Modular Design

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EST 200 Modular Design
MEC
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Contents

• Introduction.
• Features.
• Merits.
• Demerits.
• Examples.
• Constructal Law in Modular Designs.

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Module

• A detachable self-contained unit of a larger
  system.
• One of a set of parts that can be connected or
  combined to build or complete something.
• Each of a set of standardized parts or
  independent units can be used to construct a more
  complex structure, such as an item of furniture
  or a building.

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Modular Design

• Plug in and play approach to product designing.
• To produce a complete product by integrating or
  combining smaller parts that are independent of
  each other.
• Subdivides a system into smaller parts called
  modules.
• Each module can be independently created,
  modified, replaced, or exchanged with other
  modules or between different systems.

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Modular Design

• Complex product broken down/divided into smaller
  and simpler components, are independently
  designed and manufactured.
• Each of these individual components is then
  integrated/assembled together to form the final
  product.
• Individual parts can be used for the same
  functionality in different systems or products.

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Modular Design

• Allows one to customize, reuse, upgrade, or
  maintain product designs.
• Modular products independent parts follow a
  standard interface to fit into each other as the
  finished product easily.
• Non-modular designs are not easy to customize or
  maintain. 

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Features

• Functional partitioning into discrete scalable
  and reusable modules.
• Rigorous use of well-defined modular interfaces.
• Use of industry standards for interfaces.
• Modularity can be at a component level with a
  single dimension and component slottability.

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Features

• Modular system has higher dimensional modularity
  and degrees of freedom.
• No distinct lifetime.
• Flexibility in at least three dimensions.
• Architectural systems are the closest example to
  a modular system.
• Modular system with limited modularity known as a
  platform system uses modular components.

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Modularity Benefits

• Modularity best defined by the dimensions
  effected or the degrees of freedom in form, cost,
  or operation.
• Degree of modularity, dimensionally, determines
  the degree of customization possible.
• Benefits include
• - reduction in cost.
• - interoperability.

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Modularity Benefits

• - shorter learning time.
• - flexibility in design.
• - non-generationally constrained
• augmentation or updating.
• - plug and play (adding new solution by
• merely plugging in a new module).
• - exclusion.
• - standardization.

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Modularity Benefits

• - economic advantage of not carrying dead
• capacity.
• - increased capacity utilization rate.
• - impact on cost and pricing flexibility.
• - easier and cheaper to maintain.

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Modularity Benefits in Platform Systems

• Platform systems have various levels of component
  modularity.
• Returning margins to scale.
• Reduced product development cost.
• Reduced OM costs.
• Reduced time to market.

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Easy to Customize Products 

• Products easier to customize according to
  individual customer needs or preferences.
• Eg for a smartphone with better battery life,
  one can easily include a high-power battery
  component (built by a third-party manufacturer)
  into your model.

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Faster to Market

• Faster to assemble and release in the market.
• Each modular component designed, manufactured,
  and tested separately to save time, and then
  assembled for the final product.

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Cost Efficiency

• Modularity to reduce product development and
  testing costs for the manufacturer.
• Shorter development cycles and modular
  components reusability.
• Large manufacturers to outsource various
  components to smaller manufacturing firms and cut
  down the costs.

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Sustainability

• Use of reusable components that can be used in
  many similar products.
• Reduced wastage.
• Adds to the overall sustainability of the product.

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Incremental Upgrades

• Modular system design or product can be easily
  upgraded.
• Non-modular products harder to achieve
  incremental upgrades.
• Parts can be added or removed without altering
  the rest of the system.

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Modularity Drawbacks

• Designers poorly trained in systems analysis and
  design.
• Design complexity of a modular system
  significantly higher than a platform system.
• Requires experts in design and product strategy
  during the conception phase of system
  development.
• Directions and levels of flexibility necessary in
  the system to deliver the modular benefits.

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Modular Design

• Platforms systems are more reductionist, limiting
  modularity to components.
• Modular systems could be viewed as more complete
  or holistic design.
• Complete or holistic modular design requires a
  much higher level of design skill and
  sophistication than the more common platform
  system.

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Modularity Approach in Product Designing

• To provide multiple varieties of the same product
  to meet different customer needs.
• To reduce product complexity and manufacturing
  costs. 
• Each finished product divided into many modules,
  each with independent features and
  functionalities.
• Changing one (or more) modules not to impact
  other modules functionality.

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Modular Design in Software Engineering

• Modular programming technique separates overall
  functionality of any software product into
  independent and interchangeable software modules.
  
• Each module programmed separately and designed to
  achieve specific functionality. 
• Maximizes software developers productivity.
• Simplifies development of an enterprise-level
  product with many functionalities.

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Modular Design in Software Engineering

• Large and complex projects broken down into
  smaller and manageable parts.
• Each part individually developed and integrated
  into the final product.

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Modular Design in Computer Hardware

• Computers with easily replaceable parts that use
  standardized interfaces allows a user to upgrade
  certain aspects of the computer easily without
  having to buy another computer altogether.
• All parts should be easily interchangeable as
  long as the user uses parts that support the same
  standard interface.

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Modularity in Machines and Architecture

• Modular buildings/homes generally consist of
  universal parts/modules manufactured in a factory
  and shipped to a build site where they are
  assembled into a variety of arrangements.
• Modular buildings added to or reduced in size by
  adding or removing components.
• Changes in functionality using the same process
  of adding or removing components.

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Modularity in Architecture

• Eg office building can be built using modular
  parts such as walls, frames, doors, ceilings, and
  windows.
• Interior can then be partitioned (or divided)
  with more walls and furnished.
• Modular components such as wall panels can be
  added or relocated to make the necessary changes.

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When Modular Design will not work?

• Dependence on smooth compatibility between the
  modules (or interfaces) to fit into the final
  product.
• When individual parts do not fit together
  perfectly, a modular design fails.
• May not work for every product or product
  functionality.

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When Modular Design will not work?

• Products to be modularly designed only after a
  thorough analysis of the market.
• May not work for a product catering to two
  different customer personas.

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Constructal Law in Modular Designs

• Advanced by Trancossi.
• Modular design can be coupled by some
  optimization criteria derived from the
  constructal law.
• A system can be divided into subsystems
  (elemental parts) using tree models.
• Complex systems can be represented in a modular
  way.
• Possible to describe how different physical
  magnitudes flow through the system.

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Constructal Law in Modular Designs

• Possible to identify the critical components that
  affect the performance of the system by analysing
  the different flowpaths.
• Possible to improve the system performance by
  optimizing those components and substituting them
  with more performing ones.
• Constructal law is modular, can apply with
  interesting results in engineering simple
  systems.

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Multilevel Modularity

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Thank You