Oftast har produktutveckling samma generella tillvägagångssätt: En specifikation för en ny produkt lämnas från en marknadsföringsavdelning till en produktutvecklingsavdelning. Produktutvecklare tar sedan fram koncept som utvecklas till prototyper för att sedan tillverkas och säljas. Tillvägagångssättet skiljer sig vanligtvis genom att olika modeller som exempelvis Lean product development eller integrerad produktutveckling används i processen. Delen av Lean product development (LPD) som används vid konceptutveckling kallas set based concurrent engineering (SBCE) och dessa begrepp är relativt nya i Sverige. Vad krävs för att arbeta med set based concurrent engineering på ett framgångsrikt sätt? Går det att identifiera viktiga faktorer vid produktutveckling med SBCE hos företag? En litteraturstudie som resulterade i en lista med fem potentiellt viktiga faktorer vid produktutveckling med SBCE gjordes inför en kvalitativ studie av fem företag. Semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes på Husqvarna, Saab, Furhoffs, Ericsson Radio och GKN Aerospace för att samla in empiri inför analys. I analysen jämfördes företagens sätt att produktutveckla med listan som togs fram i litteraturstudien. Slutsats av studien var att några viktiga faktorer för att lyckas med produktutveckling enligt SBCE är: Bred lösningsrymd, Kunskapsbaserat bortval av koncept, Återvinning av kunskap, Tekniskt kunnig projektledning, Tvärfunktionella arbetsgrupper. Dessutom framkom att en investering i rätt ledarskap kan vara en viktig faktor vid implementering av SBCE då företagets ledning måste ha förståelse för arbetsmodellen om SBCE ska kunna resultera i en positiv effekt. / Product development usually has the same general approach: A specification for a new product is provided to the product development department from the marketing department. Product developers then generate concepts which are developed into prototypes before the products are manufactured and sold. The procedure usually differs by the use of different models such as Lean product development or integrated product development in the process. The part of Lean product development (LPD) that is used when developing concepts is called set based concurrent engineering (SBCE) and these are new concepts in Sweden. What is required to work with set based concurrent engineering in a successful manner? Is it possible to identify important factors when developing products using SBCE in companies? A literature study which resulted in a list with five potentially important factors when developing products using SBCE was created before a qualitative study was conducted at five companies. Semi structured interviews were conducted at Husqvarna, Saab, Furhoffs, Ericsson Radio and GKN Aerospace to gather data for an analysis. In the analysis, comparisons were made between the companies’ way of developing products with the list that was created in the end of the literature study. A conclusion of the study was a number of important factors when developing products using SBCE could be: Wide solution space, Knowledge based screening of concepts, Recycling of knowledge, Technically competent project management, Cross functional teams. The study also showed that an investment in the right type of leadership could potentially be an important factor when implementing SBCE since the company management need to understand the working model if SBCE is going to have a positive effect.

In many products a compromise between ground clearance and the required space to store the product has to be made. This problem attracted the attention of the authors of this thesis.The objective of this project is to develop a functioning solution to a foldable wheel. The solution should be applicable to several types of product groups. A limitation for this work has been made so that the work only covers solutions for lighter vehicles.The purpose is to drive this project forward, so that a solution can be found. Furthermore the purpose of the report is to clarify how the authors proceeded to design and construct the wheel according to a fixed specification. The authors of this project also wishes to develop their knowledge within the field of product development.Set-Based Concurrent Engineering (SBCE) has been used as the underlying method on which this work was based. The work started with a preliminary study. Relevant specifications was established using the results from the study. The specifications was given a rang by the use of pairwise weighting, then a QFD was made using said requirements.The wheel was divided into three different areas. Solutions was developed to problems within each area, independently of one another. The project underwent three concept stages and three screening stages. During the third screening a final concept was chosen for further development.Strength simulations was performed in Solid Works, by using the results from the simulations adjustments to the design could be made.The authors succeeded in developing a wheel capable of a volume reduction by 70 %. When the wheel is dimensioned to fit an ordinary bike it weighs about 2.5kg and can take a radial load of over 1 000N. The final concept is called Arcas and is made up of four sections of a specially developed flexible arc-solution. The arc-solution enables the wheels curved surfaces to be straightened out when the wheel is about be stored.The authors consider that they have developed the knowledge in product development and also improved their ability to handle