A study on modular design representation

Faced with the pressure of shortened product life cycle, most enterprises are looking for the ways to reduce the inventory cost and enhance the service level. As stated by many researchers of related fields, modular design is an efficient method using product varieties to fulfill customer satisfactions. However, the discussion of modular design often excludes its graphical representation which renders the resultant illustration inconsistent and incomplete. This inadequacy results in poor communication between product designers and development engineers. This paper thus proposes a modeling language, named Modular Design Modeling Language (MDML) and based on UML (Unified Modeling Language), to develop a concise illustration for the results of modular design. The paper also proposes an element illustration methodology to represent the basic elements of the results of modular design, such as physical structure, component, function, and interface. Product designers can deliver the modular design results containing such elements as physical structure diagram and functional structure diagram. Finally, an example of LCD TV modular design is also demonstrated to validate the feasibility of MDML.