Modular Design Concept Research Articles

Two‐phase methodology for customized product design and manufacturing

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the results on a model for manufacturing under the constraints and conditions of mass customization environment.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed model is based on manufacturing features and entails the concept of modular design. That is, manufacturing features are identified and analyzed in a way that enables the generation of what is called “manufacturing core”. Manufacturing cores are semi‐finished products that have certain manufacturing features. The core can be used to manufacture a range of products after conducting certain manufacturing processes. Manufacturing cores are generated through two phases of optimization. The first phase is known as product's manufacturing features analysis which includes starting features identification. The second phase is known as manufacturing cores formation that ends with generation of manufacturing cores.FindingsThe methodology is implemented on real products (flanges) as a case study. The proposed model for mass customization is compared at make‐to‐stock and make‐to‐order policies in terms of a burden which includes the time and the cost that are required to fulfil a production order. Applying the proposed model of mass customization entails the minimum total burden required.Research limitations/implicationsWhen the number of generic and variant features increases, an automated feature‐recognition module or sub‐system is required to facilitate the extraction of manufacturing features.Practical implicationsThe proposed methodology is used for design of customized product through the application of integrated design for modularity and mass customization approach for production.Originality/valueThe proposed methodology entails development of semi‐finished products based on manufacturing features that can be used for design and manufacturing of a range of products.

Modular Design for a Novel Aid about the Disabled in Lower Limb Based on the Function Requirement Analysis

To analyze the function demand for the rehabilitation aids on the basis of market research to the disabled. A novel multi-functional rehabilitation aid is developed based on the concept of modular design, which could aid the disabled to accomplish the daily living life care and rehabilitation training of the lower limbs. According to their real daily life needs and economic ability, combination with different modules could meet their various functional requirements and adapt to the market demands constantly.

A two-phase methodology for modular product customisation

Mass customisation is known as producing customised products while entailing the efficiency of mass production. The proposed model is based on manufacturing features and entails the concept of modular design. That is manufacturing features are identified and analysed in a way that enables the generation of what is called ‘manufacturing core’. Manufacturing cores are generated through two phases of optimisation. The first phase is known as product’s manufacturing features analysis which includes starting features identification. The second phase is known as manufacturing cores formation that ends with generation of manufacturing cores. A case study is proposed as an implantation of the model on real products (flanges). This approach comes as intermediate production strategy between make to stock and make to order strategies. It provides a decision tool for managers to better identify which strategy is better to use. The model proposes an integrated manufacturing cores and modular design approach Therefore, lower inventory of sub-assemblies and components are planned for a more efficient production operation.

Design concept for a modular in-vacuum Hall probe mapper for in-vacuum undulators and cryogenic permanent magnet undulators of varying magnetic length

Both in-vacuum undulators (IVUs) and cryogenic permanent magnet undulators (CPMUs), each important to third-generation light sources, are best characterized in their operating environment. To create a precision Hall probe map of an IVU/CPMU (IVU hereafter), an in-vacuum magnetic measurement (IVMM) system is proposed. Point-by-point measurement of field and trajectory error informs corrective tuning.A novel design concept for a universal IVMM System has been developed and explored. The IVMM seals to the rectangular Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) flange of the IVU and shares its common vacuum space. Moreover, a modular design permits a wide range of IVUs of varying magnetic length to be mapped with a single IVMM, and is thus cost effective when multiple IVUs of varying configurations are planned. Here we review aspects of the modular IVMM design concept.

Analysis and design of a modular underactuated mechanism for robotic fingers

This paper presents an analysis of the design problems and requirements for underactuated mechanisms for robotic fingers. The case of performing a grasping task is considered and a solution is proposed that consists of a series of linked underactuated mechanisms. Optimality criteria are analysed with the aim of formulating a general design algorithm based on a suitable optimization problem. An example of a four-phalanx modular finger is used to highlight the practical feasibility of the proposed modular design concepts and procedures.