loose defined projects. It should be possible to further reduce the volume up to levels around 80 %. A detailed FEM analysis of the components should be of use. / Hos många produkter måste en kompromiss göras mellan markfrigång och krävt förvaringsutrymme. Detta problem uppmärksammades av författarna till denna uppsats.Målet med detta projekt är att är att ta fram en fungerande hjullösning på ett hoppfällbart hjul. Lösningen ska gå att applicera inom olika produktgrupper, dock har arbetet begränsats till att endast omfatta lösningar till lättare fordon.Syftet är att driva projektet framåt så att en lösning på problemet hittas. Vidare är syftet med rapporten att redogöra för hur författarna gått tillväga för att designa och konstruera hjulet enligt satta kriterier. Författarna vill även fördjupa sina kunskaper inom produktutveckling.Set-Based Concurrent Engineering (SBCE) har använts som övergripande metod i detta arbete. Arbetsprocessen började med en förstudie. Relevanta krav på produkten upprättades baserade på genomförd förstudie. Kraven viktades genom parvis viktning och en QFD upprättades med dessa krav. Hjulet delades upp i tre olika områden. Lösningar togs fram på problem inom de tre områdena oberoende av varandra. Projektet genomgick tre stycken konceptfaser och tre stycken sållningar. Vid den tredje sållningen valdes ett slutkoncept att arbeta vidare emot.Hållfasthetssimuleringar utfördes sedan i Solid Works, med hjälp av resultaten på dessa kunde justeringar av designen utföras.Författarna lyckades att ta fram ett hjul kapabelt av en volymminskning med 70 %. Då hjulet är dimensionerat för att passa en vanlig cykel väger det ca 2.5kg och klarar av en radiell last på över 1 000N. Det slutgiltiga konceptet heter Arcas och består av fyra sektioner av en speciellt utvecklad flexibel båglösning. Båglösningen tillåter hjulets krökta ytor att rätas ut när hjulet skall förvaras.Författarna anser sig ha fördjupat sina kunskaper inom produktutveckling och framförallt förbättrat förmågan att hantera projekt med lösa ramar. Det borde vara möjligt att öka graden av hoppfällning så att volymminskningen kommer upp i nivåer kring 80 %. En ingående FEM-analys på ingående komponenter skulle vara användbar.

This PhD project aims to develop a cost modelling system to support lean product and process development. The system enables the designers to assess the design along with associated manufacturing processes and provides decision support at an early development stage. Design assessment at early development stage can help designers to take proactive decisions, eliminate mistakes and enhance product value. The developed cost modelling system to support lean product and process development incorporates three lean product and process development enablers, namely set-based concurrent engineering, knowledge-based engineering, and mistake-proofing (poka-yoke). To facilitate above explained lean enablers, the system architecture contains six modules, six separate groups of database, a CAD modelling system, and a user interface. The system modules are: (i) value identification; (ii) manufacturing process/machines selection; (iii) material selection; (iv) geometric features specification; (v) geometric features and manufacturability assessment; and (vi) manufacturing time and cost estimation. The group of database includes: (i) geometric features database, (ii) material database, (iii) machine database, (iv) geometric features assessment database, (v) manufacturability assessment database, and (vi) previous projects cost database. A number of activities have been accomplished to develop the cost modelling system. Firstly, an extensive literature review related to cost estimation, and lean product and process development was performed. Secondly, a field study in European industry and a case study analysis were carried out to identify current industrial practices and challenges. Thirdly, a cost modelling system to support lean product and process development was developed. Finally, validation of the system was carried out using real life industrial case studies. The system provides a number of benefits, as it enables designers to incorporate lean thinking in cost estimation. It takes into consideration downstream manufacturable process information at an early upstream stage of the design and as a result the designer performs the process concurrently and makes decisions quickly. Moreover, the system helps to avoid mistakes during product features design, material and manufacturing process selection, and process parameters generation; hence it guides toward a mistake-proof product development. The main feature of the system, in addition to manufacturing cost estimation, is set-based concurrent engineering support; because the system provides a number of design values for alternative design concepts to identify the feasible design region. The major contribution of the developed system is the identification and incorporation of three major lean product and process development enablers, namely set-based concurrent engineering, knowledge-based engineering and poka-yoke (mistake-proofing) in the cost modelling system. A quantification method has been proposed to eliminate the weaker solution among several alternatives; therefore only the feasible or strong solution is selected. In addition, a new cost estimation process to support lean product and process development has been developed which assists above explained three lean product and process development enablers.

