Rainer Stark

A systematic literature review on modular product design

The product architecture has a significant influence on all phases of the product life cycle. Many literature sources claim modular product design offers a large range of advantages for addressing this influence. For example, it enables mass customisation, allows environmentally friendly end-of-life strategies, reduces development costs and allows efficient work in loosely coupled organisations. However, the generally low level of justification of these advantages together with the lack of commonly accepted theoretical references leads to a rather scattered view of the potential of modularisation. Moreover, the diversity of methodological approaches and the lack of common vocabulary represent a challenge for standardisation of practices and may hinder systematic implementation in product development. In particular, more guidance may be required to allow product development teams to choose the right modularisation approach that fits in with their objectives. This article summarises published literature in order to introduce a common language in the field of product modularisation and to build the theoretical basis of a multi-purpose approach – termed ‘modularization for X’. It is based on a systematic literature review covering a corpus of 163 publications, provides a structured compilation of drivers, design principles and metrics for modularisation, and identifies challenges for further research efforts.

Virtual Prototyping and Validation of Cpps within a New Software Framework

As a result of the growing demand for highly customized and individual products, companies need to enable flexible and intelligent manufacturing. Cyber-physical production systems (CPPS) will act autonomously in the future in an interlinked production and enable such flexibility. However, German mid-sized plant manufacturers rarely use virtual technologies for design and validation in order to design CPPS. The research project Virtual Commissioning with Smart Hybrid Prototyping (VIB-SHP) investigated the usage of virtual technologies for manufacturing systems and CPPS design. Aspects of asynchronous communicating, intelligent- and autonomous-acting production equipment in an immersive validation environment, have been investigated. To enable manufacturing system designers to validate CPPS, a software framework for virtual prototyping has been developed. A mechatronic construction kit for production system design integrates discipline-specific models and manages them in a product lifecycle management (PLM) solution. With this construction kit manufacturing designers are able to apply virtual technologies and the validation of communication processes with the help of behavior models. The presented approach resolves the sequential design process for the development of mechanical, electrical, and software elements and ensures the consistency of these models. With the help of a bill of material (BOM)- and signal-based alignment of the discipline-specific models in an integrated mechatronic product model, the communication of the design status and changes are improved. The re-use of already-specified and -designed modules enable quick behavior modeling, code evaluation, as well as interaction with the virtualized assembly system in an immersive environment.

Interplay of styling, design and service performance in developing Product-Service Systems

New innovations are a decisive competitive advantage in todays global markets. Besides technical improvements the extension of classical product centred offerings with services to a provider of individual solution offers tremendous benefits. Furthermore, an exceptional product styling enables emotionally added value. Developing these offerings requires a joint and structured collaboration among the stakeholders, e.g. stylists, designers and engineers, already in the early phases. In practice, this can evoke a number of difficulties due to differences in working processes and philosophies of the different stakeholders. In order to face this challenge, the design process of offering development needs to be investigated. Furthermore, new methods and processes have to be developed. This paper describes an investigation of the different methods in developing a product focusing on stylists and engineers. Additionally, it describes the investigation of the challenges that occur during the development of Product-Service Systems. Based on survey results a new approach is presented which is in turn validated with a use case. Eventually, an integrated offering development process is proposed.

Hybrid Prototype-in-the-Loop

Kurzfassung In der Phase der früheren Anlagen- und Prozessabsicherung zeichnet sich ein Bedarf nach neuen Absicherungswerkzeugen für eine integrierte Betrachtung von Anlagenverhalten und Mensch-Maschinen-Kollaboration ab. Durch die Kopplung von virtuellen 3D-Modellen des Layouts, deren Verhaltensmodellen sowie mechatronischen Elementen werden mit dem Hybrid Prototype-in-the-Loop (HPiL)-Ansatzes das frühzeitige Absichern und Evaluieren von Montageprozessen ermöglicht. Im Rahmen einer Studie werden die Vor- sowie Nachteile des Ansatzes kritisch beleuchtet.

Industrie 4.0 – Digitale Neugestaltung der Produktentstehung und Produktion am Standort Berlin

Ende 2015 konnten bundesweit rund 449 Forschungs- und Umsetzungsprojekte dem Thema Industrie 4.0 zugeordnet werden. Die grosen Herausforderungen bestehen nunmehr einerseits darin, entstandene Partiallosungen, neue Erkenntnisse und Resultate in die flachendeckende und standardisierte Anwendung zu uberfuhren, wahrend anderseits „weise Flecken“ identifiziert und konsequent weiter beforscht werden mussen. Das Kapitel stellt innovative Industrie 4.0 Projekte fur den realen und digitalen Fabrik- und Produktbetrieb aus dem Produktionstechnischen Zentrum (PTZ) in Berlin vor und bietet eine Forschungslandkarte zur Einordnung eigener Aktivitaten an. Anhand eines Stufenmodells wird verdeutlicht wie die Implementierung und Operationalisierung des kunftig notwendigen Informationsmanagements praktisch gelingen kann. Anhand des zukunftsweisenden Konzeptes der Informationsfabrik wird verdeutlicht, wie mittels des Digitalen Zwillings und Smart Data fortan Effizienz- und Effektivitatsgewinne in der Produktentstehung und Produktion realisiert werden.