MODULARIZING PRODUCT ARCHITECTURES USING DENDROGRAMS

Finding common modules across products for platforming a product family or to find a common module for joint development with a partner can be challenging. At the moment there are no repeatable methods for grouping functions into modules and for choosing from different module candidates to form a good platform. We have developed a five-step algorithm that accomplishes this task of grouping and creating a dendrogram. The algorithm is based on a metric, distance function, which we define in the paper. The salient features of this algorithm are: it applies to modularization among simple as well as complex systems; it addresses the synthesis issue by a method that creates a hierarchy of modules, it does not rely on qualitative ordinal measures; it does not rely on non-repeatable heuristics, and it can be implemented and executed in a computer. The algorithm is applied on a group of four products: an intraoral camera, electronic pipette, pencil sharpener, and a fruit/veggie peeler.

[1]  Reza H. Ahmadi,et al.  Time-Cost Trade-Offs in Overlapped Product Development , 2000, Oper. Res..

[2]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  Understanding the effects of product architecture on technical communication in product develoment organizations , 2000 .

[3]  Kjartan Pedersen,et al.  Designing platform families :an evolutionary approach to developing engineering systems , 1999 .

[4]  Kosuke Ishii,et al.  SCENARIO-BASED FMEA: A LIFE CYCLE COST PERSPECTIVE , 2000 .

[5]  Alan S. Perelson,et al.  System Dynamics: A Unified Approach , 1976, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[6]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  Integration analysis of product decompositions , 1994 .

[7]  Kristin L. Wood,et al.  A heuristic method for identifying modules for product architectures , 2000 .

[8]  R. Stake.  On conceptual development of modular products - Development of supporting tools for the modularisation process , 2000 .

[9]  Gunnar Erixon,et al.  Controlling Design Variants: Modular Product Platforms , 1999 .

[10]  Michael Blackenfelt,et al.  Modularisation by Relational Matrices - a Method for the Consideration of Strategic and Functional Aspects , 2001 .

[11]  Nile W. Hatch,et al.  Design Rules, Volume 1: The Power of Modularity , 2001 .

[12]  J. Dixon,et al.  Engineering Design , 2019, Springer Handbook of Mechanical Engineering.

[13]  Kevin Otto,et al.  Product Design: Techniques in Reverse Engineering and New Product Development , 2000 .

[14]  Rosario N. Mantegna,et al.  Book Review: An Introduction to Econophysics, Correlations, and Complexity in Finance, N. Rosario, H. Mantegna, and H. E. Stanley, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000. , 2000 .

[15]  Anwer Khurshid,et al.  Scales of measurements: An introduction and a selected bibliography , 1993 .

[16]  Kevin Otto,et al.  Identifying Product Family Architecture Modularity Using Function and Variety Heuristics , 1999 .

[17]  Arnaldo Camuffo,et al.  Rolling Out a "World Car": Globalization, Outsourcing and Modularity in the Auto Industry , 2002 .

[18]  Marc H. Meyer,et al.  The power of product platforms : building value and cost leadership , 1997 .

[19]  Javier P. Gonzalez-Zugasti,et al.  Modular product architecture , 2001 .

[20]  Sridhar Kota,et al.  A Metric for Evaluating Design Commonality in Product Families , 2000 .

[21]  Saurabh Gupta,et al.  Special Issue on Design and Development: Appropriateness and Impact of Platform-Based Product Development , 2001, Manag. Sci..