DFMEA system supporting cross fusion of forward design and reverse engineering

Abstract

The invention discloses a DFMEA system supporting cross fusion of forward design and reverse engineering, and the system comprises a linkage interface module which is used for providing a three-region linkage user interface and supporting two starting modes of a forward design mode and a reverse engineering mode; the structure management module is used for constructing or adjusting a product structure tree; the function association module is used for establishing a bidirectional mapping relation between functions and structures and generating a function chain; and the analysis engine module is used for executing a DFMEA analysis process, identifying a failure mode existing in each target function, analyzing failure reasons, failure influences, current control measures and action priorities, and generating a DFMEA analysis report after analysis is completed. According to the method, through organic fusion of forward and reverse analysis paths, the flexibility and accuracy of the DFMEA analysis process are improved, and the function and structure collaborative modeling and failure recognition capability in the complex product design process is remarkably enhanced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of product design and failure mode analysis technology, and in particular to a DFMEA system that supports the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering. Background Technology

[0002] In current high-end manufacturing and intelligent product development practices, products are rapidly evolving towards a deep integration of electronics, electrification, and intelligence. Whether it's the autonomous driving system of intelligent electric vehicles, the perception and decision-making module of service robots, or smart home devices, wearable health terminals, and smart appliances, their core functions highly rely on the close collaboration of electronic components, embedded software, and mechanical structures. These products often lack the clear and fixed structural hierarchy of traditional mechanical products, instead exhibiting typical characteristics of a multi-domain coupling of "software-hardware-mechanical-electronic" and a function-driven structure.

[0003] Against this backdrop, product development generally adopts a "function-first" forward design process: engineers first define user needs and system-level functions (such as "achieving Level 2 assisted driving" and "automatically recognizing users' drinking habits and reminding them"), and then work backward to derive the required sensors, controllers, actuators, and structural carriers. At this stage, the product structure is still in a dynamic evolution phase, and many components are not even yet determined.

[0004] However, the current AIAG-VDA DFMEA standard still strictly requires analysis to begin with "structural analysis," implicitly assuming that the product already possesses a complete and clear structural tree. This requirement is severely out of step with the modern intelligent product development paradigm of "function-driven, structure-post-design, and multi-domain integration," making it difficult for DFMEA to intervene in the early stages of design and effectively preventing systemic failure risks.

[0005] Therefore, how to provide a DFMEA system that supports the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering is a problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0006] One objective of this invention is to propose a DFMEA system that supports the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering. This invention constructs a linkage interface module, a structure management module, a function association module, and an analysis engine module. It adopts a bidirectional mapping method between functional paths and structural paths, and combines user-inputted target functions and structural element combination information to support starting the analysis process in both forward design mode and reverse engineering mode. It realizes the linkage processing of function definition, structure construction, function chain generation, and failure mode analysis, and has the advantages of flexible structural expression, clear function mapping, and intelligent analysis process.

[0007] A DFMEA system supporting the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: The interactive interface module provides a three-zone interactive user interface, comprising a left functional area, a middle structural area, and a right component functional area. The left functional area displays a list of functions, the middle structural area displays structural elements and their combinations, and the right component functional area displays the functional requirements of each structural element. It receives user input and supports both forward design and reverse engineering modes. If the user inputs a target function, the left functional area defines the function path, and the right component functional area defines the functional requirements of each structural element within that path. If the user selects a combination of structural elements in the middle structural area and inputs the corresponding collaborative interaction function, the module records the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function. The structure management module is used to build or adjust the product structure tree based on user-defined functional paths or structural element combination information. If the user-defined functional path includes structural elements that do not yet exist in the intermediate structure area, a new structural element is created and inserted into the product structure tree. It allows multiple structural elements at the same level to be combined into a higher-order module and updates the hierarchical structure according to the combination relationship. The functional association module is used to establish a bidirectional mapping relationship between functions and structures. If the analysis is initiated in forward design mode, the user-defined target functions are associated with the structural elements involved in the functional path, and the functional requirements of each structural element are recorded. If the analysis is initiated in reverse engineering mode, the user-input collaborative interaction functions are assigned to the next higher-level structural elements, and the specific role of the structural elements in the collaborative interaction functions is recorded. A functional chain is generated based on the bidirectional mapping relationship. The functional chain includes the target function, the corresponding structural path, and the functional requirements of each structural element. The analysis engine module is used to execute the DFMEA analysis process according to the function chain, identify the failure modes of each target function, analyze the failure causes, failure effects, current control measures and action priorities, and generate a DFMEA analysis report after the analysis is completed.

[0008] Optionally, modules can be integrated using the following methods: S1. Provide a three-zone linked user interface including a left functional area, a middle structural area and a right component functional area; the left functional area displays a function list, the middle structural area displays structural elements and their combination relationships, and the right component functional area displays the functional requirements and characteristics corresponding to the structural elements. S2. Receive user input information and support two startup modes: forward design mode and reverse engineering mode. If the user inputs the target function, the function path is defined in the left function area, and the functional requirements of each structural element in the function path are defined in the right part function area. If the user selects a combination of structural elements in the middle structure area and inputs the corresponding collaborative interaction function, the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function is recorded. S3. Construct or adjust the product structure tree based on the user-defined functional path or structural element combination information. If the user-defined functional path includes structural elements that do not yet exist in the intermediate structure area, create new structural elements and insert them into the product structure tree. Multiple structural elements at the same level can be combined into higher-order modules, and the hierarchical structure can be updated according to the combination relationship. S4. Establish a two-way mapping relationship between function and structure. If the analysis is started in the forward design mode, the user-defined target function is associated with the structural elements involved in the function path, and the functional requirements of each structural element are recorded. If the analysis is started in the reverse engineering mode, the user-input collaborative interaction function is assigned to the upper-level structural element, and the specific role of the structural element in the collaborative interaction function is recorded. S5. Generate a functional chain based on a bidirectional mapping relationship; the functional chain includes the target function, the corresponding structural path, and the functional requirements of each structural element. S6. Perform the DFMEA analysis process according to the functional chain, identify the failure modes of each target function, analyze the causes of failure, the impact of failure, current control measures and action priorities, and generate a DFMEA analysis report after the analysis is completed.

