A New Approach for Robust Design of Mechanical Systems

Robust product design aims to develop a product that satisfies design requirements while ensuring minimal effects of environmental variability on product performance. Environmental variations may come from raw materials, manufacturing processes, and/or operational environments, which can cause deviations of product functions. This research can verify that the independence axiom can lead to a robust design, while robust designs do not necessarily require functional independence. Thus, designs can be divided into three categories - feasible designs, robust designs and ideal designs. In the first level of the design process, the designers should generate a feasible design, then seek to acquire robustness, and finally determine the possibility of independence. Axiomatic design aims to achieve the independent design; the traditional robust design is an experimental method that may not reach design independence. The proposed approach introduces the integration of the independent analysis that is based on axiomatic design, with the robust analysis that is based on the traditional robust technique. It can help the designer to seek an ideal design or a robust design in respect to the specific design conditions.