Systemic Design Method for Co-creation of 3D Printing Service

[EN] Background: As one of the objectives of Design for Additive Manufacture, the customized geometry promotes 3D printing to increasingly realize product customization in the service market. Defined as a business strategy which focuses on customer experience and interaction, co-creation is expected to obtain a fast-growing market volume. Recently, some co-creation of 3D printing service (3DPS) has been released to realize value creation. Despite of its rapid growth, there are rare researches on this field, especially those about its design method. Aim: To define a systematic design method for developing the co-creation of 3DPS. Method: Firstly, this research distinguished ambiguous type and definite type of 3DPS cocreation. The latter was taken as the current research object, because it presents the services scope more clearly. Furthermore, in order to solve the problem about the research, that is, what the essential components constructing the 3DPS co-creation are, evidence needed to be collected based on observation of the mentioned cases. Therefore, holistic multiple-case study of 3DPS co-creation samples was designed and conducted, as it was herein applied as the research method. This research is divided into three sections. The first section presents the preparation for data collection, including case selection and the formulation of evidence collection. The second section analyzes the collected evidences. Based on the evidence analysis, the third section concludes the knowledge of 3DPS cocreation. In order to collect adequate evidences, a pair of models was applied to build a framework. The first one is the Den Hertog's service innovation model which presents four dimensions including new service concept, new client interface, new service delivery system, and technological options. The other model refers to the building blocks of interactions for value co-creation: dialogue, access, risk-benefits, and transparency. It presents the components in basis construction, which are necessary for the interactions between a consumer and a service provider. Finding: the system of 3DPS co-creation is composed by three dialogues including related accesses and interfaces, and the to-be-3D printed outcome. The three accesses provide customers with the entrances of knowing service concept, co-creating geometry, and accepting service delivery. The interfaces bring corresponding dialogues between accesses and customer to reach each process goal. The outcome of co-creation refers to the 3D printed artifact or 3D digital model. Conclusion: This research proposes a four-step systemic design method for co-creation of 3DPS. Firstly, the dialogue with the interface of service concept introduction and the access to know it is constructed. Secondly, the dialogue based on the interface of cocreation with design variables, and the access of co-creating geometry is built. WebGL supports its 3D graphics. Thirdly, the interface of purchasing or downloading, and the access of accepting service delivery compose the dialogue of this step. Fourthly, the customized artifact shall be treated by 3D printing and then delivered to customers; or a 3D digital model gets ready for downloading.Zhou, D.; Jiang, J.; Zou, Y. (2016). Systemic Design Method for Co-creation of 3D Printing Service. En Systems&design:beyond processes and thinking. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 883-900. https://doi.org/10.4995/IFDP.2015.3144OCS88390

Creating learning solutions for executive education programs

Executive education is both a growing and increasingly competitive industry. The traditional business school, once a dominant player in this space, now faces competition from sophisticated and focused consultants and for-profit training specialists offering a variety of face-to-face and on-line instructional vehicles. An abiding question has become ever more prevalent for business schools – are executive education clients getting meaningful, long-term value for their significant investments? Demonstrating value and building capabilities is different for a generic, open enrolment course than for a custom program. This paper proposes a solutions-based approach to the development and implementation of customized executive programs, arguing that the tailored customer focus and the operational rigor of a solutions perspective leads to sustainable and measurable client value both at the individual and corporate level. A case study involving a global high technology company is used to demonstrate the steps required to apply a solutions roadmap. The results show that a solutions approach – carefully and collaboratively undertaken in selected settings – can provide considerable benefits to both client and provider. Further research is proposed to validate and develop the learning points

Identifying smart design attributes for Industry 4.0 customization using a clustering Genetic Algorithm

Industry 4.0 aims at achieving mass customization at a mass production cost. A key component to realizing this is accurate prediction of customer needs and wants, which is however a challenging issue due to the lack of smart analytics tools. This paper investigates this issue in depth and then develops a predictive analytic framework for integrating cloud computing, big data analysis, business informatics, communication technologies, and digital industrial production systems. Computational intelligence in the form of a cluster k-means approach is used to manage relevant big data for feeding potential customer needs and wants to smart designs for targeted productivity and customized mass production. The identification of patterns from big data is achieved with cluster k-means and with the selection of optimal attributes using genetic algorithms. A car customization case study shows how it may be applied and where to assign new clusters with growing knowledge of customer needs and wants. This approach offer a number of features suitable to smart design in realizing Industry 4.0

Extending the product portfolio with ‘devolved manufacturing’: Methodology and case studies

Current research by the developers of rapid prototyping systems is generally focused on improvements in cost, speed and materials to create truly economic and practical economic rapid manufacturing machines. In addition to being potentially smarter/faster/cheaper replacements for existing manufacturing technologies, the next generation of these machines will provide opportunities not only for the design and fabrication of products without traditional constraints, but also for organizing manufacturing activities in new, innovative and previously undreamt of ways. This paper outlines a novel devolved manufacturing (DM) ‘factory-less’ approach to e-manufacturing, which integrates Mass Customization (MC) concepts, Rapid Manufacturing (RM) technologies and the communication opportunities of the Internet/WWW, describes two case studies of different DM implementations and discusses the limitations and appropriateness of each, and finally, draws some conclusions about the technical, manufacturing and business challenges involved