[0009] Optionally, S1 specifically includes: It provides a three-zone interactive user interface consisting of a left-side function area, a middle structure area, and a right-side component function area. The left-side function area displays a list of functions, including system functions, subsystem functions, and component functions, allowing users to select function items and perform function path construction operations. The middle structure area displays the combination relationships between structural elements, including parallel relationships, subordinate relationships, and combination hierarchies, and supports display operations when structural elements are empty or when existing structural elements are imported. The right-side component function area displays the functional requirements characteristics corresponding to the structural elements, including the attribute requirements, performance parameters, and functional conditions that the structural elements must meet to support the target function. Establish a linkage control mechanism between the left functional area, the middle structural area, and the right component functional area. When the user selects a target function in the left functional area, the structural path associated with the target function in the middle structural area is activated, and the functional requirements of each structural element in the functional path are displayed synchronously in the right component functional area. When the user selects a structural element or a combination of structural elements in the middle structural area, all functional requirements of the structural element are activated, and the target function associated with the selected structural element is displayed synchronously in the left functional area. When a user modifies the functional requirements of a structural element in the right-hand part function area, the target function associated with the selected structural element in the middle structure area and the function area on the left is updated in a linked manner.

[0010] Optionally, the receiving of user input information supports two startup modes: forward design mode and reverse engineering mode. If the user inputs a target function, the function path is defined in the left function area, and the functional requirements of each structural element in the function path are defined in the right part function area, specifically: The system receives user input and supports initiating the analysis process in either forward design mode or reverse engineering mode. When the user inputs the target function, they enter the function name and add a function description in the left function area. The function description defines the function path, which includes the target function, the structural elements required to achieve the target function, the interaction relationships between the structural elements, and the external objects involved. In the right part function area, the user inputs the functional requirements characteristics required to support the target function for each structural element in the function path. These characteristics include performance requirements, physical properties, and interaction conditions. The relationship between structural elements and the target function is continuously recorded during the input process, forming a direct mapping between the function path and the structural path.

[0011] Optionally, if the user selects a combination of structural elements in the intermediate structural area and inputs the corresponding collaborative interaction function, the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function is recorded, specifically as follows: When a user selects a combination of structural elements in the middle structural area, they select one or more structural elements and set the combination range. They then input the collaborative interaction function implemented by the combination of structural elements. During the input process, the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function is recorded. The collaborative interaction function includes a description of the functional effects and behavioral goals generated by multiple structural elements in the combined state. The role of the structural elements in the collaborative interaction function is recorded in text format and bound to the structural element number. After the input is completed, the collaborative interaction function is assigned to the parent structural element of the structural combination.

[0012] Optionally, S3 specifically includes: The product structure tree is constructed or adjusted based on user-defined functional paths or structural element combination information. When the user-defined functional path contains structural elements that do not yet exist in the intermediate structure area, a new structural element is created, its unique identifier and attribute fields are set, and it is inserted into the specified hierarchical position in the product structure tree. The combination relationship between the newly created structural element and the existing structural element is automatically established based on the logical relationship of the user-defined functional path. The combination relationship includes parallel relationship, parent-child relationship and combination subordination relationship. Users can select multiple structural elements at the same level in the intermediate structure area and perform a structural combination operation to combine the selected structural elements into a higher-order module. The combined higher-order module is embedded as a new structural element node in the product structure tree, and the original structural elements are attached as child nodes below the higher-order module. After the combination relationship is established, the hierarchical structure, path mapping and attribute inheritance relationship in the product structure tree are updated synchronously to form a structural combination tree structure oriented towards functional paths. During the process of adding, combining, or adjusting structural elements, users can edit the hierarchical position, identification information, and functional binding of structural elements in real time. The product structure tree is dynamically updated with the editing operation until a complete structure tree expression is formed.

[0013] Optionally, if the analysis is initiated using a forward design pattern, the user-defined target function is associated with the structural elements involved in the functional path, and the functional requirement characteristics of each structural element are recorded, specifically: Map the target function entered in the left function area to the selected structure path in the middle structure area one by one, and establish a binding relationship between each structure element in the structure path and the target function. In the right-hand part function area, enter the functional requirements and characteristics for each structural element in the structural path; the functional requirements and characteristics include the functional dimensions, operating conditions, performance parameters and interface features that the function needs to meet. Bind functional requirements and characteristics to structural element numbers, and establish a three-dimensional mapping relationship between them and the target functions.

[0014] Optionally, if the analysis is initiated in reverse engineering mode, the user-input collaborative interaction function is assigned to the next higher-level structural element, and the specific role of the structural element in the collaborative interaction function is recorded, specifically: In the intermediate structure area, select a structural element combination, set the combination relationship and enter the collaborative interaction function information, and bind the collaborative interaction function to the corresponding parent structural element of the structural combination. For each structural element in the structural combination, record the role of that structural element in the collaborative interaction function. The role includes the type of functional contribution, participation mechanism, response method and description of collaborative relationship. Establish a binding relationship between structural element numbers and their functions, and categorize them under the collaborative interaction function tag to construct a mapping table of structural combinations and functional roles; synchronously record the functional affiliation of collaborative interaction functions, the function content of structural elements, and structural path information.

[0015] Optionally, S5 specifically includes: Based on the bidirectional mapping relationship between function and structure, the target function defined in the left functional area is extracted and the structural path information associated with the middle structural area is extracted, and the functional requirement characteristics of each structural element in the structural path in the right part functional area are extracted. Construct a functional chain structure; the functional chain structure includes a target function, a structural path, and functional requirement characteristics; the target function is used as the starting node of the functional chain structure, and the structural elements in the structural path are constructed into chain structural nodes according to the hierarchical order of the structure tree, and the corresponding functional requirement characteristics are embedded in each structural element node; Record the correspondence between target functions, structural elements and functional requirements in the functional chain structure, and construct a chain mapping table between functions and structures; During the construction process, if a structural element in the structural path has multiple functional requirements, they are bound separately in a nested structure and sorted according to the priority of the functional requirements. The priority order is automatically recorded according to the arrangement position entered by the user.

