GRAPH PARTITIONING TECHNIQUE TO IDENTIFY PHYSICALLY INTEGRATED DESIGN CONCEPTS

This study proposes a graph partitioning method to facilitate the idea of physical integration proposed in Axiomatic Design. According to the physical integration concept, the design features should be integrated into a single physical part or a few parts with the aim of reducing the information content, given that the independence of functional requirements is still satisfied. However, no specific method is suggested in the literature for determining the optimal degree of physical integration of a design artifact. This is particularly important with the current advancement in Additive Manufacturing technologies. Since additive manufacturing allows physical elements to be integrated, new methods are needed to help designers evaluate the impact of the physical integration on the design success. The objective of this paper is to develop a framework for determining the best way that functional requirements can be assigned to different parts of a product.