Product Lifecycle Systems Research Articles

Life Cycle Simulation Method to Support Strategic Management that Considers Social Goals

Manufacturing companies are expected to make decisions that achieve not only the goals of the company but also the goals of society. Each company’s decisions affect the material flow and demand of other companies. Therefore, each company can play a role in strategic management by predicting in advance the impact of its own and other companies’ decisions on the achievement of social goals. To support such strategic management, this study proposes a life cycle simulation method that can estimate the impact of strategic decisions by considering social goals. The target is a connected life cycle systems (CoLSys) consisting of multiple product life cycle systems and interactions, in which the interactions are operated according to the life cycle system of each product. A decision-making model is included in the proposed method, and changes in the interaction settings are made in each product life cycle system to achieve predefined social and individual goals. To show the effectiveness of the proposed method, a case study was conducted for a CoLSys consisting of six products: electric vehicles, gasoline vehicles, hybrid vehicles, home batteries, battery charging stands, and photovoltaic power generation systems. In the case study, the social goal was decarbonization by 2050 and the individual goal was increasing profits. The simulation results confirmed that the decision-making model would result in greater reductions in CO2 emissions, including a faster transition from gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles. Moreover, we confirmed that the decision-making model contributed to balancing the achievement of social goals with the benefits of individual systems while adjusting the intensity of the interactions. However, it was found that decarbonization cannot be achieved by 2050 if only the assumed products and interactions are applied in the case study.

Prospects for the application of the product life cycle system by means of the planned preventive maintenance module on the example of aviation and agricultural components

The paper describes an approach to the development of a functional software module within the subsystem of planning, rationing, preventive, routine maintenance, with the functions of accounting for the time of turning operations in the manufacture of machine parts for various purposes, in the general technological chain of the software complex of interacting ERP/MRP/CAD/CAM/CAE technologies of the enterprise, including forecasting both the time of resource operation and the production of necessary components, in order to support manufactured aviation, agricultural and other products throughout the life cycle.

Digital twin product lifecycle system dedicated to the constant velocity joint

The constant velocity joint for the automobile is a key factor in realizing vehicle steering and propulsion, whose quality has a direct impact on the safety, maneuverability and comfort. To improve the manufacturing quality and later-stage maintenance efficiency of the constant velocity joint, a multi-dimensional digital twin model dedicated to product lifecycle of the constant velocity joint is established in this paper. Combing with the actual manufacturing process and process of the constant velocity joint, the three-dimensional(3D) modeling of its parts is established. Using computer simulation technology to reduce its production and test costs, so that the digital twin model has the ability to diagnose faults and optimize design. Using algorithm analysis and experience evaluation to process real-time data to achieve the purpose of predictive maintenance of constant velocity joint. The customized software based on CATIA is developed, and the digital twin model dedicated to product lifecycle of the constant velocity joint is verified which realize the balance between product standardization and manufacturing flexibility.

Data Assimilation Mechanism for Lifecycle Simulation Focusing on Process Behaviors

Systematic lifecycle design and management are promising approaches for constructing sustainable product lifecycle systems. Lifecycle simulation (LCS) has been used to evaluate a product lifecycle in the design phase from both the environmental and economic perspectives. Based on material flows through each process of the product lifecycle, the LCS calculates the time variation in environmental loads, cost, and profit. In each process of the LCS model, functions that regulate the behaviors of the process, called behavior functions, are set, and these functions control material flows. Previously, we proposed a data-assimilated LCS method that combines data assimilation (DA) with LCS to realize adaptive management based on actual states of the product lifecycle. In this previous development, the DA mechanism modified the material flows of an entire lifecycle in the simulation model based on actual flows observed in each process at the time of the DA. However, because process behaviors were not modified, the gap between material flows predicted by the simulation and the flows of the actual lifecycle increased over time. To overcome this limitation, in this study, we propose a new DA mechanism that modifies the behaviors of un-observed processes based on observed material flows. The proposed DA mechanism uses the response surface methodology to estimate the behaviors while tracing the causal relation in the LCS model in reverse. A case study on a photovoltaic panel reuse business showed that the DA mechanism successfully merged the observed data into the process behaviors in the LCS model including the processes where no data were observed, thereby improving the accuracy of the simulation for future prediction. Systematically analyzing the current and future process states of the product lifecycle can support decision-making in lifecycle management.