[0016] Optionally, S6 specifically includes: The system acquires the target function, structural path, and functional requirement characteristics in the functional chain structure. Following the order of the structural path corresponding to the target function, it sequentially selects the structural elements in the structural path as the analysis objects and identifies the failure modes that may occur in the process of the structural elements supporting the target function. The failure modes include functional deviation, performance anomaly, interface error, and interaction interruption. For each failure mode, analyze possible failure causes; failure causes include structural defects, insufficient design redundancy, material inconsistencies, and poor environmental adaptability; record the potential failure impacts of the failure modes, including negative effects on the integrity of the target function, system reliability, and user experience, with the scope of impact marked according to the structural path hierarchy; Identify the control measures currently configured for each structural element in the structural path; control measures include detection measures and preventive measures, and extract the control effects, applicable scope and execution mechanism of the corresponding control measures. For each failure consequence, a severity score is calculated; for each failure cause, an occurrence score and a detectability score are calculated; and for each failure mode, a detectability score is calculated. The score values ​​are assigned based on the importance level of the target function in the functional chain, the position of the structural element in the structural path, and the coverage of control measures. An action priority scoring table is constructed based on the severity, occurrence, and detectability scores. Failure modes, failure causes, failure effects, control measures, and action priority scores are archived to form DFMEA entries at the structural element level; all structural element DFMEA entries are merged according to the structural path hierarchy to construct a complete DFMEA analysis record. Generate a DFMEA analysis report, which includes a list of target functions, a structural path description, a functional requirement characteristics table, a failure analysis summary table, a detailed list of control measures, and an action priority ranking table.

[0017] The beneficial effects of this invention are: This invention addresses issues in DFMEA workflows, such as the difficulty in unifying function and structure mapping, the disconnect between forward and reverse engineering processes, and the lack of functional chain traceability in structural hierarchy adjustments, through the collaborative design of a linked interface module, structure management module, function association module, and analysis engine module. It constructs a three-zone linked user interface comprising a left functional area, a middle structural area, and a right part functional area. This supports building function paths driven by target functions and defining the functional requirements of each structural element, or building collaborative interactive function paths based on combinations of structural elements, establishing a bidirectional mapping between target functions, structural paths, and functional requirements. During structure management, it automatically generates or adjusts the structure tree, allowing users to build and bind higher-order modules. The system integrates functional content to form a structural tree structure. In the functional chain construction phase, it extracts the functional chain structure based on the association between functional paths and structural paths, organizing functional requirements and characteristics according to the structural path hierarchy to achieve a three-dimensional nested mapping between functions, structures, and attributes. In the DFMEA analysis process, it identifies failure modes based on the functional chain, refines failure causes, impacts, control measures, and action priority scores at the structural element level, and ultimately outputs a DFMEA analysis report containing structural path descriptions, functional requirement characteristic tables, and failure analysis summary tables. This effectively enhances the product's ability to express the completeness of its functional chain and the closed-loop traceability capability between structure, function, and failure, supporting the switching and cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering analysis. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate the invention and form part of the specification. They are used in conjunction with embodiments of the invention to explain the invention and do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings:

[0019] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of a DFMEA system that supports the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering proposed in this invention; Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a DFMEA system that supports the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering, as proposed in this invention. Figure 3This is a data flow diagram of a DFMEA system that supports the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering, as proposed in this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings are simplified schematic diagrams, illustrating only the basic structure of the invention, and therefore only show the components relevant to the invention.

[0021] refer to Figure 1-3 A DFMEA system that supports the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering includes: The interactive interface module provides a three-zone interactive user interface, comprising a left functional area, a middle structural area, and a right component functional area. The left functional area displays a list of functions, the middle structural area displays structural elements and their combinations, and the right component functional area displays the functional requirements of each structural element. It receives user input and supports both forward design and reverse engineering modes. If the user inputs a target function, the left functional area defines the function path, and the right component functional area defines the functional requirements of each structural element within that path. If the user selects a combination of structural elements in the middle structural area and inputs the corresponding collaborative interaction function, the module records the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function. The structure management module is used to build or adjust the product structure tree based on user-defined functional paths or structural element combination information. If the user-defined functional path includes structural elements that do not yet exist in the intermediate structure area, a new structural element is created and inserted into the product structure tree. It allows multiple structural elements at the same level to be combined into a higher-order module and updates the hierarchical structure according to the combination relationship. The functional association module is used to establish a bidirectional mapping relationship between functions and structures. If the analysis is initiated in forward design mode, the user-defined target functions are associated with the structural elements involved in the functional path, and the functional requirements of each structural element are recorded. If the analysis is initiated in reverse engineering mode, the user-input collaborative interaction functions are assigned to the next higher-level structural elements, and the specific role of the structural elements in the collaborative interaction functions is recorded. A functional chain is generated based on the bidirectional mapping relationship. The functional chain includes the target function, the corresponding structural path, and the functional requirements of each structural element. The analysis engine module is used to execute the DFMEA analysis process according to the function chain, identify the failure modes of each target function, analyze the failure causes, failure effects, current control measures and action priorities, and generate a DFMEA analysis report after the analysis is completed.

