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。描述了在将设计引入微工厂的过程中出现的一些问题和新的概念，在引导设计中，允许设计者通过假设一些非既定的、虚拟的技术基础来进行和完成设计过程。利用模拟退火法进行优化计算，建立了面向定量设计阶段的领先设计支持系统。以难度作为评价函数，以最小的开发成本(难度)描述设计结果，并以微型工厂的部件之一微型车床为设计对象。首先，我们利用现有的机械元件制作了微型车床的样机。接下来，我们利用原型设计和性能数据运行了领先的设计支持系统，并对如何在技术基础上进一步发展才能达到所需的设计规范进行了展望。提出了将这种优化计算方法应用于微工厂设计中的一些困难。微工厂包括多个过程，每个过程包括几个组件。设计人员对每个工艺都有许多可能的组件组合，并且这些组件的规格相互关联。这种情况使得设计条件变得非常复杂。因此，我们需要“模式设计”来进行前期决策。在模式研究中，我们引入了模式观的概念。视点具有定性属性值，每种模式对应视点的这些属性值的组合。我们使用系统总体性能指标和各部件指标之间的一些观点来描述网络结构。

"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.