Abstract
Robust product design is a two-objective optimization problem in nature. On the one hand, it is wished to minimize variations in product performance (i.e. first goal); on the other hand, it is desired to maximize product functionality (i.e. second goal). As known, these design goals may not arrive at their own optima at the same time; therefore, coordination between the two perfonning goals is needed during the design iterations to help achieve high robustness in product performance in the sense that a best compromise design is reached. In this work, a coordination-based robust design approach is developed to control the computational aspect of robust design process in a coordinated fashion, allowing that high-quality engineered products are produced with designing-in of performance precision and accuracy through robust design. A fuzzy control algorithm in terms of coordination rules prescribed is generated for handling design coordination by tuning an adaptive design parameter β, defined over the domain from 0 to 1.0. Three coordinated design models are discussed along with the study of a design example.
