Research on Micro-Factory Based on Leading Design

“领先设计”正在应用于微型车床，并扩展到微型工厂。制作了微型车床样机和主导设计支持系统，并对其进行了评价。介绍了在微型工厂中应用先导设计时出现的一些问题和新概念，在先导设计中，设计者可以通过假设一些尚未建立的、虚拟的技术基础是可获得的，来进行并完成设计过程。采用模拟退火优化计算方法，建立了定量设计阶段的主导设计支持系统。以难度作为评价函数，以开发所需技术要素的成本（难度）最小来描述设计结果。首先，我们利用现有的机械元件制作了一台微型车床的原型。接下来，我们运行了领先的设计支持系统，使用原型设计和性能数据，我们已经得到了关于如何进一步发展的技术基础是必要的，以达到所需的设计规格的观点，提出了一些困难，将这种优化计算方法应用到微工厂设计。微工厂包括许多过程，每个过程又包括几个组件。设计师对每个过程都有许多可能的组件组合，并且它们的规格相互关联。这种情况使得设计条件非常复杂。因此，我们需要在决策的早期阶段进行“模式设计”。在模式研究中，我们引入了“模式观”的概念。视点具有定性的属性值，并且每个模式对应于视点的这些属性值的组合。我们描述了一个网络结构，使用一些观点之间的总系统性能规格和规格的每个元素。

"Leading Design" is being applied to micro lathe, and expanded to the microfactory. Prototype of micro lathe and leading design support system are made and evaluated. Some problems and new concepts are described, which appear in leading design application to microfactory.In the leading design, designers are allowed to proceed and complete a design process by assuming some non-established, virtual technical fundamentals to be available. We made a leading design support system for quantitative design phase, using optimizing calculation with simulated annealing method. Difficulty is used as evaluation function, so that we can describe the design result with cost (difficulty) minimum for developing the required technical elements.We pickup the micro lathe, which is one component of microfactory, as a design object. At first, we made a prototype of micro lathe constituted from existing mechanical elements. Next, we run out the leading design support system using the prototype design and performance data, and we have obtained the perspectives about how much further development in technical fundamentals is necessary of achieve the required design specification.Some difficulties are brought out to applying this optimizing calculation approach to the microfactory design. Microfactory includes many processes, and each process includes several components. Designers have many possible combinations of components for each process, and specifications of them are related to each other. This situation makes the design condition very complex. So, we need "mode design" for decision making at earlier stage. In the mode study, we introduce the concept of "viewpoint of mode". Viewpoints have qualitative attribute values, and each mode corresponds to the combinations of these attribute values of viewpoints. We describe a network structure using some viewpoints between total system performance specifications and specifications of each element.