Mediating constraints across design and manufacturing using platform-based manufacturing operations

To meet the needs of an array of customers, platforms can provide means to achieve commonality and distinctiveness among a family of products. However, typically the producibility of product variants are not ensured until the late platform development phases. This may lead to increased development lead-time, due to lack of integration across design and manufacturing. To be better suited in making early producibility assessments, a model to improve the integration across product platforms and manufacturing platforms is presented. The model is embodying manufacturing operations and marries platform models of two technical systems – products and manufacturing equipment. To serve the concurrency needed to explore cross product-manufacturing alternatives during the early phases of platform development, manufacturing operations can be modeled to serve improved integration of product platforms and manufacturing platforms. By modeling functions, control parameters, and key characteristics, the constraints across design and manufacturing can be mediated