Medusa: a scalable MR console using USB.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pulse sequence consoles typically employ closed proprietary hardware, software, and interfaces, making difficult any adaptation for innovative experimental technology. Yet MRI systems research is trending to higher channel count receivers, transmitters, gradient/shims, and unique interfaces for interventional applications. Customized console designs are now feasible for researchers with modern electronic components, but high data rates, synchronization, scalability, and cost present important challenges. Implementing large multichannel MR systems with efficiency and flexibility requires a scalable modular architecture. With Medusa, we propose an open system architecture using the universal serial bus (USB) for scalability, combined with distributed processing and buffering to address the high data rates and strict synchronization required by multichannel MRI. Medusa uses a modular design concept based on digital synthesizer, receiver, and gradient blocks, in conjunction with fast programmable logic for sampling and synchronization. Medusa is a form of synthetic instrument, being reconfigurable for a variety of medical/scientific instrumentation needs. The Medusa distributed architecture, scalability, and data bandwidth limits are presented, and its flexibility is demonstrated in a variety of novel MRI applications.

Network Communication System Based on AT91SAM92 Hardware Design

The network communication system is presented for controller of AT91SAM9261 architecture which is based on ARM926EJ-S core, modular design concept is given by the each har­d­ware related module and driver design. High processing speed of the system on the basis of this system can be extended .

Applying Modular Greening Technology in Living Walls of Shanghai Expo

The living wall of theme pavilion of Shanghai Expo was enrolled in World Record Association for its 5,000 m2area. The wall with modular design concept was also a symbol of energy-saving. This study took Shanghai Expo as a case to explore the modular greening technology including theory analysis, design factor and cooling effect. The technology has the following virtues: Environment-friendly idea of recycled waster paper pulp, reused litter and other organic waste; economy concept of collecting rain, holding water and nutrient in medium and tolerating extensive management; integrity medium formula; modular suitable to plant upward growth; applicable for district of hot summer and cold winter, Plum rain and typhoons. After victory exhibition of the World Expo, living wall will further popularize in compact metropolitans.

A Family of Chiral Metal–Organic Frameworks

Chiral metal-organic frameworks with a three-dimensional network structure and wide-open pores (>30 Å) were obtained by using chiral trifunctional linkers and multinuclear zinc clusters. The linkers, H(3) ChirBTB-n, consist of a 4,4',4''-benzene-1,3,5-triyltribenzoate (BTB) backbone decorated with chiral oxazolidinone substituents. The size and polarity of these substituents determines the network topology formed under solvothermal synthesis conditions. The resulting chiral MOFs adsorb even large molecules from solution. Moreover, they are highly active Lewis acid catalysts in the Mukaiyama aldol reaction. Due to their chiral functionalization, they show significant levels of enantioselectivity, thereby proving the validity of the modular design concept employed.

Modular component design for portable microfluidic devices

A new modular design concept for microfluidic devices is proposed and demonstrated in this study. We designed three key modular microfluidic components: pumps, valves, and reservoirs, and demonstrated that a microfluidic device with specific functions can be easily assembled with those key modular components. Our pumps are man-powerable so that the assembled microfluidic devices require no any other power sources like expensive syringe pumps or air compressors. This feature makes the assembled microfluidic devices completely portable. We also combined our assembled device with other existing mixing microchannels to serve as the mixing and loading system in polymerase chain reaction experiment to amplify DNA successfully. This result shows that those modular components can be integrated into other microchannels, implying great potential applications of the modular design.

A new modular design concept for China's HCSB TBM in ITER

Previous designs from China (CN) for a helium-cooled solid breeder (HCSB) breeder blanket (BB) require modifications to increase the tritium breeding ratio (TBR) so that the design will satisfy tritium self-sufficiency requirements for a power-producing fusion reactor (DEMO) while ensuring engineering feasibility. A modified design for a CN HCSB test blanket module (TBM) is given in which thick enclosure walls around the breeding units are removed, the mass of cooling plate structural material is reduced, and the ratio (by volume) of Be zones to Li 4SiO 4 zones is optimized. Analysis of the proposed design is performed by using Monte Carlo neutron transport code. The TBR of the proposed design is 1.18, which is greater than the 1.15 ratio required for tritium self-sufficiency, and 39.15% higher than the previous design's TBR of 0.848. Based on new 3D neutronics results for a DEMO reactor, a preliminary 2 × 6 HCSB TBM design concept is suggested.

