Abstract
This paper discusses possibilities of efficiently designing a family of engineering products such as equipment and machinery, while product family design has been implemented mainly for consumer products. Regarding the differences between consumer products and engineering products, the latter has longer lead time in design and development, and the total number of production units in the latter is fairly smaller than one in the former. By reflecting these differences, we propose a design methodology, which is composed of three phases; strategic identification of common subsystems and adjustable subsystems, anticipatory design of the former subsystems prior to individual orders, and adjustment design of the latter subsystems at respectively individual orders. Among these phases, the second phase is essentially important but complicated. A design method for common subsystems is proposed for this phase based on techniques of mathematical optimization, computational geometry, etc. A design example of product family of centrifugal compressors is briefly demonstrated.
