, new optimisation strategies are constructed based on clarification of the relationships among all the characteristics. Innovative processes that lead to product design improvements are analysed in detail by examining optimum solutions for various design improvement ideas, using displays of Pareto optimum solution lines or surfaces. The proposed system design optimisation method that is based on evaluations of evolutional Pareto optimum solutions is presented and exemplified here using an articulated robot product design, and applied at the conceptual product design stage.

Improving Green Product Design with Closed-Loop Product Recovery Information

It is widely agreed that environmental issues, from climate change to energy and water scarcity, to over exploitation of natural resources, represent critical challenges for the society. Thereby, industry has progressively adopted lean manufacturing by reducing amount of energy and materials used in the production. However, manufacturer has limitation towards improving product efficiency without feedback from user as a close loop. Knowing the complexity of environmental issues and economy changes, this paper introduces a new system framework that takes the holistic approach by capturing information at end-of-life (EoL) and feeding back to design or manufacturing in making a greener product. With complete understanding of EoL product status, it enables OEMs to develop technology diversely and at the same time rapidly incorporating environmental concept in part of the product chain. For instance, the valuable knowledge learned in EoL product put forward a more efficient way for product maintenance by cutting down time, cost and negative impact to the environment. Moreover, a greater reliable product could be achieved by utilizing appropriate material or design in particular product. This resulted in improved product design as an inherent loop in product life cycle, therefore producing greener product for better reusability, remanufacturability and recyclability. Overall, efficient EoL product recovery system enables sustainable and competitive manufacturing, and thus drives the economy growth.

Supplier pre-selection for platform-based products: a multi-objective approach

Selection of appropriate suppliers is an important decision task for enterprises. In literature papers, supplier selection is only considered from the view of components or parts, and evaluation of the overall outsourcing cost and supply risk is not considered from the view of product as a whole. In addition, the traditional process of supplier selection usually happens in the stage of production after the product design has been finished. In fact, suppliers of product components can be pre-selected in the product design stage, which can avoid supplier shortage or high component-bidding cost by modifying the product design scheme. In this research, a new supplier pre-selection method for platform-based products is proposed to obtain the minimal overall outsourcing cost and supply risk probability from the perspective of whole product, help engineers evaluate and improve product design scheme in early time of product design and reduce the probability of design change at the stage of product production. Analytic hierarchy process and reliability matrix are applied to evaluate the supply risk of candidate suppliers and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is adopted to solve the established optimisation model. A case study is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimisation model and algorithm.

A High-precision Hand-held Face Detection System

This paper aims at portable high-precision surface defect detection equipment designed based on laser non-contact measurement, though a CCD camera and dual word line semiconductor lasers can achieve the measurement of small surface in a close distance. Resultant data is sent to PC via wireless transmission mode to achieve the separation of detection module with terminal display processing module. The detection system with a small-volume structure which can achieve fast and accurate scanning can be used to achieve the device workpiece surface defect measurement under various complex occasions. It is able to achieve real-time display of the measurement results through MATLAB graphical user interface. High measuring accuracy and reliability of the system is verified by experiments, and the depth measurement accuracy can reach 40μm. The results provide an important basis for the detection of surface blemish and improve product design and processing quality.

An Engineering Prototype Workflow Management System

Engineering workflow management is a key focus for European manufacturing companies, however, issues such as time required to gather data, develop systems and integrate into current manufacturing environments presents obstacles for adoption. This paper presents a high level prototype of an engineering workflow system developed in conjunction with a medical device company to address this gap. The prototype data was used to construct a high level artifact which illustrates how the implementation of Advanced Platform for Manufacturing Engineering and Product Lifecycle Management (7th Programme, “amePLM”) engineering workflow management system can improve product design and development processes through increased productivity by capturing workflows which previously went unquantifiable.

Gap Analysis and Optimization of Process Involved in Product Design and Development by Integrating Enterprise Resource Planning & Product Lifecycle Management

The present trend practiced by product manufacturing industries is to stick to basics of management principles in serving internal and external customers herewith to attain a good outcome at end of every process. System Application & Product is one such advanced tool that helps in managing customer service, products production planning, optimization etc. On the other hand Product Lifecycle Management is another tool that assists the industries in managing the entire life cycle of a product by which the new challenges in the product development can be dealt with ease. Automobile industries use management system/tool to organize recent advancements in production and manufacturing process and to produce a product which satisfies customers and brings reputation to industry. This paper deals with utilization and implementation of two existing concepts: SAP & PLM a new dimension in handling the production process and life cycle of a product can be unlocked which eventually benefits in acquiring the customers support, attention, ease in planning the manufacturing design process, optimizations, material management, achieving good results in sales and distribution etc. The obtained results showed a significant improvement in the entire product design and manufacturing process with the best quality.

The qualia product design of the National Palace Museum in Taipei

ABSTRACTThis article is focused on product design in the National Palace Museum (NPM) in Taipei, Taiwan. Because of the rapid rise in product design in recent years, the Taiwanese government has emphasized ‘qualia’, the emotional value or sense of quality goods. The NPM is being used as the flagship to create national policies for the cultural product design industry. The article chooses the most well-known collection at the NPM — the Jadeite Cabbage — as the subject of the research in order to apply the qualia concept. The subjects of this study are products from the NPM's gift shop and online store. Some suggestions for improving product design and administrative measures are provided.