[0022] In this embodiment, the linkage interface module provides a three-zone linkage user interface, including a left functional area, a middle structural area, and a right component functional area. By displaying the function list, structural elements, and their functional requirements in a zoned manner, it achieves visualization and interactive control of the functional path and structural mapping process, improving the intuitiveness of user operation and configuration efficiency. Furthermore, the structural management module supports the dynamic construction or adjustment of the product structure tree based on user-input functional path or structural element combination information. By adding structural elements, combining modules, and updating the hierarchical structure, it ensures the synchronous evolution of the structural model and functional requirements and the consistency of the structural hierarchy. The functional association module establishes the association between functions and structures under a two-way mapping mechanism. It supports tracing the structural path from the target function in forward design and summarizing the functional content from the structural combination in reverse engineering. It further generates a functional chain, comprehensively records the correspondence and requirements of functions and structures, and enhances the logical integrity and traceability of the functional implementation path. At the same time, the analysis engine module executes the DFMEA analysis process based on the functional chain, systematically identifies failure modes, causes, and effects, and outputs a DFMEA analysis report in combination with current controls and priorities, thereby significantly improving the risk identification capability and preventive analysis efficiency in the functional structure design process.

[0023] In this embodiment, the modules are implemented through the following method: S1. Provide a three-zone linked user interface including a left functional area, a middle structural area and a right component functional area; the left functional area displays a function list, the middle structural area displays structural elements and their combination relationships, and the right component functional area displays the functional requirements and characteristics corresponding to the structural elements. S2. Receive user input information and support two startup modes: forward design mode and reverse engineering mode. If the user inputs the target function, the function path is defined in the left function area, and the functional requirements of each structural element in the function path are defined in the right part function area. If the user selects a combination of structural elements in the middle structure area and inputs the corresponding collaborative interaction function, the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function is recorded. S3. Construct or adjust the product structure tree based on the user-defined functional path or structural element combination information. If the user-defined functional path includes structural elements that do not yet exist in the intermediate structure area, create new structural elements and insert them into the product structure tree. Multiple structural elements at the same level can be combined into higher-order modules, and the hierarchical structure can be updated according to the combination relationship. S4. Establish a two-way mapping relationship between function and structure. If the analysis is started in the forward design mode, the user-defined target function is associated with the structural elements involved in the function path, and the functional requirements of each structural element are recorded. If the analysis is started in the reverse engineering mode, the user-input collaborative interaction function is assigned to the upper-level structural element, and the specific role of the structural element in the collaborative interaction function is recorded. S5. Generate a functional chain based on a bidirectional mapping relationship; the functional chain includes the target function, the corresponding structural path, and the functional requirements of each structural element. S6. Perform the DFMEA analysis process according to the functional chain, identify the failure modes of each target function, analyze the causes of failure, the impact of failure, current control measures and action priorities, and generate a DFMEA analysis report after the analysis is completed.

[0024] In this embodiment, S1 specifically refers to: It provides a three-zone interactive user interface consisting of a left-side function area, a middle structure area, and a right-side component function area. The left-side function area displays a list of functions, including system functions, subsystem functions, and component functions, allowing users to select function items and perform function path construction operations. The middle structure area displays the combination relationships between structural elements, including parallel relationships, subordinate relationships, and combination hierarchies, and supports display operations when structural elements are empty or when existing structural elements are imported. The right-side component function area displays the functional requirements characteristics corresponding to the structural elements, including the attribute requirements, performance parameters, and functional conditions that the structural elements must meet to support the target function. In the three-zone linked user interface, the function list is displayed in a tree structure, which supports expanding / collapsed function hierarchy nodes, and each function node is accompanied by an icon to indicate the analysis status; the structural elements are displayed in a block connection manner to show the combination relationship, and support dragging and adjusting the structural blocks, double-clicking to modify attributes, and right-click menu operations; the functional requirements are listed in the form of a parameter form, which supports setting attribute categories, value ranges, applicable scopes, and critical levels. Establish a linkage control mechanism between the left functional area, the middle structural area, and the right component functional area. When the user selects a target function in the left functional area, the structural path associated with the target function in the middle structural area is activated, and the functional requirements of each structural element in the functional path are displayed synchronously in the right component functional area. When the user selects a structural element or a combination of structural elements in the middle structural area, all functional requirements of the structural element are activated, and the target function associated with the selected structural element is displayed synchronously in the left functional area. The linkage control mechanism supports multi-directional response paths, including functional mapping linkage from the function list to the structure area, structural parsing linkage from the structure area to the part function area, and characteristic reverse mapping linkage from the part function area to the function list. Under multiple mapping relationships, the system executes the activation and conflict prompts of the display path according to the preset priority. When a user modifies the functional requirements of a structural element in the right-hand part function area, the target function associated with the selected structural element in the middle structure area and the left-hand function area is updated in a linked manner. Functional requirements and structural elements are automatically bound to a relation table. The relation table defines the mapping rules between structural types and functional categories, and supports both manual editing and template import. When a structural element is added or changed, the corresponding functional requirements are automatically refreshed.

[0025] In this embodiment, receiving user input information supports two startup modes: forward design mode and reverse engineering mode. If the user inputs a target function, a function path is defined in the left function area, and the functional requirements of each structural element in the function path are defined in the right part function area. Specifically: It provides a function path input interface, which receives the target function input by the user when starting in forward design mode. The target function includes the system functions, subsystem functions and component functions that the product needs to implement. It supports users to input the function name, function description and logical steps required to implement the target function based on the function hierarchy. The function path is clearly identified in the function description. The function path includes the target function and the corresponding structural elements, the interaction methods between structural elements and the external objects involved. Based on the function path information input by the user, it automatically calls the existing structural elements and combination relationships in the intermediate structure area. If the structural element associated with the target function does not exist, it will automatically prompt to create and insert it into the product structure tree. In the right-hand component function area, users can input functional requirements for each structural element in the function path, including performance requirements (such as strength, power, frequency, etc.), physical characteristics (such as size, material, surface treatment, etc.), and interaction conditions (such as input / output signals, electrical connections, mechanical linkages, etc.). All input content is saved in real time and a direct mapping relationship is established with the target function. This mapping relationship forms the basis for the linkage between the function path and the structural path, and at the same time forms the initial input data of the functional related modules.

