The Development Of Modular Product Design : Foldable Chair.

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UNIVERSITI TEKNIKAL MELAKA MALAYSIA

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODULAR

PRODUCT DESIGN: FOLDABLE CHAIR

Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the Malaysia Technical University of Malacca for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)

Manufacturing (Design)

Mohd Fairuz Nizam b. Ibrahim

Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering April 2007

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UTeM Library (Pind.1/2005)

UNIVERSITI TEKNIKAL MALAYSIA MELAKA (UTeM)

BORANG PENGESAHAN STATUS TESIS*

JUDUL: DEVELOPMENT OF MODULAR PRODUCT: CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF FOLDABALE CHAIR

SESI PENGAJIAN: 2006/ 2007

Saya MOHD FAIRUZ NIZAM B. IBRAHIM

mengaku membenarkan t esis (PSM/ Sarj ana/ Dokt or Falsaf ah) ini disimpan di Perpust akaan Universit i Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) dengan syarat -syarat kegunaan sepert i berikut :

1. Tesis adalah hak milik Universit i Teknikal Malaysia Melaka.

2. Perpust akaan Universit i Teknikal Malaysia Melaka dibenarkan membuat salinan unt uk t uj uan pengaj ian sahaj a.

3. Perpust akaan dibenarkan membuat salinan t esis ini sebagai bahan pert ukaran ant ara inst it usi pengaj ian t inggi.

4. **Sila t andakan (√)

SULIT

TERHAD

TIDAK TERHAD

(Mengandungi maklumat yang berdarj ah keselamat an at au kepent ingan Malaysia yang t ermakt ub di dalam AKTA RAHSIA RASMI 1972)

(Mengandungi maklumat TERHAD yang t elah dit ent ukan oleh organisasi/ badan di mana penyelidikan dij alankan)

(TANDATANGAN PENULIS) Alamat Tet ap:

Lot 1144, Lorong 3, Kampung Merbau Sempak, 47000 Sungai Buloh,

Selangor Darul Ehsan

Tarikh: _______________________

Disahkan oleh:

(TANDATANGAN PENYELIA) Cop Rasmi:

Tarikh: _______________________

* Tesis dimaksudkan sebagai t esis bagi Ij azah Dokt or Falsaf ah dan Sarj ana secara penyel idikan, at au disert asi bagi pengaj ian secara kerj a kursus dan penyel idikan, at au Laporan Proj ek Sarj ana Muda (PSM).

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DECLARATION

Hereby, to declare the thesis entitled “The Development of Modular Product Design; Foldable Chair” is the results of my own research except as cited in the reference.

Signature : _______________________________________________ Author’s Name : MOHD FAIRUZ NIZAM BIN IBRAHIM_____________ Date : 13 APRIL 2007__________________________________

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APPROVAL

This thesis submitted to the senate of Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) and has been acceptable as fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Manufacturing (Design). The members of the supervisory

committee are as follows:

………. Ms. SURIATI BTE AKMAL

Main supervisor

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ABSTARCT

In many centuries, the folding chair was considered one of the most important pieces of furniture in the house and a prized status symbol. In ancient civilizations, folding stools were used not merely for sitting but also for ceremonial use. The design of the foldable chair itself had been improved continuously by researcher and engineers to achieve the best design and mobility suited to the user requirements by applying the modular design. This case study applied the use the modular design for product design development. Foldable chair has been used to be the main products for development. The scope was focused based on the design of existing foldable chair, then from the result achieved, approached into the new design. The method used during gaining the data was from the survey done by applying the questionnaire to the costumer which is the student. After that the data would be analyzed again by using the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) method to verify the highest rank from the people and customer requirements. From the result achieved, then the final design for the foldable chair will be redrawn back using the Solidworks software (version 2005) until finished.

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ABSTRAK

Kebanyakan negara di dunia ini telah menganggap bahawa kerusi lipat merupakan salah satu daripada perabot di rumah yang mempunyai satu symbol yang unik dan mempunyai kepelbagaian kegunaan. Pada zaman dahulu kala, kerusi lipat bukan sahaja digunakan untuk kegunaan harian seperti tempat duduk tetapi juga digunakan ketika upacara keagamaan. Rekabentuk kerusi lipat itu sendiri telah dipertingkatkan dari satu zaman ke satu zaman oleh para penyelidik dan juga para jurutera untuk meningkatkan dan mencari satu rekaan yang terbaik dan juga molibiliti yang lengkap dengan mengaplikasikan konsep modular. Projek ini adalah tentang pengaplikasian konsep modular untuk perkembangan rekabentuk produk. Kerusi lipat adalah merupakan produk yang cuba diperkembangkan rekabentuk nya dalam projek ini. Skop untuk projek ini adalah berfokuskan kepada rekabentuk yang sedia ada dan cuba menggunakan rekabentuk tersebut untukt satu rekabentuk yang baru. Kaedah yang digunakan ketika memperolehi data adalah menggunakan soal selidik dikalangan pengguna yang terdiri daripada para pelajar. Setelah data dikumpul, satu analisis akan dijalankan menggunakan satu kaedah dipanggil Quality Function Deployment (QFD) untuk mengesahkan kehendak pengguna yang paling penting. Daripada hasil yang didapati, satu rekabentuk kerusi lipat akan dilukis menggunakan perisian Solidworks(edisi 2005).

