Knowledge Base Repository
In addition to research papers, the Design Society is developing several valuable resources for those interested in the study of design. These include a repository of PhD theses, a library of case studies and transcripts of design activities, and an archive of our newsletters. Please note that these resources are accessible exclusively to Design Society members.
THE COST OF INTERNAL VARIETY: A NON-LINEAR OPTIMIZATION MODEL
Nowak, T.; Chromniak, M.
Type:
Year:
2006
Editor:
Marjanovic, D.
Author:
Section:
METHODS AND TOOLS IN DESIGN PRACTICE
Page(s):
309-314
Abstract:
Manufacturing oriented design methodologies (e.g. Design for Manufacturing and Assembly, Design to Cost) enable engineers to create product designs which can be manufactured at low cost and with better quality. But applying such as theories only to a single product is not efficient since, the product families are usually produced. In this paper the economic aspects of internal variety in product design and manufacturing are analyzed and non-linear decision model for designing the cost effective product family is presented. The proposed calculation method enables product managers to estimate and reduce the cost of introducing differentiation into their product family by optimizing the internal product variety.
Keywords:
