In the industrial design and engineering field, product lifecycle, product development, design process, Design for X, etc., constitute only a small sample of terms related to the generation of quality products. Current best practices cover widely different knowledge domains in trying to exploit them to the best advantage, individually and in synergy. Moreover, standards become increasingly more helpful in interfacing these domains and they are enlarging their coverage by going beyond the single domain boundary to connect closely different aspects of the product lifecycle. The degree of complexity of each domain makes impossible the presence of multipurpose competencies and skills; there is almost always the need for interacting and integrating people and resources in some effective way. These are the best conditions for the birth of theories, methodologies, models, architectures, systems, procedures, algorithms, software packages, etc., in order to help in some way the synergic work of all the actors involved in the product lifecycle. This brief introduction contains all the main themes developed in this book, starting from the analysis of the design and engineering scenarios to arrive at the development and adoption of a framework for product design and process reconfiguration. In fact, the core consists of the description of the Design GuideLines Collaborative Framework (DGLs-CF), a methodological approach that generates a collaborative environment where designers, manufacturers and inspectors can find the right and effective meeting point to share their knowledge and skills in order to contribute to the optimum generation of quality products.
The Design Guidelines Collaborative Framework
describes a knowledge-based 'design for multi-X' method, aimed at improving and assisting the work of designers, manufacturers, and inspectors in the areas of product redesign and process reconfiguration.
Designers are not necessarily experts in manufacturing and verification processes; likewise, manufacturers and inspectors may not be experts in design. For this reason, the Design Guidelines Collaborative Framework (DGLs-CF) constitutes a meeting point for all three parties, where their knowledge is formalized, expanded upon, and put at the designers' disposal, thereby maximizing the user-friendliness of the results.
The DGLs-CF is characterized by the homogeneous union of different algorithms, clear interfaces among the modules that implement them, and clear roles assigned to the different actors. These elements, together with a strong adherence to the ISO GPS standards, make the DGLs-CF the perfect environment for researchers, experts in different fields, and industrial partners to formalize their knowledge, and develop and implement their own algorithms and procedures.
The Design Guidelines Collaborative Framework
uses the simple IDEF0 formalism to describe the DGLs-CF framework in a top-down way, in order to facilitate readers' comprehension, and their adoption and development of the framework. Several case studies on the application of the DGLs-CF in industrial environments show the framework's effectiveness and robustness.
Industrial and academic researchers will find this book a useful guide to the DGLs-CF and mechanical engineers will be quick to appreciate the streamlined approach it describes.