[0026] In this embodiment, if the user selects a combination of structural elements in the intermediate structural area and inputs the corresponding collaborative interaction function, the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function is recorded, specifically as follows: When a user selects a combination of structural elements in the middle structural area, they select one or more structural elements and set the combination range. They then input the collaborative interaction function implemented by the combination of structural elements. During the input process, the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function is recorded. The collaborative interaction function includes a description of the functional effects and behavioral goals generated by multiple structural elements in the combined state. The role of the structural elements in the collaborative interaction function is recorded in text format and bound to the structural element number. After the input is completed, the collaborative interaction function is assigned to the parent structural element of the structural combination. The function of the structural element in the collaborative interaction is recorded in text format and bound to the structural element number. The binding process supports selecting the structural element through the graphical interface, highlighting it in real time in the structure diagram and entering a description of its function, or batch editing and importing existing template content by structural level in the function definition panel.

[0027] In this embodiment, S3 specifically refers to: Construct or adjust the product structure tree based on user-defined functional paths or structural element combinations; when the user-defined functional path contains structural elements that do not yet exist in the intermediate structure area, create new structural elements, set the unique identifier and attribute fields of the structural elements, the attribute fields include structural element name, number, module category, functional path mapping identifier, responsible person label and failure mode label, and insert them into the specified hierarchical position in the product structure tree; The combination relationship between newly created structural elements and existing structural elements is automatically established based on the user-defined functional path logical relationship. The combination relationship includes parallel relationship, parent-child relationship and combination subordination relationship. The system automatically establishes a path mapping table based on the functional path logical structure and structural hierarchy relationship. The path mapping table records the functional item, structural element number, path hierarchy to which the structural element belongs and interaction relationship tuple. Users can select multiple structural elements at the same level in the intermediate structure area and perform a structural combination operation to combine the selected structural elements into a higher-order module. The combined higher-order module is embedded as a new structural element node in the product structure tree, and the original structural elements are attached as child nodes below the higher-order module. After the combination relationship is established, the hierarchical structure, path mapping and attribute inheritance relationship in the product structure tree are updated synchronously to form a structural combination tree structure oriented towards functional paths. During the process of adding, combining, or adjusting structural elements, users can edit the hierarchical position, identification information, and functional binding status of structural elements in real time. The real-time editing operations include dragging and recombining structural elements, renaming attribute fields, resetting functional bindings, and undoing combination operations. The product structure tree is dynamically updated with the editing operations, and the relevant path mapping table and functional characteristic binding table are updated synchronously until a complete structure tree expression is formed.

[0028] In this embodiment, if the analysis is initiated using the forward design mode, the user-defined target function is associated with the structural elements involved in the function path, and the functional requirement characteristics of each structural element are recorded, specifically: The user enters the target function identifier and function content in the left function area. The system receives the structural path selected by the user in the middle structure area and constructs a set of structural path elements. Each structural element in the set of structural path elements is assigned a unique number and a binding relationship is established with the target function identifier to form a two-way binding mapping between function and structure. The mapping relationship supports one-to-one and many-to-one configuration modes. The structural path can contain multiple parallel structural branches and supports manual adjustment of logical path links. In the right-hand part function area, users enter functional requirement information for each structural element in the structural path. The functional requirement information includes functional dimensions, operating conditions, performance parameters, and interface features. The system displays the functional requirement information input interface based on preset field templates. Users can set numerical, range, or enumeration parameters according to actual design requirements. The entered content is bound to the structural element number after verification. The system automatically constructs a three-dimensional mapping data structure between structural element numbers, functional requirement characteristics, and target function identifiers. The three-dimensional mapping is recorded in the form of triples and stored in the mapping relationship table, supporting query, traceability, and export operations. The mapping relationship is visualized as a structural path map and a functional dimension matrix.

[0029] In this embodiment, if the analysis is initiated in reverse engineering mode, the user-input collaborative interaction function is assigned to the next higher-level structural element, and the specific role of the structural element in the collaborative interaction function is recorded, specifically as follows: In the intermediate structure area, select a structural element combination, set the combination relationship and enter the collaborative interaction function information, and bind the collaborative interaction function to the corresponding parent structural element of the structural combination. For each structural element in the structural combination, record the role of that structural element in the collaborative interaction function. The role includes the type of functional contribution, participation mechanism, response method and description of collaborative relationship. Establish a binding relationship between structural element numbers and their functions, and categorize them under the collaborative interaction function tag to construct a mapping table of structural combinations and functional roles; synchronously record the functional affiliation of collaborative interaction functions, the functions of structural elements, and structural path information. The mapping relationship between the structural combination and the collaborative interaction function is saved in a structured form after input. The mapping table includes the structural combination identifier, the collaborative interaction function number, a description field of the role of each structural element in the collaborative interaction function, and the binding timestamp information. The mapping table is embedded in the structural combination node as a child node of the structural management module and is synchronously registered in the functional chain dataset. The collaborative interaction function is called as an auxiliary function module in the functional path in the DFMEA analysis process. When triggered, it performs failure mode labeling and priority assignment according to the role content of the structural elements in the mapping table, providing failure extension information support for the analysis engine module.

[0030] In this embodiment, S5 specifically refers to: Based on the bidirectional mapping relationship between function and structure, the target function defined in the left functional area is extracted and the structural path information associated with the middle structural area is extracted, and the functional requirement characteristics of each structural element in the structural path in the right part functional area are extracted. Construct a functional chain structure; the functional chain structure includes a target function, a structural path, and functional requirement characteristics; the target function is used as the starting node of the functional chain structure, and the structural elements in the structural path are constructed into chain structural nodes according to the hierarchical order of the structure tree, and the corresponding functional requirement characteristics are embedded in each structural element node; Record the correspondence between target functions, structural elements and functional requirements in the functional chain structure, and construct a chain mapping table between functions and structures; During the construction process, if a structural element in the structural path has multiple functional requirement characteristics, they are bound separately in a nested structure and sorted according to the priority of the functional requirement characteristics. The priority order is automatically recorded according to the arrangement position when the user inputs it. After the functional chain structure is constructed, it is saved as a nested data structure and displayed graphically in the user interface. Users can perform visual operations and reconstructive editing of chain nodes. During the construction process, the integrity of the chain is automatically detected. If there are situations such as target functions not being bound to structural elements or structural elements lacking functional requirements, an error prompt mechanism is triggered to guide the user to supplement information. For cases where multiple targets point to the same structural path, the system supports the construction of a multi-dimensional functional chain structure, recording the corresponding relationships and marking the source functional items, to achieve multi-target traceability analysis of complex structures.

