Product Platform Design with Consideration of Uncertainty 2005-01-0350

Product platform design plays a crucial role in designing multiple products. This paper presents a methodology for product platform design in the presence of uncertainty. Uncertainties in both the design and production stages are considered, and are treated separately depending on whether they are considered stochastic uncertainty or epistemic uncertainty. Stochastic and epistemic uncertainties are modelled and represented using a probability approach and a fuzzy sets approach, respectively. The methodology ensures that robustness against both types of uncertainties is achieved not only at the product family level but also at the individual product level. The design of a family of automotive bumpers to fit a catalog of five vehicles is presented to illustrate the proposed methodology.