Modular Product Design Research Articles

Instilling lifecycle costs into modular product development for improved remanufacturing-product service system enterprise

The main challenges to remanufacturing could be remediated by product service system (PSS). Consequently, there have been growing interests to improve PSS-remanufacturing enterprise. Meanwhile, PSS and remanufacturing are substantially influenced by the decisions during product development (PD). Modular product design is acknowledged to enhance PSS and remanufacturing processes. However, lifecycle cost at the PD phase is missing in the PSS-remanufacturing integrated framework. This is a significant limitation since PD decisions account for over 70% of product lifecycle costs. Extending prior study, this research addresses this gap using a modular subassembly as a case study. The design, manufacturing, and transportation costs of the module variants that are available for the subassembly were obtained. The costs data obtained, alongside core cleaning and serviceability metrics that were determined in an earlier study are utilized in the optimization model developed. The model is implemented to identify optimal modular product configurations at the PD phase to enhance PSS-remanufacturing product offerings. Also, the study performs multi-objective analyses to evaluate the optimal product configurations considering core cleaning, serviceability, design, manufacturing, and transportation costs. The comparative strength and weaknesses of the product configurations are identified through the analyses. Also, sensitivity analyses are performed to assess the product configurations by adjusting the weights assigned to the objectives. The results of the analyses highlight the relative benefits and shortcomings of the product configurations. The approach developed provides a guide to determine the product configurations that facilitate PSS-remanufacturing integrated product offerings.

Identification of Influential Modules Considering Design Change Impacts Based on Parallel Breadth-First Search and Bat Algorithm.

Modular design is a widely used strategy that meets diverse customer requirements. Close relationships exist between parts inside a module and loose linkages between modules in the modular products. A change of one part or module may cause changes of other parts or modules, which in turn propagate through a product. This paper aims to present an approach to analyze the associations and change impacts between modules and identify influential modules in modular product design. The proposed framework explores all possible change propagation paths (CPPs), and measures change impact degrees between modules. In this article, a design structure matrix (DSM) is used to express dependence relationships between parts, and change propagation trees of affected parts within module are constructed. The influence of the affected part in the corresponding module is also analyzed, and a reachable matrix is employed to determine reachable parts of change propagation. The parallel breadth-first algorithm is used to search propagation paths. The influential modules are identified according to their comprehensive change impact degrees that are computed by the bat algorithm. Finally, a case study on the grab illustrates the impacts of design change in modular products.

Integrated Multilayer Architecture with Multi Interface Entity Model for Risk Management in Modular Product Design

The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework where risk management is a living, decision-driving process in a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) supported product development environment. This is especially relevant in the realm of the medical devices industry where products have a direct impact in customer’s health. The challenge is finding a methodology where risk management is a living, concomitant process throughout the lifecycle, which is cumulative, so the risk assessments refine with the product’s definition while adhering to a tightly regulated environment for medical devices. This process needs be fully embedded in the PLM processes so it is able to accompany the product at any change throughout its life. To achieve this goal we narrow the definition of risk to fit our purposes. We introduce the Multi Interfaces Entity Model (MIEM) as method to do a scalable and summative product decomposition. The results of the MIEM will be translated in a multilayered architecture that recognizes the functional, the modular, the generative and the physical view. In the next step, we evaluate the possible solutions to these modules creating a bridge the configurable products in PLM. From the decomposition throughout the design until the configuration, different risk assessment will be performed with the goal to accumulate them at the point of configuration to choose the best product based the lowest possible risk. The results lay the ground for a recursive methodology that supported with a PLM integrated risk management, which can be automated to make sure the risk assessment is complete, re-usable and configurable as an additional PLM function. This allows the creation of a configured design structure, applying recursively the same cumulative properties of the risk assessment. Further investigation is needed on how to implement this framework in an open source environment that is still compatible with proprietary PLM systems.