[0031] In this embodiment, S6 specifically refers to: The system acquires the target function, structural path, and functional requirement characteristics in the functional chain structure. Following the order of the structural path corresponding to the target function, it sequentially selects the structural elements in the structural path as the analysis objects and identifies the failure modes that may occur in the process of the structural elements supporting the target function. The failure modes include functional deviation, performance anomaly, interface error, and interaction interruption. For each failure mode, analyze possible failure causes; failure causes include structural defects, insufficient design redundancy, material inconsistencies, and poor environmental adaptability; record the potential failure impacts of the failure modes, including negative effects on the integrity of the target function, system reliability, and user experience, with the scope of impact marked according to the structural path hierarchy; Identify the control measures currently configured for each structural element in the structural path; control measures include detection measures and preventive measures, and extract the control effects, applicable scope and execution mechanism of the corresponding control measures. For each failure consequence, a severity score is calculated; for each failure cause, an occurrence score and a detectability score are calculated; and for each failure mode, a detectability score is calculated. The score values ​​are assigned based on the importance level of the target function in the functional chain, the position of the structural element in the structural path, and the coverage of control measures. An action priority scoring table is constructed based on the severity, occurrence, and detectability scores. Failure modes, failure causes, failure effects, control measures, and action priority scores are archived to form DFMEA entries at the structural element level; all structural element DFMEA entries are merged according to the structural path hierarchy to construct a complete DFMEA analysis record. Generate a DFMEA analysis report, which includes a list of target functions, a structural path description, a functional requirement characteristics table, a failure analysis summary table, a detailed list of control measures, and an action priority ranking table.

[0032] Example 1: To verify the feasibility of this invention in practice, it was applied to the electric drive system development process of a new energy vehicle manufacturing company. In the company's previous design and development processes, DFMEA analysis suffered from problems such as deviating from the design mainline, redundant information entry, and function-structure mismatch, leading to frequent design changes, prolonged verification cycles, and inaccurate failure risk assessments. This embodiment, based on a DFMEA system proposed in this invention that supports the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering, underwent a three-month practical application test.

[0033] In the initial design of the transmission structure for the company's electric drive system, the system design engineer defined the target function of "achieving shift control" in the left functional area and decomposed it into sub-functions such as "input torque transmission", "synchronizer engagement", and "slip control feedback". At the same time, in the middle structural area, structural elements such as "synchronizer", "sliding gear", and "control fork" in the existing structure tree were selected as structural path nodes. In the right part functional area, the functional requirements that each structural element needs to meet were input. For example, the requirements for "synchronizer" are "allowing a certain friction coefficient variation" and "tooth profile fit accuracy within 0.01mm".

[0034] Based on the above inputs, the system automatically constructs a functional chain structure and executes a two-way mapping mechanism to establish a chain-like association between the target function of "achieving shift control," the structural path, and the functional requirements, supporting subsequent failure mode identification and impact analysis. In the second stage, the system initiates DFMEA analysis, sequentially identifying failure modes such as "sliding gear jamming" and "control fork deformation" according to the structural path. It extracts existing control measures and combines them with severity, occurrence, and detectability scoring mechanisms to generate DFMEA entries at the structural element level, ultimately forming a complete DFMEA analysis record covering the target function of "achieving shift control."

[0035] Meanwhile, to verify the practicality of the reverse engineering model, when conducting quality feedback analysis on the motor stator components provided by the supplier, the assembly engineer input the collaborative interactive function of "multi-component thermal expansion fit precision control" and bind it to the upper-level structure "stator assembly module". The system records the role and interaction response of the stator core, coil winding, and insulation layer in this function. The system automatically generates a mapping table of structural combination and functional role, providing causal analysis support for reverse design parameter optimization.

[0036] After three months of application testing, the system participated in 14 design tasks, processed 84 functional paths and 112 structural paths, identified 231 failure modes, automatically archived 173 DFMEA entries, and generated 12 DFMEA analysis reports. Compared with the company's original methods, the efficiency and accuracy of DFMEA analysis were significantly improved.

[0037] Table 1. Comparison of DFMEA Analysis Efficiency

[0038] Table 1 shows the average time consumption of the system in the four core stages: function path entry, structure path combination, DFMEA item archiving, and report generation. The data shows that after adopting the system of this invention, the time for all key operations is reduced by more than 60%. Especially in the stages of structure path combination and DFMEA item archiving, traditional systems rely on manual editing and document concatenation, which are prone to errors. The system of this invention implements an automatic generation mechanism driven by mapping relationships, significantly reducing manpower and improving process smoothness.

[0039] Table 2 Comparison of Accuracy Rates for Failure Identification and Handling

[0040] Table 2 illustrates the improvements made by the system in terms of accuracy in failure mode identification, control measure confirmation, priority judgment, and multi-target conflict detection. Through the functional chain structure-driven and mapping table generation mechanism, the system of this invention can more systematically cover the correspondence between functions and structures, significantly improving the comprehensive identification and processing accuracy of failure risks. Particularly in the detection of multi-target functional conflicts, the system's automatic verification mechanism of hierarchical functional relationships effectively identifies and guides optimization of previously overlooked interactive contradictions.