Connected lifecycle systems: A new perspective on industrial symbiosis

Decreasing total natural resource input is critical for sustainability. Thus, improving resource efficiency is increasingly required at all levels from products to industry-wide systems. Product lifecycle systems and business models for circular economy, such as remanufacturing and sharing products, have been developed in only particular markets. Lifecycle processes of different products are often connected after sales, even if the products and their lifecycle processes were developed by independent companies or business communities. This study focuses on one such complex system called “connected lifecycle systems,” which is a system of systems comprising product lifecycle systems. Connected lifecycle systems can be regarded as industrial symbiosis in wide areas. The objective of this paper is to propose a hybrid simulation architecture for more realistically calculating dynamic material flow in connected lifecycle systems.

A Lifecycle Simulation Method for Global Reuse

Reuse is an effective method of circulating resources in terms of environmental benefits because it requires fewer resources and less energy than manufacturing new products from virgin materials. In global reuse, a used component or module is reused in a different application. To evaluate a system of multiple product lifecycle systems (PLSs), the lifecycle simulation methodology LCS4SoS has been proposed. LCS4SoS comprises three elements, namely, individual PLSs, interactions among them, and their evolution over time. This paper proposes a lifecycle simulation method for global reuse based on the LCS4SoS framework. Flow control rules are developed for global reuse to control the directions and quantities of material flow among the PLSs. The usefulness of this method is verified by a case study of automobile and stationary battery PLSs.

A simulation methodology for a system of product life cycle systems

To realize environmental sustainability, the flow of natural resources into industrial systems must be reduced and stabilized at a suitable level. One way to reduce resource flows in society is to establish resource-circulating manufacturing systems. To foster the circulation of resources in industry, life cycle simulation (LCS) technologies, which are based on discrete-event modeling, have been developed to dynamically evaluate the life cycles of products from resource extraction to end of life from both environmental and economic aspects. In reality, various industrial products interact with each other in unanticipated ways, and then these interactions affect the material flows in product life cycles. This type of complex system is called a system of systems (SoS). Focusing on this issue, we expand the evaluation's system boundary to include a system of multiple product life cycle systems. To handle an SoS quantitatively, we introduce typical types of interactions between product life cycle systems. The purpose of this study was to propose a new LCS methodology, called “LCS4SoS,” that focuses on an SoS consisting of different kinds of product life cycle systems. A prototype system of LCS4SoS was implemented based on this proposed methodology. Through a case study, it was found that the proposed methodology is useful for evaluating an SoS consisting of multi-product life cycle systems.

Lifecycle Simulation Method for System of Systems Focusing on Interaction Modeling

Reducing environmental loads and resource consumption throughout the product lifecycle is one approach to address environmental problems. Lifecycle simulation (LCS) is a tool to evaluate environmental impacts considering lifecycle options such as maintenance, reuse, and recycling. Various interactions exist between different product lifecycle systems. For example, to increase the energy density and cycle life, a lithium ion battery (LiB) from an electric vehicle (EV) can be reused in a stationary battery (SB). Considering these interactions, a new LCS method that includes multiple product lifecycle systems is needed. In this research, which assumes that a system of systems (SoS) consists of different product lifecycle systems and their interactions, flow control rules among different product lifecycle systems are developed and applied as a case study to LiB reuse in SB from EV.

Reference architecture to integrate heterogeneous manufacturing systems for the digital thread

The increasing growth of digital technologies in manufacturing has provided industry with opportunities to improve its productivity and operations. One such opportunity is the digital thread, which links product lifecycle systems so that shared data may be used to improve design and manufacturing processes. The development of the digital thread has been challenged by the inherent difficulty of aggregating and applying context to data from heterogeneous systems across the product lifecycle. This paper presents a reference four-tiered architecture designed to manage the data generated by manufacturing systems for the digital thread. The architecture provides segregated access to internal and external clients, which protects intellectual property and other sensitive information, and enables the fusion of manufacturing and other product lifecycle data. We have implemented the architecture with a contract manufacturer and used it to generate knowledge and identify performance improvement opportunities that would otherwise be unobservable to a manufacturing decision maker.