Module Drivers in Product Development: A Comprehensive Review and Synthesis

Modular product design is recognised as a successful approach to efficiently fulfil today's market requirements. Erixon [6] and several later publications have proposed drivers for modularising products, yet to the best of the authors’ knowledge, none have attempted to unify these contributions into a coherent and comprehensive overview. Based on a review of the literature, this study has identified, analysed, and synthesised module drivers into an extensive set of module drivers. Taking outset in the value chain concept, this study identified 68 individual module drivers grouped into 29 module driver categories spanning 6 value chain steps.

Modular Design Using Sustainable Luminescent Materials in Energy-Saving Reflective Cat’s Eyes for Public Road Safety Planning

Recently, there has been a global movement toward environmental protection and energy conservation through the design and development of new products in accordance with sustainable utilisation. In this study, rare earth luminescent materials were used owing to their active light emission and reusability. Additionally, solar light-emitting diode lights and car-light reflection were utilised to increase the recognition and reliability of reflective cat eyes. Along with carbon reduction, this can save energy and enhance road safety. This study considered the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving and a literature review to analyse the issues in existing products. Then, expert interviews were conducted to screen projects and develop product design policies. Finally, the ratio of light-storage materials was experimentally determined and the prototypes implemented. This cat’s eye addresses the shortcomings identified in previous analyses of existing products. We applied energy storage environmental protection materials, together with material proportioning (which balanced warning efficiency against cost-effectiveness) to develop diversified modular kits; these were flexible in terms of quantity and easily assembled. This study achieved four key objectives: (1) reducing the research and development costs of the manufacturer; (2) offering buyers a diverse suite of products; (3) responding to a need to improve diverse road user safety; and (4) reducing government procurement costs for safety warning products. The results provide a reference for the creative modular design of energy-saving products for public road safety planning in various industries.

AI-Powered Cyberinfrastructure Platform for Modular Electric Vehicle Product Design: Conceptual framework and architecture

Modularity in products is a well-accepted strategy for diversifying and enabling the development of new products. A modular product not only eases the designing, construction, and testing of products, but also fits well in production, distribution, and product customization cost-effectively. In this study, we propose modularity as a keystone for the progressive development of the fast-evolving, yet nascent electric vehicle (EV) product. Specifically, we present a conceptual framework for a cyberinfrastructure-based platform for criteria-dependent customization of EV modular products/components. The cyberinfrastructure platform consists of three key parts: a standardized representation of components, their interfaces and their workflow; a central repository of components; and a system for designing modular products. The product configuration optimizer serves to customize the products based on decision criteria, customer preferences, real-time availability of supplies with components cost profile, compatibility and interface engineering of the components. A working model of the framework is presented for the use-case of modular platform configuration of the key components of an EV to meet customer preferences.

Improving Traditional Craft Products in Taiwan: A Modular Product Design Model of Manufacturing Technologies

Improving Traditional Craft Products in Taiwan: A Modular Product Design Model of Manufacturing Technologies

Pharmaceutical Product Modularization as a Mass Customization Strategy to Increase Patient Benefit Cost-Efficiently

Customized pharmaceutical products aim to comply with the individual needs of a patient to enhance the treatment outcome. The current pharmaceutical production paradigm is, however, dominated by mass production, where the pharmaceutical products embrace a one-size-fits-all design with a low possibility of treatment optimization to patient needs. This production paradigm is not designed or intended for customized pharmaceutical products and operating this production context for customized pharmaceutical products is argued to be cost-inefficient. To address this challenge of inefficient production of customized pharmaceutical products, this study proposes an approach to modular pharmaceutical product design. As a mass customization strategy, product modularization enables serving customers with customized products cost-efficiently. The proposed modular pharmaceutical products integrate three product design requirements originating from patient needs: a scalable dose strength, a flexible target release profile, and a scalable treatment size. An approach to assess the value of these product designs is presented, by means of proposing three benefit metrics complying with respective design requirements and a cost metric assessing the cost of producing these modular pharmaceutical product designs. Results suggest that pharmaceutical product modularization can, by keeping the number of produced components low, substantially increase the external product variety and, hence, enhance the treatment outcome of patients. Furthermore, results indicate that the achieved benefit for the patient through product modularization increases beyond additional costs arising during production. However, a careful modularization must be performed to optimize the tradeoff between the increased benefit and cost.