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DEDICATION

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ACKNOWLEDMENTS

Bismillahirahmanirahim,

Alhamdulillah and thank to Allah for His bless and opportunity and gives me strength to face all the difficulties in order to finish and let my Final Year Project (PSM) successfully. I owe this project and my true happiness to my beloved parents for their encouragement in my life since my birth until I started going to this university until today besides full support in my project.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor Miss Suriati bte. Akmal for her support, advice and guidance to complete this report. During this research, Miss Suriati provides me with many valuables guidance and suggestion as well as spiritual support. Without her guidance, it difficult and imposibble to prepare my report. Thanks a lot and so much. Due this project, I am able to stands on my feet, improve my knowledge and moreover increasing my skills in designing.

Special thanks to all my friends and individuals whose spend their valueable time in filling the survey form and their supporting when I faced a problem during completing my project. Your cooperation and support is too important for me.

Finally yet importantly, thanks again to everyone.

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Abstract………... i

Dedication………... ii

Acknowledgment……… iii

Table of Contents……… iv

List of Figures………. viii

List of Tables……….. x

Sign and Symbols………... xi

1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction……… 1

1.2 Problem Statement………. 2

1.3 Objectives………... 5

1.4 Scope of Study………... 5

1.5 Study Approach……….. 6

2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction……… 7

2.2 Comparison Between Integrated Design and Modular Design 2.2.1 The Concept of Integrated Design……… 8

2.2.2 The Concept of Modular Design………... 9

2.3 Modularity……….. 14

2.3.1 Categories of Modularity……….. 15

2.4 Modularization………... 16

2.4.1 Modularization Process………. 17

2.5 Modular Product……… 19

2.5.1 Advantages of Modular Product………... 19

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2.6 Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

2.6.1 Introduction………... 22

2.6.2 History of QFD………. 22

2.6.3 Process of QFD………. 23

2.6.4 Tools of QFD……… 24

3. METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction……… 26

3.2 Project Flow Chart for PSM 1……… 27

3.2.1 Explanation on Project Flow Chart for PSM 1………. 28

3.3 Project Flow Chart for PSM 2……… 29

3.3.1 Explanation on Project Flow Chart for PSM 2………. 30

3.4 Data Collection and Analysis………. 31

3.5 Questionnaire………. 32

3.5.1 Information of Questionnaire……… 32

3.6 Journal and Books 33 3.7 Quality Function Deployment (QFD)……… 34

4. CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT 4.1 Introduction……… 36

4.2 Customer needs……….. 37

4.2.1 Gathering the Customer Needs………. 37

4.3 Transform Needs Into Specifications………. 41

4.3.1 Product Design Specifications……….. 43

4.4 Concept Generations……….. 44

4.4.1 Clustering……….. 45

4.4.2 Functional Decomposition……… 47

4.5 Concept Selection……….. 50

4.5.1 Dimensional for Modular Foldable Chair………. 51

4.5.2 Identify Module Concept……….. 52

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5. DISCUSSIONS……….. 59

6. CONCLUSION……….. 65

7. FURTHER STUDY………... 66

REFERENCES 67

APPENDICES Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C

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LIST OF FIGURES

1.0 Two Design of a Pieces of a Domestic Furniture 2

2.0 The Integrated Design 8

2.1 The Modular Design 9

2.2 The Basic Idea of Modularity 14

2.3 The Position of Modularization in a Conceptual Design 16 2.4 The Hierarchy Customer – Based Design, Function – Based Design and

Structure – Based Design

2.5 The Four Phase of QFD 24

2.6 House of Quality 25

3.0 The Flow Chart for PSM 1 27

3.1 The Flow Chart for PSM 2 29

3.2 The Flow Chart for Collecting Data 31

3.3 Example Simplified QFD matrix 35

4.0 Clustering of a Foldable Chair 46

4.1 Functional Diagram 47

4.2 Functional Diagram for Foldable Chair 48

4.3 The Functional Model for a Foldable Chair 49

4.4 The Dimensional Model of Modular Foldable Chair (In Used) 51 4.5 The Dimensional Model of Modular Foldable Chair (In Folded) 52

