Ch. 8 - Product Architecture and Product Design
Characteristics of integration
- either one chunk carries several functions - or one function is spread among several chunks
Decomposing System: 3 Distinct Types of Flows
1. Mass Flows 2. Energy Flows 3. Information flows (info cannot flow without flow of energy)
2 extremes in types of product architecture:
1. Modular 2. Integrated
Modular architecture advantages
1. much easier to maintain, repair, or upgrade 2. typically easy to assemble and disassemble.. interfaces between modules are typically well defined 3. enable platform portfolios
Functional decomposition.... What do we want to know?
1. whats the 'highest level' functional description of this device? 2. what are the inputs and outputs to this system? (mass, energy, information) 3. What sequence of operations do you perform to use the product?
Ulrich and Eppinger's Map
Mission Statement Concept development system level design detail design testing & refinement Production Ramp-Up Product Launch
Map of the design process
Ulrich and eppinger's
Advantages to modular architecture
able to offer a very extensive product portfolio with a minimum of parts -- this is a classic "platform architecture" modular, top-level design requires almost no variation among components themselves only the length of the connection pins
'frame function'
almost always highly integrated
every product has an _____ but doesn't mean that every _____ was explicitly _______
architecture architecutre designed
integrated designs very often require that the components are....
assembled in ways that disable or prevent disassembly ex. use of adhesives or welding
Level of more detail
chunk could be a single part in a sub assembly
Top level
chunk could include several smaller sub-assemblies
_____ depends on the level of the system you're working with
chunking
many ways to break things into ____
chunks
problems arise when....
chunks are inadvertently connected and cause unintentional problems ex. vibrations could be transmitted through frame of camera and impact image
functional hierarchy
classic 'engineering' method of creating a product architecture is to begin by decomposing the system into this
component-level constraints =========
integration components that perform the 'frame function' are almost always highly integrated
it is much better to begin with a(n) ____ while giving _____
intentional design of the architecture from the beginning giving full consideration for future options
Connections among chunks can either be ___ or _____
intentional or incidental
product architecture
is a strategy for distributing the functions of a product onto sub-assemblies and components, and then mapping the connections amongst these components
Integrated architecture
is one in which many functions are mapped onto a single chunk, or one function is mapped across many chunks
Modular architecture
is one in which there's a one-to-one mapping of functions onto chunks (components/assemblies/sub-systems)
overall architecture of a product is....
key to its ultimate success
chunking depends on the _____
level of system you're working in
chunking depends on the _______
level of system you're working with
by spreading functionality across components designers can...
minimize mass or volume while maintaining the extremely high performance requirements of the design
Modular architecture disadvantages
not so obvious often only appear under extreme circumstances primary: often have larger part counts than integrated designs modular sub components can have frames that add weight and volume rarely encounter a modular architecture in high performance setting
there are some situations that demand _____ and other times when _____
one and not the other one is preferred for 'downstream' reasons
highly modular
one chunk = one function
one chunk = one function is a bit extreme....
one chunk might have one primary function... with related supporting functions built into the same module
integrated
one function, many chunks or many functions, one chunk
modular
one function, one chunk
highly integrated
one-to-many many- to- one
Highly modular
one-to-one
swiss army knife architecture
overall highly modular, with well defined functions per chunk and minimal connections among components
chunks
physical components of a system are categorized into sub-systems
when doing system decomposition it is always a good idea to think about...
possible unplanned connections that might occur
as designers the natural questions for us to ask is...
"why do we sometimes go with integrated architectures and other times with modular?"
many architectures emerge ________ and then become a ______ that limits subsequent improvements or adaptations
'after the fact' legacy
apple iMac
integrating the computer into the display
architecture of the products reflects the _______
design constraints
product architecture requires the creation of a _______ of the entire device/product, most often in _______
detailed functional description several layers
functional hierarchy can be interpreted ______ depending on your viewpoint or relationship to the product... so there are _____
different ways many right answers when decomposing a system
if designing entire car, the _______ could be a chunk
engine
highly integrated designs arise naturally in products that are preforming in ______
extreme situations
information cannot flow without a corresponding ______
flow of energy
designing just car door the ________ is a chunk
handle assembly
timing applications that must not fail =======
high integration ex. camera pic three functions integrated into a single component
design situation that demand ___________ invariably lead to high levels of integration
high performance per unit mass or volume
when is it important to maximize functionality while minimizing the number, mass, or volume of physical components?
high performance, low mass extremely high performance per unit mass extremely high performance per unit volume
laptop
highly integrated difficult to disassemble
constraints have a major influence on _______ intentional or not
product architecture
Architectures affect _____
product portfolios
Preventing disassembly is necessary to extract the highest benefit from integration, but can lead to...
real problems in recycling and re-use later on
designing the architecture early can....
save a lot of time and expense
swiss army knife: multiple function chunks
screw driving can opener screw driving bottle opening wire stripping
swiss army knife: single function chunks
shearing cutting holding in place tweezing piercing cork pulling carrying probing
highly integration swiss army knife
single piece of steel card with many pieces cut out of it (see image)
a product can be considered modular even if it has _____
some integrated components or assemblies
architecture itself constrains ______
subsequent decisions in - design -manufacturing
Important Functional decomposition of product graph
top level second level third level info mass energy all recorded * take a look at graph
desktop
very modular overall with highly integrated components
under what set of constraints would we as designers want to spread functions over more than one component or chunk? .... aka ....
when is it important to maximize functionality while minimizing the number, mass, or volume of physical components?