Conceptual Modular Design of Auto Body Frame Based on Hybrid Optimization Method

This article presents a systematic research methodology of modular design for conceptual auto body frame by hybrid optimization method.A modified graph-based decomposition optimization algorithm is utilized to generate an optimal BIW assembly topo model composed of“potential modules”.The consistency constraint function in collaborative optimization is extended to maximize the commonality of modules and minimize the performance loss of all car types in the same product family simultaneously.A novel screening method is employed to select both“basic structures”and“reinforcement”modules based on the dimension optimization of the manufacturing elements and the optimal assembly mode;this allows for a more exhaustive modular platform design in contrast with existing methods.The proposed methodology is applied to a case study for the modular design of three conceptual auto body types in the same platform to validate its feasibility and effectiveness.

Modular Design Using Sustainable Luminescent Materials in Energy-Saving Reflective Cat’s Eyes for Public Road Safety Planning

Recently,there has been a global movement toward environmental protection and energy conservation through the design and development of new products in accordance with sustainable utilisation.In this study,rare earth luminescent materials were used owing to their active light emission and reusability.Additionally,solar lightemitting diode lights and car-light reflection were utilised to increase the recognition and reliability of reflective cat eyes.Along with carbon reduction,this can save energy and enhance road safety.This study considered the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving and a literature review to analyse the issues in existing products.Then,expert interviews were conducted to screen projects and develop product design policies.Finally,the ratio of light-storage materials was experimentally determined and the prototypes implemented.This cat’s eye addresses the shortcomings identified in previous analyses of existing products.We applied energy storage environmental protection materials,together with material proportioning(which balanced warning efficiency against cost-effectiveness)to develop diversified modular kits;these were flexible in terms of quantity and easily assembled.This study achieved four key objectives:(1)reducing the research and development costs of the manufacturer;(2)offering buyers a diverse suite of products;(3)responding to a need to improve diverse road user safety;and(4)reducing government procurement costs for safety warning products.The results provide a reference for the creative modular design of energy-saving products for public road safety planning in various industries.

Product Modular Design Incorporating Preventive Maintenance Issues

Traditional modular design methods lead to product maintenance problems, because the module form of a system is created according to either the function requirements or the manufacturing considerations. For solving these problems, a new modular design method is proposed with the considerations of not only the traditional function related attributes, but also the maintenance related ones. First, modularity parameters and modularity scenarios for product modularity are defined. Then the reliability and economic assessment models of product modularity strategies are formulated with the introduction of the effective working age of modules. A mathematical model used to evaluate the difference among the modules of the product so that the optimal module of the product can be established. After that, a multi-objective optimization problem based on metrics for preventive maintenance interval different degrees and preventive maintenance economics is formulated for modular optimization. Multi-objective GA is utilized to rapidly approximate the Pareto set of optimal modularity strategy trade-offs between preventive maintenance cost and preventive maintenance interval difference degree. Finally, a coordinate CNC boring machine is adopted to depict the process of product modularity. In addition, two factorial design experiments based on the modularity parameters are constructed and analyzed. These experiments investigate the impacts of these parameters on the optimal modularity strategies and the structure of module. The research proposes a new modular design method, which may help to improve the maintainability of product in modular design.

RESEARCH ON THE GENERALIZED MODULAR DESIGN METHOD WITH FLEXIBLE MODULES OF PRODUCT STRUCTURES

A new generalized modular design (GMD) method is proposed based on design practice of frame structure of hydraulic press machines. By building a series of flexible modules (FMs), design knowledge and structure features are integrated into parametric models. Then, parametric design and variational analysis methods for GMD are presented according to user defined design objectives and customized product characteristics. A FM-centered GMD system is developed and successfully used in the rapid design of relevant products.

