PROBLEMS AND CHANCES IN INDUSTRIAL MECHATRONIC PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

This paper presents insights into two different mechatronic development processes in automotive industry. Both processes were leading to successful products, meaning that the developed systems are in production at reasonable cost. During both processes a series of prominent problems could be observed; the solution for these problems found in the development processes are sometimes not in line with recommended procedures in literature concerning mechatronic product development. Therefore the problems and the solutions were analyzed in detail by means of retrospection of involved design engineers. The basis for this analysis was a model of mechatronic product development which combines the core elements from multiple sources. During the analysis it became apparent that many publications, which research mechatronic product development, focus on the commonalities between the disciplines. In contrast, this paper is focusing on the differences between the disciplines. The focus on the differences is not intended to indicate that collaboration between the disciplines is not feasible or sensible. Instead, the chances listed in the last part of this paper are meant as measures to overcome the differences and by doing so to achieve a higher, more effective level of collaboration between the disciplines. Obviously, this list of chances is preliminary and is only based on the speculation of two design researchers. The main objective of this paper is to highlight fields of action for academic research in mechatronic product development.