Mechanical product development using a multidisciplinary modeling approach

The paper presents a multidisciplinary product modeling approach for design and analysis of mechanical products. The essence of the approach is to address multiple concerns, such as geometry manufacturing, assembly and operation during the early stages of product design. By combining the information from preliminary design with the results of analyses, a multidisciplinary model for a product can be generated. The basic characteristics of the product model include its flexibility to accommodate design changes, verifiability of product functional specifications, and consideration of interactions and tradeoffs among multidisciplinary requirements. A case study of a water meter´s design and analysis is included to illustrate the application of the approach