Product Variety Optimization Simultaneously Designing Module Combination and Module Attributes

Abstract

This paper proposes a product variety optimization method for both module combination and module attributes of multiple products. As manufacturing competition has become restricted with high profitability and external constraints, simultaneous design of multiple products, called product variety design etc., becomes an important strategy. The systems-based optimal design paradigm is essential for rationalizing such practices, since design for product variety is more complicated than for a single product. In such a direction, we configure an optimization method for simultaneously designing both module combination and module attributes across multiple products. The optimization method hybridizes a genetic algorithm, a mixed-integer programming method with a branch-and-bound technique, and a constrained nonlinear programming method, i.e., a successive quadratic programming method. In its optimization process, the first optimizes the combinatorial pattern of module commonality and similarity among different products, the second optimizes the directions of similarity-based variety, and the third optimizes the continuous module attributes under the others. Finally it is applied to the simultaneous design problem of multiple airplanes to demonstrate its validity and effectiveness.

The power of integrality: Linkages between product architecture, innovation, and industry structure

“…For example, some scholars use indirect measures, i.e., they assess the degree of product modularity indirectly by asking managers to estimate the degree to which certain consequences that are often associated with modularity -for example, the degree to which a buyer can customize a product, or the degree to which a manufacturing process allows late configuration -are more or less true for their own products (Duray, Ward, Milligan and Berry 2000;Worren, Moore and Cardona 2002;Tu, Vonderembse, Ragu-Nathan and Ragu-Nathan 2004). Others, particularly in the engineering literature, have developed numerous approaches to measure product architecture characteristics such as modularity, commonality, and platforms directly on the product (Nelson, Parkinson and Papalambros 2001;Fujita and Yoshida 2004;Simpson and D'Souza 2004). The majority of these latter approaches takes a product architecture in its overall structure as a given, and then searches for the optimal solution in the configuration space.…”

Degree of Modularity in Engineering Systems and Products with Technical and Business Constraints

“…Modularity often means using the same module in multiple products enabling a large variety of products while using more common component types than if the different products did not share common modules. This brings scale and scope advantages, such as reduced capital requirements, and economies in parts sourcing and manufacturing [5][6][7].…”

A joint optimization strategy for scale-based product family positioning

“…The single-step approach uses a single optimized computation for product family planning based on internal and external characteristics directly. An example of the single-step approach was proposed by Fujita et al [27] who simultaneously optimized the system structure and configuration of a product family and applied their approach to a family of aircraft. In general, the one-step approach is more preferable when the number of alternatives is large, as the intermediate step of enumeration can be eliminated [28].…”