4.6 The Backrest Module 52

4.7 The Frame Module 53

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4.9 A Connection Module 55

4.10 An Example of Existing Foldable Chair 57

4.11 A Design for Modular Product Foldable Chair 58

5.0 The Module for Modular Foldable Chair 59

5.1 A Complete Design for a Modular Foldable Chair 62

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LIST OF TABLES

1.0 The Comparison of Modular and Integrated Architectures 4

2.0 The Comparison of Modular and Integrated Architectures 11 2.1 Benefit and Risk of Modularity for Assembler 15 2.2 Benefit and Risk of Modularity for Supplier 15

2.3 Comparisons of Modularization Process 18

4.0 Simplified QFD Matrix for The Foldable Chair 42

4.1 Important Metrics for A Foldable Chair 44

4.2 Input and Output for Sub- Function 48

4.3 Concept Evaluation for Existing Product 57

4.4 Concept Evaluation for Modular Foldable Chair 58

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SIGNS AND SYMBOLS

GT - Group Technology C - Circuit

QFD - Quality Function Deployment m3 - meter cubic

s - second

g - gram

RM - Malaysian Ringgit N - Newton

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter will provide the general information about the Final Year Project (Projek Sarjana Muda) subject. It also contains an overview of the research project titled Development of Modular Product: Conceptual Design of Foldable Chair. It will include the problem statement, the project objectives, the scope of study and the study approach. The objectives of this project are to understand the principles and concepts of modular product concepts, to study the effectiveness of modular concept design in the product industry manufacturing performance, and to investigate the modular product using Quality Function Deployment (QFD) methodology. The student also will train to work independently to design, analysis, fabricate and test any form of system or experimental rig using available facilities including library, laboratory equipment, sensors and software. From selecting the title, the student will know about the modular product and the development. From this title also will know that the modular concept is to given more easy and simple assembly with reduce part and is the solution to the integrated architecture. The students not only know how the concept and principles of that are working but also know how to apply the Quality Function Deployment (QFD). Besides, the students also can know about the advantages of the modular product in our future.

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1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

A product can be thought of in functional and physical terms. The functional elements of a product are the individual operations and transformations that contribute to the overall performance of the product. The physical elements of a product are the parts, components, and subassemblies that ultimately implement the product functions. The physical elements of a product are organized into several major physical building blocks. Each block is a collection of components that implement some functions of the product. A block may be a collection of interchangeable components that implement similar functions, in which case, the block is called a module. The architecture of a product is the scheme based on which the functional elements of the product are arranged into physical blocks and the blocks interact. An important characteristic of product architecture is its modularity.

Figure 1.0: Two Designs of a Piece of Domestic Furniture

Consider two different designs of a piece of domestic furniture shown in Figure 1. In the design shown in Figure 1(a), two types of functions, the drawer and the open space, are allocated to separate modules, which in fact are mounted together and make up a piece of domestic furniture. The modular architecture is

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the one where each functional element of the product is implemented by exactly one module, and in which there are a few well-defined interactions between the modules. Such a modular architecture allows a change to be made to one module without generally affecting other modules so that the product can function correctly. Each module may also be designed quite independently of other systems. A traditional architecture is integrated much differently from the modular architecture discussed in this paper. The design shown in Figure. 1(b) is integrated, in this case motivated by ergonomic concerns. A product embodying an integrated architecture is often designed so as to maximize a certain performance measure; however, modifications to one component or feature may require extensive redesign of the product. Implementation of functional elements may be distributed across multiple blocks. Boundaries between the blocks may be difficult to identify or may not even exist.

For nowadays, all the manufactures want to choose the modular product design. It is because from modular product design, they can reduce many things such as time, money and the labor. The production for the company is more gather because the customer now more to choose the modular product design. From the less component, the modular product also can reduce the material that is wanted to use to produce the product. For the integrated design, the part is more and difficult to do. So, the modular is the right way to use. From the modular product, the modularization process can be use, which transforms the current architecture into a modular one. The module can be reducing. The modularity process also needs which can make the module – module connection with each other. From this connection, the product more useful. Therefore, this is what customer needs nowadays. One product but more useful. From this situation, the modular product is the solution. modular product design is an important form of strategic flexibility i.e., flexible product designs that allow a company to respond to changing markets and technologies by rapidly and inexpensively creating product variants derived from different combinations of existing or new modular components.