Top-down Design and Modular Design在CA4GV发动机开发中的应用

概括介绍了在Pro-E设计环境下Top-down Design(自顶向下设计)及Modular Design(模块化设计)两大技巧在CA4GV-E4发动机开发中的应用。

MODULE DEFINITION MODEL FOR MODULAR DESIGN AND MANUFACTU－RING OF HEAVY DUTY MACHINE TOOLS

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Product Specification Analysis for Modular Product Design Using Big Sales Data

Big data on product sales are an emerging resource for supporting modular product design to meet diversified customers’requirements of product specification combinations.To better facilitate decision-making of modular product design,correlations among specifications and components originated from customers’conscious and subconscious preferences can be investigated by using big data on product sales.This study proposes a framework and the associated methods for supporting modular product design decisions based on correlation analysis of product specifications and components using big sales data.The correlations of the product specifications are determined by analyzing the collected product sales data.By building the relations between the product components and specifications,a matrix for measuring the correlation among product components is formed for component clustering.Six rules for supporting the decision making of modular product design are proposed based on the frequency analysis of the specification values per component cluster.A case study of electric vehicles illustrates the application of the proposed method.

Large-area Flexible Organic Solar Cells: Printing Technologies and Modular Design

Flexibility is the most prominent advantage of organic solar cells(OSCs) compared with traditional photovoltaic devices, showing an irreplaceable commercial potential. Currently, the maximum power conversion efficiencies(PCEs) of single-junction OSCs have been over 19% and 16% upon rigid and flexible substrates, respectively, which meet the criteria for commercial application. Extensive research efforts are under way, such as device configuration design, interface/photosensitive layer synthesis, transparent electrode modification and printing technology innovation, however, the reasonable selection of printing technologies, the huge performance loss of large-area printing process and the structural design of flexible modules are still the bottlenecks, limiting the commercialization of OSCs. This review focuses on the technical challenges and rational modular configuration design for printing preparation of flexible high-efficiency large-area organic devices, from the aspects of the functional layer material selection, printing process research status and large-scale efficiency losses. These will promote the integrated applications of printable organic semiconductor materials for next-generation clean energy and appeal extensive attentions in wearable electronics, building-integrated photovoltaics and Internet of Things, etc.

Modular Design of Complex Product Based on the Triple Fusion of Function/Feature/Knowledge

The modular design technology is of importance increasingly,as product structure is more and more complex.Modular design systems face challenging problems as the design information tends to be dynamic,redundant,and very large.This paper describes a novel approach for handling them.In this approach,a partition is firstly performed for the complex structural components by mapping functions to the structures layer by layer.Based on this partition,a comprehensive design matrix is then developed to identify the key design mode which is driven by a special function.The design process is also programmed by analyzing the coupled information on both the functional and structural hierarchies.Then,the integrated knowledge model based on object-oriented method and hybrid inference method is constructed.In this model,knowledge can be organized at hierarchical classification and expressed with different forms.Finally,the methodology developed has been applied to a real application in automobile cylinder block design and the results are presented.

Intelligent modular design with holonic fuzzy agents

Presently,modular designs use various technologies accompanied by multiple models.Although no integral solution is known,a plethora of approaches is used to resolve this trans disciplinary challenge,often by using local intelligence.However,the effective utilization of multiple models requires proper integration for them to work together as a cohesive system.This requirement calls for the development of intelligent models and tools that can be used for the development of intelligent modular products.Modular design based on these intelligent models and tools is called intelligent modular design.Intelligent modular design requires to be considered both dynamically and holistically by combining customer requirements,product functions,solutions,service specifications,and their fuzziness in order to structure a product into intelligent modules.This paper proposes the use of holonic fuzzy agents to fulfill both the properties of intelligent models and the requirements of intelligent modular design.The set of fuzzy function agents and their corresponding fuzzy solution agents are found from customization of the product-service system in the fuzzy function agent-fuzzy solution agent sub-network.On the basis of attractor agent recognition,the fuzzy function and fuzzy solution agents interact to form the holonic fuzzy module agents.Selfembedding of holonic fuzzy module agents,which is the fundamental property of the holonic structure,is also characterized by vertical and horizontal communication.The flexibility and agility of the software agent make the holonic structure of intelligent modules adaptable.An application illustrates the proposed intelligent modular design.

