Towards a Tailored Engineering Design Process for Individualized Micro-Mechatronic Systems with a Novel Case-Based Methodology

The development and manufacturing of high-precision micro-mechatronic systems (MMS) is a challenging task, and the high demand for individualized products complicates the engineering design process (EDP) in particular. The established EDP for MMS is not designed for individualized products. This article gives an overview of the challenges (critical factors) in product development and manufacturing of individualized MMS (iMMS), a novel definition of iMMS, and describes a new qualitative methodology in order to tailor an EDP based on use cases, so-called “Tailored EDP-Methodology” (TEDP-Methodology). This TEDP-Methodology allows creating use-case-based product groups through the abstraction of the use cases and evaluating the requirements, which is essential to tailor or develop a new EDP. For the development of this new approach, a literature review and qualitative content analysis are prefaced. The TEDP-Methodology is critically examined and validated with a real case study for the development and manufacturing of an iMMS. This study shows critical points within the EDP. It shows fields of action for innovative tools to support the development process of iMMS and requirements for different product groups within iMMS. This article has both theoretical and practical implications.