Naslov
A Conceptual Framework of Product Family Architecture

Autori
Pavlić, Davor ; Pulkkinen, Antti, Riitahuhta, Asko

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u zbornicima skupova, cjeloviti rad (in extenso), znanstveni

Izvornik
Proceedings of NordDesign 2006 Conference / Magnus Por Jonsson ; Runar Unnporsson - Reykjavík : Faculty of Engineering, University of Iceland, 2006, 212-222

ISBN
9979-9494-9-X

Skup
NordDesign 2006 Conference

Mjesto i datum
Reykjavík, Island, 16.08.2006. - 18.08.2006

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
product family; product family architecture; product architecture

Sažetak
OBJECTIVES: Shrinking product life cycles, increasing competition, rapidly changing technologies, and variety in customers’ demands describe driving forces for product development process. Different companies respond with different way on those driving forces. Some of them are more oriented on developing product variants while others rather change a product with new, innovative product. Each orientation is based only on one aspect. It seems that the most difficult is to combine the both aspects of, variety and change [Whitney, 2004]. In dynamic environment the driving forces frequently change. Thus, product architecture should have an ability to accept changes due to the reasons of technical and of non-technical viewpoint. The technical viewpoint refers to new technology, product or process and the non-technical viewpoint refers to e.g. new suppliers or customers. At the same time product architecture should be able to offer variety in products. According to those aspects there is a need to define product architecture from the multidimensional viewpoint with the ability of product architecture to accept and to track changes. The objective of this research is to define a conceptual framework of product architecture for the purpose of accommodating variety and change. METHODS: Product architectures can remain stable as long as technology remains stable. But as technology evolves, architecture has to change, else products become technologically obsolete [Whitney, 2004]. This is a key motivation for this research. With purpose that companies should organize around product architecture on longer period it is important that the life cycle of product architecture should be longer than the life cycle of a product or one of its components. The first step in better understanding the phenomena of product architecture is to get answer on question what does product architecture consist of. Ulrich and Eppinger definition [Ulrich et. al 2000] is more static oriented from a perspective of changes and it doesn’ t include others aspects important for dynamic environment. Theoretical basis for this research is on revised chromosome model [Mortensen, 1999]. It consists of several domains: requirements, technology, process, function, organs and parts domain. The relations between the elements of domains are based on the horizontal and vertical causality principles, function/means law as well as on the classification and aggregation of the elements [Pulkkinen et al. 2002]. The focus in this research is primarily on horizontal causality between the elements of domains. The existence of a horizontal causality enables to track the changes in product architecture. RESULTS: The results of this research are formulated within a conceptual framework of product architecture. It represents domains, elements and relations between them. The solution for the vertical and horizontal causality is proposed. Horizontal causality should enable to trace changes during the development of product variants from their source to the effects they realized on the rest of the product. Based on the architecture, which enables to trace changes, it is possible to make artificial changes with the purpose to see the influence of those changes on the rest of the product. Based on such monitoring, it is easier to get a decision about the upgrading existing modules, integrating more modules in newer one or changing a technology without additional effort and cost. This will lead to the reduction of the mistakes which source is in the misunderstanding the influence of the changing process to the development of the new product variants. The validation of results will be tested on industrial examples. KEY CONCLUSIONS: The concept of multidimensional product architecture serves as a support for the development of product variants in which demands and technology frequently change. Such multidimensional product architecture should have longer life cycle than the life cycle of a product or one of its components. Therefore, the companies will have to focus on the implementation of the multidimensional product architecture instead to design product variants separately. Such companies are more oriented on the changes and situations, which will happen in the future. The changes, which happened during the development of product variants, should be traced from their source to the effects they realized on the rest of the product. This will lead to the reduction of the mistakes, which originate from the misunderstanding of the propagation of change in the development of the new product variants. References: 1. Whitney, D. E.: Mechanical Assemblies: their design, manufacture, and role in product development, New York, Oxford University Press, 2004. 2. Ulrich, K.T., Eppinger, S.D.: Product Design and Development, New York: Irwin, 2000. 3. Mortensen, N.H.: “ Design Modelling in a Designer’ s Workbench” , Ph.D. thesis, Department of Control and Engineering Design, Technical University of Denmark, 2000. 4. Pulkkinen, A., Harlou, U. Mortensen, N.H. Modelling Relations in Product Families. In: Proceedings of NordDesign 2002. Edt. Boelskifte, P., Sigurjonsson, J.B. August 14-16. 2002. NTNU. Trondheim. pp. 269-279. ISBN 82-91917-13-2

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Strojarstvo

POVEZANOST RADA