Integration of axiomatic design and design structure matrix for the modular design of automobile parts

As the demands of customers in the modern industry increased, the number of products, and the variety of components has increased. These issues have led to difficulties in product development and production. Modularization of products has advantages such as cost reduction, product development time reduction, and production time reduction. Modular design of products has been studied in the design activities of the modern industry. In this study, a modular design method is proposed to design a modular product based on axiomatic design (AD) and design structure matrix (DSM). AD and DSM are efficiently integrated into the proposed method. Functional requirements and design parameters are defined based on the Independence Axiom of AD, and the zigzagging process of AD is employed for the decomposition of the functional requirements (FRs) and design parameters (DPs). The design sequence is established based on the design matrix. Coupled or functionally close DPs are grouped into a module (Module 1). These modules are efficiently used in the design sequence. DSM is used to modularize the design parameters of the lowest level of axiomatic design. DSM is constructed based on physical interfaces and numerical clustering algorithms are used to identify strongly related components. They are grouped into a module (Module 2). Module 2 is exploited for production and management. Therefore, these two modules for different purposes can be used to increase efficiency in the design and production process. The proposed method is applied to two automobile parts such as the suspension system and cooling system. The results are discussed from the viewpoint of usefulness.

An integrated approach to optimize the configuration of mass-customized products and reconfigurable manufacturing systems

The current global unpredictable market is characterized by increasing demand for highly customized products. To thrive in this scenario, it becomes essential to establish a closer interaction between product and manufacturing system, keeping the main focus on the client. Modular product design (MPD) is the best strategy to produce a large product variety. MPD’s configuration phase represents a key step for mass customization because it allows customers to be integrated into the value-creation process. Reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS) seem to be the most appropriate manufacturing system to manufacture mass-customized products due to their ability to be quickly reconfigured, adjusting their production capacity and functionality to fit new market demands. Aiming to integrate individual customer needs with product and manufacturing decisions, this paper proposes a new 0-1 nonlinear integer programming model to concurrently optimize the configuration of modular products and RMS (including machine and layout configuration levels), driven by individual customer requirements. A genetic algorithm-based approach is proposed to solve this model, and its parameters are tuned with a 2-full factorial design. An example of customizable office chairs is used to illustrate the proposition, and different scenarios of customer requirements and RMS configurations were presented. Results evidence that varying initial machines’ configurations can highly affect the process plan and the overall manufacturing costs; however, there is no evidence that changes in initial layout configurations cause significant effects. In summary, this work confirms the relevance of integrating modular product and RMS configuration decisions for minimizing costs of producing highly mass-customized products.

Modular Mixer Machine Design for Liquid Fertilizer

Purpose: The design of the stirrer in making liquid organic fertilizer. Methodology: The TRIZ model is used in the design process. Results: The appropriate engineering characteristics to overcome the contradiction problem between the ability to rotate the mixer and the weight of the motor are the ‘force’ characteristic (parameter 10) and the ‘weight of stationary object’ characteristic (parameter 2). The solution is to move the weight of the motor on the object that will provide a ride. Applications/Originality/Value: Modular product development by applying the TRIZ concept has not been widely used. This paper will help position the TRIZ method in the design of modular products.

The demand side of climate services for real-time snow management in Alpine ski resorts: Some empirical insights and implications for climate services development

Whilst there has been significant effort to stimulate the supply side of the market for climate services, the demand side still receives less attention. For this reason, this paper presents empirical data on prospective demand for (sub-)seasonal climate services addressing daily operational decision-making in ski resorts, particularly in the field of snow management. Based on theoretical considerations about what determines the market size for climate services and responses from two surveys among Alpine ski resorts, we address questions about (i) the potential to optimise snow management by increasing the ability to anticipate weather and snow conditions, (ii) ski resorts’ interest in (sub-)seasonal climate services and (iii) their willingness to pay. Our survey results reveal several aspects with a positive impact on the theoretical demand for (sub-)seasonal climate services in the field of ski resorts’ snow management. This includes high saving potential in some ski resorts from perfect or improved knowledge of upcoming meteorological conditions, widespread experience in the use of forecasts and snow management tools, and a noticeable portion of actors willing to consider uncertain information in decision-making to some extent. Nevertheless, the willingness to pay for (sub-)seasonal climate services seems somewhat limited. Recommendations for service providers include demonstrating clearly where and how even uncertain information can add value to decision-making, careful weighing of the costs of provision of each service component against added value for customers, and a flexible and modular product design.

