Systems Model Analysis for Iterative Concurrent Design Processes and Its Application to Design of Precision Mechatronics

We propose a novel methodology of knowledge sharing in mechatronic R&D department by the integration of information repository (IR) using minimal organizational restructure. Through computer simulation and system dynamics, we successfully encompass this concept into a systematic, top-down and inclusive model to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the strategy. The servomechanical-prototype configuration in Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) R&D division was analyzed as an illustration of the methodology. Our simple yet comprehensible and replicable model reports encouraging results and improvements: lower process cycle times and their variations, as well as augmented systems capacity and stability. KeywordsConcurrency; hard disk drives (HDDs); mechatronic R&D; system dynamics