[0041] This embodiment verifies the effectiveness and advancement of the present invention in practical applications. Through the cross-integration mechanism of forward design and reverse engineering, it supports both constructing structural paths and executing DFMEA processes starting from the target function, and inferring design optimization directions based on the collaborative functional relationships of structural feedback inputs. This achieves the structuring, automation, and intelligence of the DFMEA analysis process, and has significant engineering application value.

[0042] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A DFMEA system supporting the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering, characterized in that, include: The linked interface module is used to provide a three-zone linked user interface, including the left functional area, the middle structural area and the right part functional area; The left-hand functional area displays a list of functions, the middle structural area displays structural elements and their combinations, and the right-hand part functional area displays the functional requirements of the structural elements. It receives user input and supports both forward design and reverse engineering modes. If the user inputs a target function, the left-hand functional area defines the functional path, and the right-hand part functional area defines the functional requirements of each structural element within that path. If the user selects a combination of structural elements in the middle structural area and inputs the corresponding collaborative interaction function, the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function is recorded. The structure management module is used to build or adjust the product structure tree based on user-defined functional paths or structural element combination information. If the user-defined functional path includes structural elements that do not yet exist in the intermediate structure area, a new structural element is created and inserted into the product structure tree. It allows multiple structural elements at the same level to be combined into a higher-order module and updates the hierarchical structure according to the combination relationship. The function association module is used to establish a two-way mapping relationship between functions and structures. If the analysis is started in the forward design mode, the user-defined target functions are associated with the structural elements involved in the function path, and the functional requirements of each structural element are recorded. If the analysis is started in the reverse engineering mode, the user-input collaborative interaction functions are assigned to the upper-level structural elements, and the specific role of the structural elements in the collaborative interaction functions is recorded. A functional chain is generated based on a bidirectional mapping relationship; the functional chain includes the target function, the corresponding structural path, and the functional requirements of each structural element. The analysis engine module is used to execute the DFMEA analysis process according to the function chain, identify the failure modes of each target function, analyze the failure causes, failure effects, current control measures and action priorities, and generate a DFMEA analysis report after the analysis is completed.

2. The DFMEA system supporting the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering according to claim 1, characterized in that, The modules are connected in the following way: S1. Provide a three-zone linked user interface including a left functional area, a middle structural area and a right component functional area; the left functional area displays a function list, the middle structural area displays structural elements and their combination relationships, and the right component functional area displays the functional requirements and characteristics corresponding to the structural elements. S2. Receive user input information and support two startup modes: forward design mode and reverse engineering mode. If the user inputs the target function, the function path is defined in the left function area, and the functional requirements of each structural element in the function path are defined in the right part function area. If the user selects a combination of structural elements in the middle structure area and inputs the corresponding collaborative interaction function, the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function is recorded. S3. Construct or adjust the product structure tree based on the user-defined functional path or structural element combination information. If the user-defined functional path includes structural elements that do not yet exist in the intermediate structure area, create new structural elements and insert them into the product structure tree. Multiple structural elements at the same level can be combined into higher-order modules, and the hierarchical structure can be updated according to the combination relationship. S4. Establish a two-way mapping relationship between function and structure. If the analysis is started in the forward design mode, the user-defined target function is associated with the structural elements involved in the function path, and the functional requirements of each structural element are recorded. If the analysis is started in the reverse engineering mode, the user-input collaborative interaction function is assigned to the upper-level structural element, and the specific role of the structural element in the collaborative interaction function is recorded. S5. Generate a functional chain based on a bidirectional mapping relationship; the functional chain includes the target function, the corresponding structural path, and the functional requirements of each structural element. S6. Perform the DFMEA analysis process according to the functional chain, identify the failure modes of each target function, analyze the causes of failure, the impact of failure, current control measures and action priorities, and generate a DFMEA analysis report after the analysis is completed.

3. The DFMEA system supporting the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering according to claim 2, characterized in that, Specifically, S1 is: It provides a three-zone interactive user interface, including a left-side function area, a middle structure area, and a right-side component function area. The left-side function area displays a function list, which includes system functions, subsystem functions, and component functions. Users can select function items and perform function path construction operations. The middle structure area displays the combination relationships between structural elements, including parallel relationships, subordinate relationships, and combination hierarchy of structural elements. It supports display operations when structural elements are empty or when existing structural elements are imported. The right-hand part function area displays the functional requirements and characteristics corresponding to the structural elements. These functional requirements and characteristics include the attribute requirements, performance parameters, and functional conditions that the structural elements must meet to support the target function. Establish a linkage control mechanism between the left functional area, the middle structural area, and the right component functional area. When the user selects a target function in the left functional area, the structural path associated with the target function in the middle structural area is activated, and the functional requirements of each structural element in the functional path are displayed synchronously in the right component functional area. When the user selects a structural element or a combination of structural elements in the middle structural area, all functional requirements of the structural element are activated, and the target function associated with the selected structural element is displayed synchronously in the left functional area. When a user modifies the functional requirements of a structural element in the right-hand part function area, the target function associated with the selected structural element in the middle structure area and the function area on the left is updated in a linked manner.

4. The DFMEA system supporting the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering according to claim 2, characterized in that, The system receives user input and supports two startup modes: forward design mode and reverse engineering mode. If the user inputs a target function, the function path is defined in the left function area, and the functional requirements of each structural element in the function path are defined in the right part function area. Specifically: The system receives user input and supports initiating the analysis process in either forward design mode or reverse engineering mode. When the user inputs the target function, they enter the function name and add a function description in the left function area. The function description defines the function path, which includes the target function, the structural elements required to achieve the target function, the interaction relationships between the structural elements, and the external objects involved. In the right part function area, the user inputs the functional requirements characteristics required to support the target function for each structural element in the function path. These characteristics include performance requirements, physical properties, and interaction conditions. The relationship between structural elements and the target function is continuously recorded during the input process, forming a direct mapping between the function path and the structural path.

