Utilizing Mass Customization Methods for Modular Manufacturing System Design

Markets today have become dynamic and demand rapid product changes, product variety, and customized products. In order to operate under and taking advantages of such conditions requires, amongst other aspects, manufacturing processes robust to product changes - a contradiction to traditional manufacturing systems developed as dedicated engineer-to-order solutions, tailored to production of a specific product or a limited product assortment. In response, modular manufacturing concepts are evolving, which are aimed at possessing the needed responsiveness and aimed at being the manufacturing paradigm of Mass Customization (MC). Research focus has been on the basic principles and enabling technologies, while modular architectures and system design have received less attention. A potential to fill these gaps by applying selected design theories and methods of MC have been seen. Based on a communality analysis between these theories/methods and the modular manufacturing approach, this paper discusses and evaluates the potentials and appoint possible obstacles of application.