Product Modularity û The Link Between Product Architecture and Product Life-cycle Costs

该项目的重点是建立一种方法来理解产品架构，产品模块化和生命周期成本之间的定性和定量联系。 产品体系结构-装配体、子装配体和组件的结构-对产品生命周期每个阶段-制造、装配、服务、报废等相关成本有着巨大的影响。组件分组为模块是设计师做出的关键早期决策之一。 这项工作的目的是提供模块化决策和生命周期产品成本之间的关系，设计师缺乏定量相关的产品架构。 预期的结果将是一个经过验证的，可实施的设计方法，包括这些定量关系，并希望明确显示，因此鼓励，验证设计方法的应用。 如果成功的话，这项研究将在设计工程师在工程设计过程中早期控制的元素与产品的长期生命周期成本之间建立一个基本的桥梁。 在设计工程师应用后，结果应该是大大降低产品生命周期成本，大大缩短产品开发周期。 从长远来看，产品架构的研究应该产生基本的联系，使真正的前端并行工程，产品和工艺的设计，以最小的总生命周期成本。生命周期工程实验室的学生和本科生研究人员通过密歇根州国王查维斯公园倡议为代表性不足的学生。 PI还计划在生命周期工程，高级顶点设计和新产品开发课程的研究/教学机会。

This project focuses on establishing a method for understanding qualitative and quantitative connections among product architecture, product modularity, and life-cycle costs. Product architecture - the structure of assemblies, sub-assemblies, and components - has an enormous impact on the costs associated with each life-cycle phase of a product - manufacturing, assembly, service, retirement, etc. Component grouping into modules is one of the critical early decisions made by designers. This work aims to provide the relationship between modularity decisions and life-cycle product costs that designers lack by quantitatively relating each to product architecture. The expected result will be a validated, implementable design method that includes these quantitative relationships and it is hoped to explicitly show, and therefore encourage, the application of validation to design methods. If successful, this research will yield a fundamental bridge between the elements that a design engineer controls early in the engineering design process and the long-term life-cycle costs of a product. After application by design engineers, the result should be dramatically reduced product life-cycle costs and dramatically reduced product development cycle times. In the longer term, this research in product architecture should yield fundamental linkages that enable true up front concurrent engineering where products and processes are designed for minimum total life-cycle costs.Throughout this project, the PI will team with Ph.D. students in the life-cycle engineering laboratory and undergraduate researchers through the Michigan King-Chavis-Parks Initiative for underrepresented students. The PI also plans research / teaching opportunities with classes in life-cycle engineering, senior capstone design, and new product development.