Concurrent optimisation of modular product and Reconfigurable Manufacturing System configuration: a customer-oriented offer for mass customisation

ABSTRACT Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (RMS) emerged from companies’ needs to increase their responsiveness to an uncertain market, in which customers are increasingly demanding mass-customised products. Companies focused on mass customisation mainly use the modular product design (MPD) strategy to cost-effectively provide a large product variety. Hence, coupling the MPD with the manufacturing in RMS seems to be a good strategy to effectively provide mass-customised products with lower costs. However, few papers have concurrently optimised the modular products’ and RMS’s configurations for that end. Further, very few papers have explored the RMS’s layout configuration. In order to fill these gaps, this paper proposes a Nonlinear Integer Programming model that integrates the configuration of modular products and RMS, driven by individual customer requirements, to minimise manufacturing costs of mass-customised products. An approach combining a Modified Brute-Force Algorithm (MBFA) and a genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed and compared with a CPLEX-based approach for a small-sized problem, proving its ability to find an optimal solution in lower computation time. An illustrative example of modular smartphones confirms the MBFA-GA’s ability to solve medium/large-sized problems in a reasonable amount of time while ensuring an optimal product configuration that meets customer requirements.

Discretization of Emperor Penguins Colony Algorithms with Application to Modular Product Design

Discretization of Emperor Penguins Colony Algorithms with Application to Modular Product Design

Designing supplier networks in global product development

The ability to coordinate geographically dispersed supplier networks are vital for firms to successfully manage global product development (GPD). Whilst some interactions between suppliers during GPD have been observed to increase GPD performance, research effort has been primarily addressed to investigate buyer-supplier relationships. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the possible supplier network configurations in GPD and the contextual factors that influence the adoption of the different supplier network configurations. Based on the evidence from 17 case studies, a taxonomy of supplier network configurations in GPD, specified as supplier localisation and nature of the relationship between suppliers, has been empirically validated. Moreover, results reveal that collaboration between research and development units (R&D), modular product design and larger firm size help to establish cooperation between globally dispersed suppliers.

Independent Tailoring of Dose and Drug Release via a Modularized Product Design Concept for Mass Customization.

Independent individualization of multiple product attributes, such as dose and drug release, is a crucial overarching requirement of pharmaceutical products for individualized therapy as is the unified integration of individualized product design with the processes and production that drive patient access to such therapy. Individualization intrinsically demands a marked increase in the number of product variants to suit smaller, more stratified patient populations. One established design strategy to provide enhanced product variety is product modularization. Despite existing customized and/or modular product design concepts, multifunctional individualization in an integrated manner is still strikingly absent in pharma. Consequently, this study aims to demonstrate multifunctional individualization through a modular product design capable of providing an increased variety of release profiles independent of dose and dosage form size. To further exhibit that increased product variety is attainable even with a low degree of product modularity, the modular design was based upon a fixed target dosage form size of approximately 200 mm3 comprising two modules, approximately 100 mm3 each. Each module contained a melt-extruded and molded formulation of 40% w/w metoprolol succinate in a PEG1500 and Kollidon® VA64 erodible hydrophilic matrix surrounded by polylactic acid and/or polyvinyl acetate as additional release rate-controlling polymers. Drug release testing confirmed the generation of predictable, combined drug release kinetics for dosage forms, independent of dose, based on a product’s constituent modules and enhanced product variety through a minimum of six dosage form release profiles from only three module variants. Based on these initial results, the potential of the reconfigurable modular product design concept is discussed for unified integration into a pharmaceutical mass customization/mass personalization context.