Modular design applied to beverage-container injection molds

This work applies modular design concepts to designating beverage-container injection molds. This study aims to develop a method of controlling costs and time in relation to mold development, and also to improve product design. This investigation comprises two parts: functionality coding, and establishing a standard operation procedure, specifically designed for beverage-container injection mold design and manufacturing. First, the injection mold is divided into several modules, each with a specific function. Each module is further divided into several structural units possessing sub-function or sub-sub-function. Next, dimensions and specifications of each unit are standardized and a compatible interface is constructed linking relevant units. This work employs a cup-shaped beverage container to experimentally assess the performance of the modular design approach. The experimental results indicate that the modular design approach to manufacturing injection molds shortens development time by 36% and reduces costs by 19∼23% compared with the conventional approach. Meanwhile, the information on modularity helps designers in diverse products design. Additionally, the functionality code helps effectively manage and maintain products and molds.

Instrumented wearable belt for wireless health monitoring

The ability to monitor the health status of elderly patients or patients undergoing therapy at home enables significant advantages in terms of both cost and comfort of the subject. However, such non-clinical applications of biomedical signal monitoring require various improvements not only in terms of size and comfort of the acquisition systems, but also in terms of their power dissipation. The research activity is concerned with the development of a novel wearable biomedical signal sensor device for monitoring health conditions at home. The wearable monitoring system consists of two subsystems: firstly, a wearable data acquisition hardware, where the sensors for acquiring the biomedical parameters are integrated, and secondly, a remote monitoring station placed separately and connected to internet for telemedicine applications. The physiological parameters that are monitored with the proposed instrumented wearable belt are electrocardiogram (ECG), heart rate (HR) derived from ECG signals by determining the R–R intervals, body temperature, respiratory rate, and three axis movement (acceleration and position) of the subject measured using an accelerometer. In order to design and construct the signal acquisition circuits efficiently and simply, modular design concept is adopted in this research. Three basic high quality and flexible modules for signal conditioning are designed and assembled together for satisfying each sensor. Human biomedical parameters can be registered and analyzed continuously during home work activities. Proper evaluation of those parameters would let immediately know about sudden health state changes, accidental injury or another menacing danger befalling patients at home.

Modular Design of Li-Ion and Li-Polymer Batteries for Undersea Environments

AbstractLi-Ion chemistry is ideal for undersea environments. The cells are sealed and do not outgas, and the polymer versions can withstand pressures greater than 10,000 psi. This combination results in a battery that is easier and safer to use and one that does not require heavy, expensive pressure vessels.Recent advances in electronic control of the Li-Ion battery and new modular design concepts for construction of complex battery systems have resulted in battery systems that are more robust, more flexible, longer lived, easier to charge and maintain, and safer than their lower density counterparts. These new Li-Ion battery systems can be designed to deliver this energy at high voltages and high currents. Electronic charge control within the battery system allows charging by direct connection to power supplies or constant power sources such as fuel cells and solar panels.The modular design concept for Li-Ion and Li-Polymer battery systems are presented with an emphasis on construction for undersea applications. Key to the modular battery system design concept is the ability to electronically balance all the cells within the battery system automatically without operator intervention. Two different methods are described, which show how electronic balancing of all the cells within the battery system is accomplished. Examples of production battery systems already in service are shown, and systems under development are provided.

Effect of Directly Welded Stringer-To-Beam Connections on the Analysis and Design of Modular Steel Building Floors

Modular Steel Buildings (MSBs) are fast evolving as an effective alternative to conventional on-site steel construction. An explanation of the concept of modular steel design, including its unique detailing requirements is given in this paper. The paper also focuses on a typical MSB floor system which is achieved by welding the webs of the stringers directly to the floor beams. A typical modular floor grid structure is designed using conventional methods. The floor is then modelled using the finite element method and analyzed under the effect of dead and live service loads. This allows an assessment of the effect of direct welding between stringers and floor beams on the analysis and design of floor beams, stringers, and welded connections. The results reveal that consideration of the true behaviour of direct welding leads to a distribution of forces and moments which is different from those found in conventional steel buildings. A simplified analytical model is proposed to capture such behaviour. Regression functions have been developed to describe the model. In practice, the proposed model can predict the actual forces and moments, leading to a reliable design of modular steel floors.

