Integrated conceptual design of automated modular manufacturing systems

• Author / Creator

  Tamayo, Edgar

• In Canada, demand for automated construction manufacturing has increased, and, consequently, there has been an increase in the demand for automated manufacturing systems. An opportunity exists in Canada to tap into the growing market for automated manufacturing systems; however, there is limited experience in this area.
  Designing a manufacturing system involves multiple technical disciplines consisting primarily of mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation and control engineers. A function modelling methodology during the conceptual design phase ensures that the various disciplines work according to a common design intent. A systematic approach to efficiently capturing the design intent promotes interdisciplinary communication, clarity, and early systematic determination of a functional design that fulfills customer needs.
  Modern modular construction demands cost-effective and efficient production of high-quality components. These requirements have led to the emergence of offsite construction manufacturing, which enables the use of automated machines. Compared to traditional onsite methods, offsite modular construction has a positive impact on quality, safety, cost, and productivity. In this regard, a number of methodologies have been introduced with respect to the design of automated modular construction machines. This automation consists of not only the machines, but also the supportive electrical and pneumatic systems, where the design approaches used for the automated machines can also be applied to the design of their associated systems. Accordingly, the following problems addressed in this research are summarized.
  Avoiding costly design changes necessitates a systematic, visual, transdisciplinary, and iterative design methodology during the conceptual design phase, which calls for matrix-based model-based engineering approach. However, existing matrix-based model-based systems engineering approaches, when used independently, do not fully satisfy the aforementioned solution for avoiding costly design changes at the conceptual design phase. Identifying customer requirements is the most important activity in conceptual design. Reducing the design complexity at the customer requirement definition phase translates to further cost savings. Although current techniques are successfully used, they are limited in fulfilling this cost-saving opportunity. Finally, conceptual design methodologies do not exist for essential components, such as electrical control panels and controllers, of automated construction manufacturing machines. Currently, the common practice in machine control system design depends on experience and trial-and-error during the implementation phase. Thus, developing a methodology to incorporate controller design and planning at the conceptual design phase is an opportunity that can be advantageously explored.
  A systematic and iterative design methodology during the conceptual design phase would help avoid costly design changes. An integrated function modelling methodology is proposed that combines the advantages of axiomatic design, design structure matrix, and integrated function modelling and applies the methodology to the design of an automated steel wall-framing machine. To reduce the design complexity at the customer requirement definition stage, machine learning techniques applied to a quality function deployment matrix can be investigated to overcome the limitations of existing techniques. Integrating the methodology developed for the integrated conceptual design solution with the dynamic representation of the quality function deployment matrix enables the early planning of controller design at the conceptual design phase. For the control panel, the conceptual design method introduced facilitates the development of the subsequent computer-aided design at the detailed design stage. Integrated function modelling, combined with axiomatic design and design structure matrix, constitutes the conceptual design approach for the control panel. In this work, a linear time complex algorithm is developed for automating the layout of the electrical devices and wiring connections in order to facilitate computer-aided design implementation in the detailed design phase. Furthermore, the control panel guidelines and standards that constitute the prior knowledge of the design process are embedded in the algorithm.
  This research builds on previous studies of the automated steel and wood wall-framing machine in providing a systematic approach to building automated modular manufacturing machines.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • machine learning
  • genetic algorithm
  • self-organizing map neural network
  • integrated function modelling
  • wrapper technique
  • principal component analysis
  • axiomatic design
  • design structure matrix
  • quality function deployment
  • forward orthogonal search
  • feature selection

• Graduation date

  Fall 2019

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-03fs-vg81

• License

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