The Research on Indirect Modular Adaptable Design Platform on Part Design of Civil Aircraft

Based on the traditional modular design and the module division concept of virtual flexible modules in generalized modular design, this paper proposes a design method of indirect modular design. It suggests a way to achieve modular design of products without obvious serialization and hierarchical characteristics integrating modular platform and parameterized platform. The division and application of geometric parameters and numerical parameters of civil aircraft fuselage frame are taken as an example to show how it works. The indirect module is constructed on the basis of the framework model, and the lines and surfaces of the framework model are used as driving parameters. The design idea of adaptable design platform based on indirect modular design is also presented in this paper. The similar modules of the parameterized family modules can be designed quickly by driving the geometric parameters and numerical parameters separately. It makes faster and more accurate response to customer needs.

Establishing Circular Model and Management Benefits of Enterprise from the Circular Economy Standpoint: A Case Study of Chyhjiun Jewelry in Taiwan

Upon the development of a linear economy, global enterprises are facing resource depletion, ecological collapse, and unsustainable economic growth, and the living environment is facing ordeals as well. Taiwan’s resources are extremely dependent on imports; hence the need for change in the thinking of economic development is arising. The purpose of this study is, based on the concept of circular economy, to discuss the business model and anticipated benefits of Chyhjiun Jewelry Co. Ltd., by using the method of expert interview, participant observation, and method of secondary data collection with the ReSOLVE framework. The results of the study found the developable ReSOLVE business model of the target company Chyhjiun Jewelry in our case study; the ReSOLVE business model includes the use of renewable energy, maintenance and repair services, modular product design, a recovery mechanism, a virtual online shopping platform, and 3D printing technologies. The model established enterprise recycling model as well as the benefits of green management, of which the research results could reduce costs, help the company in exercising its corporate social responsibility, add value to the brand, and generate anticipated benefits arising from other enterprises’ follow-up actions.

LCA of rare earth and critical metal recovery and replacement decisions for commercial lighting waste management

Lighting waste represents a significant source of rare earth elements (REE) and critical metals (CM), which are vital to low-carbon technologies. This research examines the environmental impacts of recovering REE (Yttrium and Europium) from linear fluorescent fixtures and CM (Gallium) from linear LED fixtures, as well as the implications of technology transition (e.g., from fluorescent to LED) and replacement decisions (i.e., extended use, modular replacement/retrofits, and full replacement) on waste management. An LCA is conducted by modeling 1 million lumen-hours of service from an 8 ft T8 linear fixture across 16 pathways representing multiple replacement and waste management options. The study finds that recovering REE and CM from lamp waste via hydrometallurgical methods generally result in more environmental impacts than the primary production of the recovered materials. Per kg recovered, the global warming impact is 74 kg and 3,687 kg CO2eq for REE and Ga, respectively. The high impacts for Ga recovery are due to Ga's low concentration (0.234 w/w%) in the LED waste. Intermediate results at the end of life stage show that recycling common metals (e.g., aluminum, copper, and sometimes steel) from fixtures can reduce or even completely offset the impacts of specialty metal recovery. Based on the end results, a mature technology like fluorescent fixtures can benefit from both extended use and modular product designs. The best strategy is to prioritize energy efficiency (e.g., by upgrading to new LED) and to choose full luminaire (lamps, electronics, and fixture) upgrades, which offer higher system efficacies, over retrofits (lamps and electronics only).

Module-Based Product Configuration Decisions Considering Both Economical and Carbon Emission-Related Environmental Factors

With an increasing demand for green and environmentally friendly products, configuring a customized product from modular product design to satisfy both individualized customer requirements and environment restrictions has become a vital task for mass customization. In this paper, we addressed a module-based product configuration problem under carbon emission regulation, i.e., carbon cap-and-trade schema. The configuration problem under carbon cap-and-trade schema was formulated as a mixed-integer programming problem. Due to the NP-hard characteristics of the model, a genetic algorithm was employed to solve the configuration problems under carbon cap-and-trade. Experiments were carried out to analyze the effects of carbon emissions on product configuration decisions and carbon purchasing decisions. As a result, the range for carbon emission cap is suggested for both manufacturers and government agency, which provides the decision supporting for both customized and low-carbon production and green manufacturing.