Sustainable development strategies for product provision and manufacturing approaches

Manufacturing firms are under many pressures both financially and competitive which focus attention on the performance of their manufacturing processes. In this paper the opportunities for improving the environmental impact of products within the constraints of existing manufacturing infrastructure are examined. Approaches which support sustainability in two aspects are proposed, firstly, the provision of products to the users in ways which extend the product life and secondly, manufacturing approaches which reduce resource usage. The provision and manufacture of products in ways that are truly sustainable are inhibited by three issues: firstly, decisions are predominantly made solely from the perspective of the “vendor” (and do not consider the wider perspective); secondly, that generally the scope of business planning is still rooted in production/manufacturing costs (and not consumption costs) and thirdly, the current performance measures (e.g. KPIs) mainly focus on profitability. The rationale for this conference paper is the argument that there is a need to raise the awareness during the earliest stages of business planning that there may be alternative approaches which are more sustainable. The concepts presented here will underpin further research into performance measures which encompass sustainability and resulting business planning implications

Attribute Identification and Predictive Customisation Using Fuzzy Clustering and Genetic Search for Industry 4.0 Environments

Today´s factory involves more services and customisation. A paradigm shift is towards “Industry 4.0” (i4) aiming at realising mass customisation at a mass production cost. However, there is a lack of tools for customer informatics. This paper addresses this issue and develops a predictive analytics framework integrating big data analysis and business informatics, using Computational Intelligence (CI). In particular, a fuzzy c-means is used for pattern recognition, as well as managing relevant big data for feeding potential customer needs and wants for improved productivity at the design stage for customised mass production. The selection of patterns from big data is performed using a genetic algorithm with fuzzy c-means, which helps with clustering and selection of optimal attributes. The case study shows that fuzzy c-means are able to assign new clusters with growing knowledge of customer needs and wants. The dataset has three types of entities: specification of various characteristics, assigned insurance risk rating, and normalised losses in use compared with other cars. The fuzzy c-means tool offers a number of features suitable for smart designs for an i4 environment

Cloud-based manufacturing-as-a-service environment for customized products

This paper describes the paradigm of cloud-based services which are used to envisage a new generation of configurable manufacturing systems. Unlike previous approaches to mass customization (that simply reprogram individual machines to produce specific shapes) the system reported here is intended to enable the customized production of technologically complex products by dynamically configuring a manufacturing supply chain. In order to realize such a system, the resources (i.e. production capabilities) have to be designed to support collaboration throughout the whole production network, including their adaption to customer-specific production. The flexible service composition as well as the appropriate IT services required for its realization show many analogies with common cloud computing approaches. For this reason, this paper describes the motivation and challenges that are related to cloud-based manufacturing and illustrates emerging technologies supporting this vision byestablishing an appropriate Manufacturing-as-a-Service environment based on manufacturing service descriptions

Living lab methodology as an assessment tool for mass customization

Mass customization has been regularly used as a growth strategy during the last decades. The strength of this approach stems from offering products adjusted to customers' individual needs, resulting in added value. The latter resides in the word 'custom,' implying unique and utilitarian products allowing for self-expression of the consumer. Researchers and practitioners however predominantly focused on the company's internal processes to optimize mass customization, often resulting in market failure. As a response, a framework with five factors determining the success of mass customization was developed. Additionally, Living Lab methodologies have been used to improve innovation contexts that were too closed. This paper will fill a gap in the literature by demonstrating that the integration of the five-factor framework in the Living Lab methodology is well suited to determine the possible success or failure of a mass-customized product in the market by means of a single case study

The Managed Service Paradox

This paper examines the contrasts in the provision of managed service in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. It highlights the polarization between infrastructure services that are growing in scale and increasingly becoming a commoditized, and customized or even one-of-a-kind service projects. The paper refers to the approaches taken by three highly innovative advanced service companies, IBM, Ericsson, and Cable & Wireless, to package and deliver ICT service on a more industrialized basis. The authors identify the six-stage process that describes these companies’ journeys to date from. They explore the challenges these companies faced on that journey as well those currently facing them as they move to a higher degree of industrialization. To address these challenges, the authors propose a model with three axes: offering development, service delivery, and go to market. The model demonstrates how the increasing industrialization of managed service requires an approach integrating all three of these dimensions. They also show that strong governance is required to address the impacts of technological evolution, marketplace dynamics, and corporate culture. The paper has formed the basis of the academic and executive education programs taught at both Imperial College and is the heart of the new service design masters program at the Royal College of Art. Because of its relevance to large industrial companies seeking to transition from an industrial offering to a service or solution led offering, the paper has been turned into a course that has been delivered to Arup, Vodafone, Finmeccanica, Telefonica, Samsung and Laing O’Rourke to date and this programme has been delivered by the authors in Korea, Taiwan, US and the UK