Diffusion brazing of Al-alloys for hybride structures

The concept of diffusion brazing is an interesting approach to overcome several principal problems when joining high-performance engineering materials. Typical obstacles are low wettability and low melting ranges of the substrate materials, intensive metallurgical interactions or the build-up of thermally induced stresses. In many cases commercially available filler alloys cannot be employed. However, it is crucial to have adequate joining technologies available in order to realize modular design concepts of hybride structures.The objective of the research is to employ diffusion brazing techniques to join temperature sensitive Al-base alloys. Based on fundamental thermodynamic considerations regarding interfacial phase transformations and corresponding diffusion mechanisms appropriate diffusion couples have been selected. Those materials have been deposited by PVD-processes onto the base materials. Subsequently, the components to be joined are placed into a vacuum furnace and are exposed to a temperature regime significantly below the melting range of the substrates. An additional force guarantees that the joint is in intimate contact and diffusion mechanisms can form a temporary liquid phase which solidifies isothermally during the brazing process. Apart from the materials selected the dwell time is the key parameter that controls the joint quality as well as interfacial precipitations.A broad set of experiments have been conducted using diffusion bonding agents in the system Al-Cu and Al-Si-Cu. Variations of dwell time and jacking force help to develop a deeper understanding of the underlying diffusion mechanisms which is the basis for further optimization of Al-based diffusion brazements.

Modular neural networks with applications to pattern profiling problems

We study the feasibility and the performance of modular design concept as applied to pattern profiling problems using artificial neural network. By decomposing the given pattern profiling problem into smaller modules, it is shown that comparable performance can be achieved with improvement on computation and design complexity. A survey of typical modular neural networks shows that large-scale nonlinear problems can alleviate its dimensionality curse with modular technique. Overview of modular neural networks based on how the problem is modularized through various decomposition and subsequent aggregation is given. A pattern recognition problem for aircraft trajectory prediction using NeuroFuzzy learning with a two stage modular learning design is presented. Decoupled data are used to train respective neural network modules. A genetic algorithm is used to aggregate all the learned modules so that it is ready for online pattern recognition purpose. As compared with the non-modular approach, the modular approach offers comparable prediction performance with significantly lower overall computation time. This study validates that modular design is a promising solution for large-scale soft computing problems.

Exploring Challenges of Information Dynamics Using an Animock

In this paper, we describe the use of an animated prototyping technique to elicit feedback on the usefulness of a set of modular design concepts for dealing with information dynamics in inferential analysis under data overload conditions. The design concepts were comprised of innovative solutions that utilized technology to assist in inferential analysis. The findings generally support the “promisingness” of the design directions for addressing information dynamics challenges in inferential analysis under data overload. Elicited feedback provides insight on how the concepts might prove useful to intelligence analysts in the field. Analysts recommended significant modifications that would be difficult to change post-implementation of software, suggesting that the animock technique was useful for exploring how design concepts could address challenging issues where no current software support exists.

Design for Cost: Module-Based Mass Customization

<para xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> The assemble-to-order (ATO) production strategy considers a tradeoff between the size of a product portfolio and the assembly lead time. The concept of modular design is often used in support of the ATO strategy. Modular design impacts the assembly of products and the supply chain, in particular, the storage, transport, and production are affected by the selected modular structure. The demand for products in a product family impacts the cost of the supply chain. Based on the demand patterns, a mix of modules and their stock are determined by solving an integer programming model. This model cannot be optimally solved due to its high computational complexity and, therefore, two heuristic algorithms are proposed. A simulated annealing algorithm improves on the previously generated solutions. The computational results reported in this paper show that significant savings could be realized by optimizing the composition of modules. The best performance is obtained by a simulated annealing combined with a heuristic approach. </para>

A methodology for integrating design for quality in modular product design

With inspection-based quality control techniques, the quality of a product remains undetermined until the product is built and tested, an expensive process that also delays the release of new products to the market. This paper brings the quality issues at early stages of product development, and enhances the existing work on design for quality by integrating with modular design concepts. Conceptually, modular design theory optimizes product quality at the conceptual phase by considering the underlying principles of axiomatic design and robust design along with the perceived quality of the product. Fuzzy logic is employed to estimate cost and quality performance indices of the candidate modules by analysing ambiguous product information at the conceptual stage. We consider two objectives for product modularization: minimization of modularization costs, and maximization of overall product quality. The Chebychev's goal programming model is used to solve the multi-objective optimization problem. The methodology is demonstrated using an example of a coffeemaker. The results of the case study identify the optimal number of modules, which are intuitive and also offer more design resolution for forming the product development teams.