Real-time Life-cycle Modular Design Method Based on Game Theory for Jack-up

<Abstract>To study an entity the entire jack-up performs as a total system with close interdependency and high level of integration of a myriad of subsystems supporting each individual function.All subsystems should be arranged in regular geometric space with clear regional division according to their respective functions.The "building block"such as arrangement makes it feasible to apply modular design method while the integration and conflicts among subsystems offer an arena for game theoretic analysis.All the contradictions between subsystems should be resolved bye the designer.Here we present a game theoretic analysis methodology,which based on the basic principles of game theory,through the establishment of matrix-mode game models to describe and analyze engineering design tasks.By using this method the optimization process in various fields of expertise can be effectively coordinated and controlled,and the parallel design patterns can be achieved to some extent.Taking account of the impact of commercial or technical activities in platform’s life cycle,time line is considered in the early stage of design process which provides more convenience for effcient upgrade and reconfiguration.Some second-hand three-legged jack-up upgrade design process is used as an example to illustrate the utility of the method.

Research in Green Modularity Design Methodology

Green design and manufacturing is a proactive approach to minimize wastes during a product’s design stage, thus preventing future environmental impacts. Current modular design method mainly focuses on product functional and manufacturing issues. In this paper, a theoretical scheme of multi-objective modularity analysis for discrete electromechanical product design was proposed. Product physical architecture was represented by a fuzzy graph, where fuzzy relationships contain environmental objectives and influence module formulation. Finally the optimal product modules combining all objectives can be searched by clustering algorithm.

A Task-oriented Modular and Agent-based Collaborative Design Mechanism for Distributed Product Development

The rapid expansion of enterprises makes product collaborative design(PCD)a critical issue under the distributed heterogeneous environment,but as the collaborative task of large-scale network becomes more complicated,neither unified task decomposition and allocation methodology nor Agent-based network management platform can satisfy the increasing demands.In this paper,to meet requirements of PCD for distributed product development,a collaborative design mechanism based on the thought of modularity and the Agent technology is presented.First,the top-down 4-tier process model based on task-oriented modular and Agent is constructed for PCD after analyzing the mapping relationships between requirements and functions in the collaborative design.Second,on basis of sub-task decomposition for PCD based on a mixed method,the mathematic model of task-oriented modular based on multi-objective optimization is established to maximize the module cohesion degree and minimize the module coupling degree,while considering the module executable degree as a restriction.The mathematic model is optimized and simulated by the modified PSO,and the decomposed modules are obtained.Finally,the Agent structure model for collaborative design is put forward,and the optimism matching Agents are selected by using similarity algorithm to implement different task-modules by the integrated reasoning and decision-making mechanism with the behavioral model of collaborative design Agents.With the results of experimental studies for automobile collaborative design,the feasibility and efficiency of this methodology of task-oriented modular and Agent-based collaborative design in the distributed heterogeneous environment are verified.On this basis,an integrative automobile collaborative R&D platform is developed.This research provides an effective platform for automobile manufacturing enterprises to achieve PCD,and helps to promote product numeralization collaborative R&D and management development.

Modular flexible“Tetris”microsatellite platform based on sandwich assembly mode

In this paper,a flexible modular“Tetris”microsatellite platform is studied to implement the rapid integration and assembly of microsatellites.The proposed microsatellite platform is fulfilled based on a sandwich assembly mode which consists of the isomorphic module structure and the standard mechanical-electric-data-thermal interfaces.The advantages of the sandwich assembly mode include flexible reconfiguration and efficient assembly.The prototype of the sandwich assembly mode is built for verifying the performance and the feasibility of the proposed mechanical-electric-data-thermal interfaces.Finally,an assembly case is accomplished to demonstrate the validity and advantages of the proposed“Tetris”microsatellite platform.

