An object oriented approach to design with modules

Citation
P. O'Grady et Wy. Liang, An object oriented approach to design with modules, COMP INTEGR, 11(4), 1998, pp. 267-283
Citations number
40
Categorie Soggetti
Engineering Management /General
Journal title
COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS
ISSN journal
09515240 → ACNP
Volume
11
Issue
4
Year of publication
1998
Pages
267 - 283
Database
ISI
SICI code
0951-5240(199810)11:4<267:AOOATD>2.0.ZU;2-X
Abstract
The modular design of products leads to a large number of different product s by creating distinct combinations of modules and components. This can giv e each product distinctive functionality, features, and performance levels. The design of modular products is of considerable importance in enabling c ompanies to respond rapidly to changes in the market environment. This pape r is concerned with the area of design with modules (DwM), which involves s electing the module combination to best satisfy the given set of requiremen ts. The aim of this paper is to develop an approach for DwM, to meet custom er requirements, using modules that come from suppliers that may be geograp hically separated and on differing computer platforms. An object-oriented a pproach for DwM, termed object-oriented design with modules (OODwM), is pro posed where modules are represented as objects. The proposed OODwM approach is described and the approach is illustrated with an example involving the design of personal computers using the Internet as an implementation envir onment. The exchangeability inherent in OODwM is shown by exchanging the or iginal selection object in the example implementation with a selection obje ct that includes new constrained evolutionary algorithms. The use of an object-oriented approach for DwM offers several important pot ential advantages in that the model developed is readily computable, in the reusability of objects, and in the exchangeability of objects with similar interfaces. The main contributions of this paper are fourfold. First, an object-oriente d approach to DwM is described. Second, a formalism for DwM using this obje ct-oriented approach is presented. Third, the use of this formalism is illu strated with an Internet-based implementation showing how the formalism can be used for a specific problem, and how objects can be readily exchanged. Fourth, new constrained evolutionary algorithms are presented, together wit h some initial testing. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.