Computer-aided Design for Product Upgradability under Geometric Constraints

Abstract

Long-life design for products is seen as a promising approach for improving the resource efficiency of their lifecycle. Implementing design to support upgradability allows products to be used for longer than conventional items, which may be abandoned because of functional obsolescence before the end of their physical life. One of the difficulties of upgrade design involves the prediction of future trends such as technological development and market movements, and upgradable products must be robust against such future uncertainties. In order to deal with the unpredictability of future technological trends, the authors previously proposed a method for the formulation of product upgrade plans that specify a lineup of candidate components for upgrades with each generation. However, the design for a geometric model of an upgradable product that can be adapted to the upgrade plan remains an unresolved issue in the proposed method. In order to support this design stage, the present paper outlines a proposal for a computer-aided design method that helps designers to reconstruct geometric product models for adaptation to the upgrade plan by satisfying geometric constraints. The paper also demonstrates the suitability of the method with a sample design of a cellular phone.