Methodical Development of Modular Product Families

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter Krause studied production technology/mechanical engineering and received his doctorate at the Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. This was followed by leading positions as design manager, technical manager and managing director in mechanical and plant engineering. Since 2005 he has been head of the Institute for Product Development and Design Technology at the TU Hamburg-Harburg. He is a member of the Scientific Society for Product Development (WiGeP).Dr.-Ing. Nicolas Gebhardt studied product development/mechanical engineering at Hamburg University of Technology and received his doctorate on the use of graphics and visualization in product development at the Institute for product development and Mechanical Engineering Design. As a research assistant, he conducted several research and development projects for modular products and product development processes. Since 2017, he has been working as a complexity manager and product architect in the German industry.

• Introduction and motivation.- Effects of diversity.- Basics and terminology.- Potentials of modular product families.- Modular product structure strategies.- Methods for developing modular product families.- Effects on product development processes and future trends.