Det blir allt viktigare för dagens företag att diversifiera sig från konkurrenter och påvisa en god förmåga att tillfredsställa kundernas krav och önskemål. Detta kräver en hög intern effektivitet och en väl strukturerad organisation. Studiens syfte är uppbyggt utifrån detta och analyserar redan befintlig litteratur inom området produktutveckling för att visa på möjligheterna till en effektiv produktutvecklingsmetodik inom tillverkande företag i metallindustrin.  Den insamlade teorin utgör grunden för denna litteraturstudie som presenterar två olika strategier för att angripa ett produktutvecklingsprojekt. Strategierna som presenteras är PBE och SBCE, vilka båda är verksamma inom tillverkningsindustrin idag. Den stora skillnaden strategierna emellan är beslutsfattningen kring de genererade koncepten. PBE innefattar ett tidigt konceptval som sedan utvecklas via ett antal iterationer tills det att utvecklingsprojektets kravspecifikation är uppfylld. Inom SBCE utvecklas flera koncept parallellt med ambitionen att erhålla ny viktig kunskap samtidigt som koncepten optimeras innan ett slutgiltigt beslut fattas. Att etablera någon typ av strategi erbjuder verksamheten ett sätt att arbeta systematiskt och rationellt. Detta medför en medvetenhet i problemlösningen och att det slutgiltiga resultatet påverkas positivt. Vidare visar analysen av den ackumulerade teorin att flexibiliteten är viktig ur ett marknadsperspektiv samt att hanteringen av det mänskliga kapitalet är väsentligt för dagens företag, något som blir möjligt genom SBCE. SBCE är den mest effektiva strategin sett ur ett ledtidsperspektiv när graden av iteration är hög. Strategin tillgodoser också verksamhetens behov av flexibilitet samt hantering och utveckling av det mänskliga kapitalet, vilket gör den till det bästa sättet att angripa ett utvecklingsprojekt. / It is becoming increasingly important for today's companies to diversify themselves from competitors and demonstrate a good ability to satisfy customer requirements and requests. This requires high internal efficiency and a well-structured organization. The purpose of the study is based on this and analyzes already existing literature in the field of product development to demonstrate the possibilities for an effective product development methodology in manufacturing companies in the metal industry. The accumulated theory forms the foundation for this literature study, which presents two different strategies for lighting into a product development project. The strategies presented are PBE and SBCE, both of which are active in the manufacturing industry today. The big difference between the strategies is the decision-making around the generated concepts. PBE includes an early conceptual choice which then is developed through a number of iterations until requirements and requests in the specification sheet, for the specific development project, is met. Within SBCE, several concepts are developed simultaneously with the ambition to acquire new, important knowledge while optimizing the concepts before making a final decision. Establishing some kind of strategy offers the business a way to work systematically and rationally. This brings awareness to the problem solving and that the final result is positively affected. Furthermore, the analysis of the accumulated theory shows that a company’s flexibility is important from a market perspective and that the management of human capital is essential to today's business, which is possible through SBCE. SBCE is the most effective strategy seen from a lead time perspective when the rate of iteration is high. The strategy also meets the needs for flexibility in the organization, as well as the management and development of human capital, making it the best way to light into a development project.

During product development, most of the customer value, as well as the cost and the quality of a product are defined. This key role of development in industry has led to an intense search for better ways to develop products, software, services and systems. One development methodology that has received positive attention is Set-Based Concurrent Engineering (SBCE). Some authors claim that SBCE and related practices from Lean Development are four times more productive than traditional development models. Unfortunately, SBCE is also described as hard to implement. This thesis presents the results of a three year research project aimed at implementing and describing the effects of Set-Based Concurrent Engineering in industry. The scope of the research is to use the principles of SBCE as a means to improve the productivity of industrial product development processes and its resulting products. The contribution of this work is a better understanding of Set-Based Concurrent Engineering and a support to implement its principles. The results show that SBCE gives positive effects on many aspects of product development performance and on the resulting products. The improvements are especially dominant on product performance, product cost and the level of innovation Moreover, a comparison between a Set-based decision process and a traditional matrix for design evaluation is presented, showing that these two approaches generate different results. The matrix evaluation promoted the development of new technology and the Set-based process promoted a thorough understanding of the important design parameters of the current designs. Finally, this work presents a structured design process and computer tool for implementing the principles of SBCE. The process was demonstrated by using information from an industrial development project, showing how the proposed process could implement the three principles of SBCE in a traditional Point-based development environment.