5. A DFMEA system supporting the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering according to claim 2, characterized in that, If a user selects a combination of structural elements in the intermediate structural area and inputs the corresponding collaborative interaction function, the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function is recorded, specifically as follows: When a user selects a combination of structural elements in the middle structural area, they select one or more structural elements and set the combination range. They then input the collaborative interaction function implemented by the combination of structural elements. During the input process, the correspondence between the structural element combination information and the collaborative interaction function is recorded. The collaborative interaction function includes a description of the functional effects and behavioral goals generated by multiple structural elements in the combined state. The role of the structural elements in the collaborative interaction function is recorded in text format and bound to the structural element number. After the input is completed, the collaborative interaction function is assigned to the parent structural element of the structural combination.

6. A DFMEA system supporting the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering according to claim 2, characterized in that, Specifically, S3 is: Construct or adjust the product structure tree based on user-defined functional paths or structural element combinations; when a user-defined functional path contains structural elements that do not yet exist in the intermediate structure area, create a new structural element, set the unique identifier and attribute fields of the structural element, and insert it into the specified hierarchical position in the product structure tree; The combination relationship between newly created structural elements and existing structural elements is automatically established based on the user-defined functional path logic relationship. The combination relationship includes parallel relationship, parent-child relationship and combination subordination relationship. Allows users to select multiple structural elements at the same level in the intermediate structure area and perform a structural combination operation to combine the selected structural elements into a higher-order module; The combined higher-order modules are embedded as new structural element nodes in the product structure tree, and the original structural elements are attached as child nodes below the higher-order modules. After the combination relationship is established, the hierarchical structure, path mapping and attribute inheritance relationship in the product structure tree are updated synchronously to form a structural combination tree structure oriented towards functional paths. During the process of adding, combining, or adjusting structural elements, users can edit the hierarchical position, identification information, and functional binding of structural elements in real time. The product structure tree is dynamically updated with the editing operation until a complete structure tree expression is formed.

7. A DFMEA system supporting the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering according to claim 2, characterized in that, If the analysis is initiated using the forward design pattern, the user-defined target function is associated with the structural elements involved in the function path, and the functional requirements of each structural element are recorded, specifically: Map the target function entered in the left function area to the selected structure path in the middle structure area one by one, and establish a binding relationship between each structure element in the structure path and the target function. In the right-hand part function area, enter the functional requirements and characteristics for each structural element in the structural path; the functional requirements and characteristics include the functional dimensions, operating conditions, performance parameters and interface features that the function needs to meet. Bind functional requirements and characteristics to structural element numbers, and establish a three-dimensional mapping relationship between them and the target functions.

8. A DFMEA system supporting the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering according to claim 2, characterized in that, If the analysis is initiated in reverse engineering mode, the user-input collaborative interaction function will be assigned to the next higher-level structural element, and the specific role of the structural element in the collaborative interaction function will be recorded, as follows: In the intermediate structure area, select a structural element combination, set the combination relationship and enter the collaborative interaction function information, and bind the collaborative interaction function to the corresponding parent structural element of the structural combination. For each structural element in the structural combination, record the role of that structural element in the collaborative interaction function. The role includes the type of functional contribution, participation mechanism, response method and description of collaborative relationship. Establish a binding relationship between structural element numbers and their functions, and categorize them under the collaborative interaction function tag to construct a mapping table of structural combinations and functional roles; synchronously record the functional affiliation of collaborative interaction functions, the function content of structural elements, and structural path information.

9. A DFMEA system supporting the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering according to claim 2, characterized in that, Specifically, S5 is: Based on the bidirectional mapping relationship between function and structure, the target function defined in the left functional area is extracted and the structural path information associated with the middle structural area is extracted, and the functional requirement characteristics of each structural element in the structural path in the right part functional area are extracted. Construct a functional chain structure; the functional chain structure includes a target function, a structural path, and functional requirement characteristics; the target function is used as the starting node of the functional chain structure, and the structural elements in the structural path are constructed into chain structural nodes according to the hierarchical order of the structure tree, and the corresponding functional requirement characteristics are embedded in each structural element node; Record the correspondence between target functions, structural elements and functional requirements in the functional chain structure, and construct a chain mapping table between functions and structures; During the construction process, if a structural element in the structural path has multiple functional requirements, they are bound separately in a nested structure and sorted according to the priority of the functional requirements. The priority order is automatically recorded according to the arrangement position entered by the user.

10. A DFMEA system supporting the cross-integration of forward design and reverse engineering according to claim 2, characterized in that, Specifically, S6 is: Obtain the target function, structural path, and functional requirement characteristics in the functional chain structure. Select the structural elements in the structural path as the analysis objects in sequence according to the order of the structural path corresponding to the target function, and identify the failure modes that may occur in the process of the structural elements supporting the target function. Failure modes include functional deviation, performance anomaly, interface error, and interaction interruption; For each failure mode, analyze possible failure causes; failure causes include structural defects, insufficient design redundancy, material inconsistencies, and poor environmental adaptability; Record the potential failure impact of failure modes. The failure impact includes negative effects on the integrity of the target function, system reliability and user experience. The scope of impact is marked according to the structural path hierarchy. Identify the control measures currently configured for each structural element in the structural path; control measures include detection measures and preventive measures, and extract the control effects, applicable scope and execution mechanism of the corresponding control measures. For each failure consequence, a severity score is calculated; for each failure cause, an occurrence score and a detectability score are calculated; and for each failure mode, a detectability score is calculated. The score values ​​are assigned based on the importance level of the target function in the functional chain, the position of the structural element in the structural path, and the coverage of control measures. An action priority scoring table is constructed based on the severity, occurrence, and detectability scores. Failure modes, failure causes, failure effects, control measures, and action priority scores are archived to form DFMEA entries at the structural element level; all DFMEA entries of structural elements are merged according to the structural path hierarchy to construct a complete DFMEA analysis record. Generate a DFMEA analysis report, which includes a list of target functions, a structural path description, a functional requirement characteristics table, a failure analysis summary table, a detailed list of control measures, and an action priority ranking table.

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