Three Evaluation Method of Modular Products

Modular product evaluation is one of key technologies in modular design. Three kinds of evaluation methods, which based on three modular design styles, were proposed in this paper. These methods integrated customer satisfaction index (CSI), product customization index (PCI) or modularity degree index (MDI). Then several modularization customized products can be evaluated. Some customer satisfaction factors were discussed. The CSI was gained via separately counting the price and delivery time factors from the other factors. PCI, which was the total customization cost and its proportion, was counted, moreover, the customization cost was divided into design customization cost, manufacture customization cost and assembly customization cost, respectively. The MDI was counted with product design structure matrix (DSM). Finally, an example was presented to show the feasibility of the proposed approaches.