Semantic reconciliation across design and manufacturing knowledge models: A logic-based approach

Ontology-based models of product design and manufacture are becoming increasingly important in the effort towards achieving interoperability among various stakeholders within and across product lifecycle systems. However, in the eventuality of having to interoperate between multiple ontology-based models, with the intention of sharing knowledge among them, the process still remains a difficult one. Although the concept of ontology mapping/matching has been developed as a means to interoperate across ontology-based models, yet the concept has remained relatively weak in terms of its ability to enable the formalization and verification of cross-model semantic correspondences in design and manufacture. In this paper, improved concepts to achieve semantic reconciliation are being investigated in the context of the Semantic Manufacturing Interoperability Framework (SMIF). The approach uses a Common Logic-based underpinning for enabling the evaluation and verification of cross-model correspondences. The approach has been successfully tested by applying the relevant logic-based mechanisms, in order to show the reconciliation of two individually developed knowledge models. Through this, it has been demonstrated that the approach enables semantic reconciliation of important structures within ontology-based models of design and manufacture.

Modeling sustainable product lifecycle decision support systems

Sustainable product lifecycle systems are attracting increasing attention because of cost competition, resource constraints and environmental issues. Short lifecycle products, such as consumer and defense electronics, are of particular concern. We formulate a product lifecycle evolution system based on stochastic dynamic programming. By applying the concept of a sustainable product lifecycle system on a product line, conclusions and guidelines for rational decision making can be developed through each phase of the product life cycle.

Knowledge based product life cycle systems: principles of integration of KBE and C3P

Future computer-aided design systems will provide a suite of tools capable of managing the entire product life cycle. Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) systems will be used to support many aspects of the product life cycle. For a variety of reasons, we believe that CAD developers should not attempt to provide the required KBE functionality as part of their product. Rather, the CAD systems should be built with a fully open architecture to allow easy integration of a broad range of KBE software.

Evaluation of environmental impacts of product lifecycle for process design

When we design a new process, decisions must be made by considering all the impacts on the environment throughout the whole product lifecycle. We propose a new method for the evaluation of product lifecycle using a systems approach. The method consists of two steps: First, total effect indexes on the environment are calculated; Secondly then the system is evaluated from the viewpoint in which the investigator is interested. With this method, we could avoid allocating the effects of an activity in a product lifecycle to several products, thus a process added to the product lifecycle system is evaluated, focusing on the effect in the whole system. As a case study, three recycle systems of PET bottle were analyzed from the viewpoints of CO 2 emission and crude oil consumption. We found that all three recycle systems were effective in reducing environmental impacts. As well, the increase of material recycle ratio from 0 to 25% is equivalent to the increase of the thermal recycle efficiency from 10 to 30%. Chemical recycle system reduces environmental impacts, though it consumes much energy in the recycle process. We present that our new method to evaluate product lifecycle system is effective for the design of chemical process incorporating environmental impacts.

Sustainable Development by Design: Review of Life Cycle Design and Related Approaches

The environmental profile of goods and services that satisfy our individual and societal needs is shaped by design activities. Substantial evidence suggests that current patterns of human activity on a global scale are not following a sustainable path. Necessary changes to achieve a more sustainable system will require that environmental issues be more effectively addressed in design. But at present much confusion surrounds the incorporation of environmental objectives into the design process. Although not yet fully embraced by industry, the product life cycle system is becoming widely recognized as a useful design framework for understanding the links between societal needs, economic systems and their environmental consequences. The product life cycle encompasses all activities from raw material extraction, manufacturing, and use to final disposal of all residuals. Life cycle design (LCD), Design for Environment (DFE), and related initiatives based on this product life cycle are emerging as systematic approaches for integrating environmental issues into design. This review presents the life cycle design framework developed forthe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a structure for discussing the environmental design literature. Specifying environmental requirements and evaluation metrics are essential elements of designing for sustainable development. A major challenge for successful design is choosing appropriate strategies that satisfy cost, performance, cultural, and legal criteria while also optimizing environmental objectives. Various methods for specifying requirements, strategies for reducing environmental burden, and environmental evaluation tools are explored and critiqued. Currently, many organizational and operational factors limit the applicability of life cycle design and other design approaches to sustainable development. For example, lack of environmental data and simple, effective evaluation tools are major barriers. Despite these problems, companies are beginning to pursue aspects of life cycle design. The future of life cycle design and sustainable development depends on education, government policy and regulations, and industry leadership but fundamental changes in societal values and behavior will ultimately determine the fate of the planet’s life support system.