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To the extent that product performance depends on the size, shape or mass of a product, it generally can be enhanced by an integrated architecture but not necessarily a modular one. The characteristics of modular and integrated architectures are compared in Table 1 [1].

Table 1.0: The Comparison of Modular and Integrated Architectures Integrated Architectures Modular Architectures A collection of components that implement

some functions of a product is called a block.

A collection of components that implement some functions of a product is called a module.

The functional elements of a product are implemented using more than one block.

Same as an integrated architecture.

A single block implements many functional elements.

A module implements one or a few functional elements in their entirety.

The interactions between blocks are ill -defined and may be incidental to the primary functions of the products.

The interactions between modules are well defined and are generally fundamental to the primary function of the product.

Product performance can be enhanced through an integrated architecture,

Product performance may not be enhanced by a modular architecture.

Changing a block in an integrated product may influence many functional elements and require changes to several related blocks.

Changing a few isolated functional elements of a product may not affect the design of other modules.

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1.3 OBJECTIVES

The main objectives of this project is to know how to develop one product by using the modular product and explored the impact of the modular product on competitive manufacturing capabilities, including price, product quality, customer service, flexibility and delivery. Besides that, other specific objectives include:

i. To understand the principles and concepts of modular product. ii. To understand the analyze concept of modular product using

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) method based on customer needs.

iii. To know the step of concept development.

iv. To develop conceptual design of foldable chair through modular product.

1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY

This project will conduct:

i. Literature review of modular product and product development. ii. The development of conceptual design of foldable chair through

modular concept.

iii. Translation of customer requirements through market survey. iv. Development of conceptual design of modular foldable chair.

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1.5 STUDY APPROACH

In this project the study approach are:

i. Questionnaire — make a survey to the students about the concept design of the modular foldable chair. It is very important because its can know the information and correspondent as a customer. This also wants to collecting data about the concept design of the modular foldable chair.

ii. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) - a system for designing a product or service based on customer demands and involving all members of the producer or supplier organization. It enables organizations to be proactive rather than reactive in product design.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter is about the literature review about the project title. The main subject in this chapter is what modular product is. Modular products refer to product, assemblies and components that fulfill various functions through the combination of distinct building blocks (modules). It is also conclude the briefing about the integrated design and the modular design. There are many between the integrated design and the modular design. The modular concept are different with a integrated concept, meaning of modular architecture is the one where each functional element of the product is implemented by exactly one module, and in which there are a few well-defined interactions between the modules. Meanwhile the integrated concept is the functional elements of the product are implemented using more than one block A single block may implement many functional elements. There are also the meaning of modular modularity and modularization. These are important elements for modular design. The modularity is very important because a flexibility, maintainability, extensibility and scalability are all attributes that accrue to a modular system design. The modularity can classify as

basic, auxiliary, adaptive, and non-modules and that can also to categorize as Component - swapping modularity, Component-sharing modularity and Bus modularity. In this chapter, also include the Quality Function Deployment (QFD).

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2.2 COMPARISON BETWEEN INTEGRATED DESIGN AND MODULAR DESIGN

2.2.1 The Concept of Integrated Design

Figure 2.0: The Integrated Design

Figure 2.0 show a example of integrated design. From the figure, show that’s the intergrated design is use more block or part. This situation is not good because can take a time to assemble the block or part to become one product. A product embodying an integrated architecture is often designed to maximize a certain performance measure; however, modifications to one component or feature may require extensive redesign of the product. Implementation of functional elements may be distributed across multiple blocks. Boundaries between the blocks may be difficult to identify or may not even exist.

Concept Development - The purpose of the concept development phase is

to generate the product concept for the product. A product concept is an approximate description of the technology, working principles, and form of the product [2]. With the kind of structured approach to concept generation advocated

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by Ulrich and Eppinger, the concept generation process begins with the identification of customer needs. Customer needs should be expressed in ways that do not indicate technical solutions. Once customer needs are ranked, they have to be transformed into a set of target specification. In most designs, it is necessary to divide the design problems into simpler sub - problems. Ulrich and Eppinger suggest that this requires what they call a functional decomposition where the desired functions of the product are decomposed into functional elements to create a more specific description of what the elements of the products do in order to implement the overall functions of the product.

The System Level Design - At the system level of design, product

specifications have to be established along with the architecture of the product. Target values, defined in the beginning of the concept development phases, may have to be refined as models and a test of design solutions for all the different sub-problems reveals different types of constraints on the technical solutions. The architecture of the product is gradually finalized as all the different solutions to sub-problems are developed.

2.2.2 The Concept of Modular Design

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