Virtual Fatigue Experiment Analysis of Welded Bogie Frame

Fatigue failure easily occurs in the weld seam of bogie frame, fatigue life prediction is very important. Based on the UIC615-4 (Motive power units- Bogies and running gear-Bogie frame structure strength tests ) and IIW standard (Recommendations for fatigue design standard of welded joints and components-IIW document XIII-1965-03/ XV-1127-03), fatigue test process of bogie frame is simulated by means of finite element method. Using Miner cumulative damage theory, on the basis of IIW welded joints S-N data, fatigue life of the welded frame is predicted, and the virtual fatigue test of welded frame is completed. During the phase of product design, virtual fatigue test technology can be used to evaluate the fatigue strength, which can find the weak part and improve product design quality.

Research on product reliability improvement by using DMAIC process

PurposeDefine, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) and define, measure, analyze, design and verify (DMADV) are two Six Sigma methodologies that improve quality in a process or product. In general, if the product design improvement in reliability cannot satisfy the failure‐free performance of Six Sigma, the DMADV process is used to create or redesign new product designs. However, the original function may be affected, and the product development cycle time may be enhanced due to a redesigned process. This paper aims to propose a new procedure to combine the reliability parameter and critical to quality (CTQ) to improve a product's reliability and to reduce the number of engineering changes without redesigning.Design/methodology/approachThe study influences the failure parameter to find out the mean time to failure (MTTF) tree and utilizes the DMAIC process for improvement. It is important to maintain the function while improving time. This study looks at a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) case.FindingsThe CCFL case uses the DMAIC process finds that important root cause improvement can increase MTTF twofold.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful information on product reliability improvement using the DMAIC process.

The Epidemiology of Chemical Eye Injuries

Purpose: To describe the epidemiology and identify categories of agents involved in chemical eye injuries.Methods: Retrospective case series of consecutive cases of chemical eye injury presenting to the emergency department (ED) at a large eye hospital. Six-hundred and thirty-three patients presented to the ED between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2009 for treatment of 640 chemical eye injuries. Information was collected via medical record review and chemical agents were classified into logical categories based on the patient-reported intended use of the product. Demographic measures, month of service, work-related status, and visual acuity at presentation were described overall and by chemical agent category.Results: Males were more often observed than females (58.4% vs. 41.6%). The mean age across all categories was 33.6 years. More injuries were observed in warmer months. The mean visual acuity for all available injured eyes was 0.17 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (20/30 Snellen). The most common categories of chemical agents were cleaning agents, personal care products, and automotive chemicals. Thirty-nine cases were observed as having misidentified a product which led to injury.Conclusion: Patterns of eye trauma resulting from chemicals differ by gender, across age groups, and during different months of the year. In most cases, chemical eye injuries do not threaten sight. Improvements in product labeling and design could represent an avenue to prevent some chemical eye injuries.

Integrated Rolling Bearing Type Selection and Parameter-Driven Graphic Resource System

To solve rolling bearing type selection in engineering design, with the development tool of Visual LISP and parametric design method, module programming is used to develop an integrated rolling bearing type selection and graphic resource system that accords with national standards and design process in machinery industry. According to the Latest Bearing Manual and newest National Bearing Standards, the bearing performance analysis algorithm module and Access databases of rolling bearings are established. Under the controlling of a process management module, AutoCAD is connected with Access and the data is queried in the Access databases. Thus, the designer is guided to accomplish the rolling bearing type selection step by step according to its performance requirements. In addition, the system integrates the bearing graphic resource module and according to the user requirements, the system completes the detail drawing of the rolling bearing automatically. The system interface established with DCL is easy to use and accords with engineering personnel’s habits. The system can be extended to include other rolling bearing type selection and graphic resource system. It is proved that the system can improve product design efficiency and quality.

Manufacturing variation models in multi-station machining systems

In product design and quality improvement fields, the development of reliable 3D machining variation models for multi-station machining processes is a key issue to estimate the resulting geometrical and dimensional quality of manufactured parts, generate robust process plans, eliminate downstream manufacturing problems, and reduce ramp-up times. In the literature, two main 3D machining variation models have been studied: the stream of variation model, oriented to product quality improvement (fault diagnosis, process planning evaluation and selection, etc.), and the model of the manufactured part, oriented to product and manufacturing design activities (manufacturing and product tolerance analysis and synthesis). This paper reviews the fundamentals of each model and describes step by step how to derive them using a simple case study. The paper analyzes both models and compares their main characteristics and applications. A discussion about the drawbacks and limitations of each model and some potential research lines in this field are also presented.

A hybrid methodology of fuzzy grey relation for determining multi attribute customer preferences of edible oil

The main idea behind this study is to introduce a fuzzy grey relational methodology (FGRM) to determine the importance of customer attributes’ (CAs) for edible oil, particularly for defining the opportunity of competitiveness which has recently become one of an important concern of manufacturing companies. It was also aimed to seek high quality level of product and process characteristics for meeting the desirability of attributes and for health care. A fuzzy grey inference system was employed with the support of fuzzy quality function (QFD) deployment to interpret the qualitative and imprecise customer attributes. Fuzzy QFD is relatively a recent methodology offering a more in-depth analysis and investigation into the handling of customer requirements and engineering characteristics. The attributes then were defuzzified into quantitative values by amalgamating the knowledge of the customers and the product designers.Customer needs (CNs) are the voice of customers and tend to be linguistic naturally. In this study, fuzzy inference system (FIS) along with fuzzy QFD was employed to determine the desirability of edible oil by consumers. Fuzzy QFD is a powerful tool for improving product design and quality, and procuring a customer-driven quality system. The integrated framework based on FIS, fuzzy QFD and FGRM determined the CAs relations, and desirability level of edible oil by consumers. The findings are not only meaningful for customers, but also important for market position of product. The methodology significantly reduces the complexity of decision making and increase the production efficiency and overall competitiveness.