Research on Variable Structure Parametric Design System of Ceramic Tile Mould Based on Modular

To solve the existing problems during the ceramic mold enterprises product design and development process, the variable structure parametric design system based on modular of ceramic mold has been developed. The system uses the object-oriented technology and top-down design concept as a guide, establishes a ceramic mold parametric design process, divides the process of ceramic mold design into modules of different levels and creates a component model library based on the functional analysis. Expanding modular thinking to parts structure design level is an effective solution to the difficulty of changing the structure during the product design process. Examples show that the system can achieve a ceramic mold product design, improve design efficiency.

Parametric Design of Modular Fixture Structure

Based on an example of its typical structure, the concept of modular fixture structure module is presented, and the structure module system of modular fixture is summarized. Then the parametric design of structure is discussed, and its advantages are also emphasized.Furthermore, some specific methods are provided, such as the selection of fixture components, the determination and input of parameters, drawing representative model,and the creation of drawing. Finally an applied example of strcture parametric design is presented.

Design of Prefabricated Old-age Building Based on Modularization:A Case Study of Institutional Elderly Houses Design in Taigou Village,Xi'an City

Old-age building was designed in Ziwu Town,from the aspects of energy saving,environmental protection,full use of solar energy and characteristics of the local climate.In order to meet the requirements of energy conservation,environmental protection and climate adaptability of residential buildings,this paper integrates the construction and design in the prefabricated building design,at the same time,with the consideration of the possibility of expansion and removal of the nursing home,the concept of "modular unit" is put forward.Considering the climatic adaptability of the base position,the utilization of solar energy and the organization of natural ventilation should be paid attention to,also,the rammed soil construction method is added in this design,which can improve the thermal insulation performance of the building enclosure and create a comfortable indoor thermal environment both in winter and summer.In order to realize the object of industrial building construction and design,the prefabricated construction method is used,which produces impact on the surrounding environment more environmentally friendly.The building will be easily built,less restricted,and low-cost.What's more,local material and the advantages of all dry work increase the operability of the project.

Modular Combination Design of Mine Rescue Capsule Based on Load Simulation

Mine rescue capsule is a typical emergency equipment in a coal mine.It provides a safe and confined space for miners when mining disasters occurred.The length of the passenger survival cell is suitable to be adjusted with several predefined modular cells according to various numbers of passengers.Aiming at the shortage of guidance rules for the modular combination design of mine rescue capsule,the configuration situations of survival cells are experimented with static and impact load analysis in ANSYS Workbench.The length range of a single cell,the combination schemes of miner survival section,and the effectiveness proof of assembled rescue capsules were solved sequentially by simulated load analysis on constructed structural models.The modular combination rules of the survival section are developed for variant passenger number ranging from 8 to 20.It also provides a reference for the optimal selection of rescue capsules with the same capacity.The proposed modular rules are effective for the rapid configuration design for mine rescue capsule driven by the number of passengers.

Modular Fixture Assembly Model for Virtual Assembly Design

To support modular fixture assembly design in virtual environment,a multi-view based modular fixture virtual assembly model is proposed.Instead of squeezing all assembly related information into a single model,three complementary views of assembly model,element information,function and structure,and assembly relationship are proposed to be used.The first view contains the detailed element information,while the other two explicitly capture the hierarchical function relationships and mating relationships respectively.These views are complementary in the sense that each view only contains a specific aspect of assembly related information while together they include required assembly related information.The proposed assembly model is specialized to accommodate the features of modular fixture virtual assembly design and applied in our developed prototype system.

Applications of modularized circuit designs in a new hyper-chaotic system circuit implementation

Modularized circuit designs for chaotic systems are introduced in this paper.Especially,a typical improved modularized design strategy is proposed and applied to a new hyper-chaotic system circuit implementation.In this paper,the detailed design procedures are described.Multisim simulations and physical experiments are conducted,and the simulation results are compared with Matlab simulation results for different system parameter pairs.These results are consistent with each other and they verify the existence of the hyper-chaotic attractor for this new hyper-chaotic system.